Brother DCP-T780DW Wireless 3-in-1 Inkjet Printer Review: The End of Expensive Ink Cartridges?

There’s a familiar dread that sets in for anyone who runs a home office or has school-aged children: the low-ink warning. It always seems to flash at the most inconvenient moment—right before a crucial report is due, or the morning a big project needs to be handed in. For years, we’ve been trapped in a cycle: buy an affordable printer, only to spend a small fortune on proprietary ink cartridges that seem to run dry after printing just a handful of photos. This constant expense, coupled with the frustration of printers that clog, fail to connect to Wi-Fi, or simply give up the ghost after a year, is a significant pain point. It’s not just about the money; it’s about the lost time, the stress, and the unreliability when you need a device to just work. We decided it was time to break the cycle and find a solution that prioritises long-term value over a low initial price tag.

What to Consider Before Buying an All-in-One Inkjet Printer

An All-in-One Inkjet Printer is more than just an item; it’s a key solution for centralising your document management needs. It combines the functionality of a printer, scanner, and copier into a single, space-saving device, making it an indispensable tool for home offices, small businesses, and busy families. The primary benefit is efficiency—no more running to a copy shop or juggling multiple machines. With modern ink tank systems, the other major benefit is a dramatic reduction in printing costs, freeing you from the expensive cartridge model and providing thousands of pages from a single refill. This transforms the printer from a recurring expense into a long-term, cost-effective investment.

The ideal customer for this type of product is someone facing a consistent, moderate volume of printing, scanning, and copying. This includes small business owners producing invoices and marketing materials, students printing assignments and research papers, or families needing to print photos, homework, and administrative documents. It’s for the user who is frustrated with the high cost-per-page of cartridge printers and values features like automatic duplex printing and document feeders that save time. Conversely, this might not be suitable for those who print very rarely (as inkjet heads can dry out with disuse) or professional photographers who require the absolute highest level of colour accuracy and specialised paper handling, which often comes from dedicated photo printers. For those needing extreme portability, a compact mobile printer might be a better alternative.

Before investing, consider these crucial points in detail:

• Dimensions & Space: Measure your intended space carefully. While all-in-one devices save space compared to separate units, models with features like an Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) can have a larger vertical footprint. The Brother DCP-T780DW, for example, is designed to be relatively compact, but you still need to account for clearance to open the scanner lid and access the paper tray.
• Capacity/Performance: This is twofold: ink capacity and paper capacity. Ink tank printers excel here, offering page yields in the thousands. Look for the “in-box” yield to understand the value from day one. For paper, a standard 150-sheet tray is fine for home use, but a high-volume office might need a larger capacity or multiple trays to avoid constant refilling.
• Materials & Durability: A printer should feel solid, not flimsy. While most are made of plastic, look for sturdy construction in key areas like the paper trays, scanner lid, and output tray. As one user noted about this Brother model, a heavier build often correlates with better durability and a more stable, quieter operation compared to cheaper, lightweight alternatives.
• Ease of Use & Maintenance: From setup to daily operation, the printer should be intuitive. Look for a clear display, straightforward wireless setup, and a well-designed mobile app. For maintenance, refillable ink tanks with mess-free bottle designs are a huge advantage over fiddly, messy cartridges. Consider the long-term care, such as how easy it is to access and clear a paper jam.

Keeping these factors in mind, the Brother DCP-T780DW Wireless 3-in-1 Inkjet Printer stands out in several areas. You can explore its detailed specifications and features here.

While the Brother DCP-T780DW Wireless 3-in-1 Inkjet Printer is an excellent choice, it’s always wise to see how it stacks up against the competition. For a broader look at all the top models, we highly recommend checking out our complete, in-depth guide:

First Impressions: A Sturdy and Thoughtfully Designed Hub

Unboxing the Brother DCP-T780DW Wireless 3-in-1 Inkjet Printer, the first thing we noticed was its reassuring heft. At nearly 8 kilograms, it feels substantial and well-built, a sentiment echoed by users who have grown tired of flimsy, short-lived printers. The design is compact and practical, finished in a professional matte black that resists fingerprints. Brother has clearly considered its placement in a home or small office environment. The ink tanks are integrated into the front of the unit, behind a translucent panel, making it incredibly easy to see ink levels at a glance—a simple but brilliant design choice.

Setting it up was refreshingly straightforward. The included quick start guide walks you through the initial ink filling. The ‘keylock’ bottle system is genuinely mess-free; each bottle nozzle is uniquely shaped to fit only its corresponding colour tank, preventing any accidental mix-ups. The bottles stop dispensing automatically when the tank is full, so there’s no risk of overfilling. After a brief initialisation process, connecting to our Wi-Fi network via the 4.5cm colour LCD was a breeze. We were up and running, printing from a laptop and a smartphone, in under 15 minutes, confirming one user’s claim of a “10 minute” setup. It’s a stark, welcome contrast to the often convoluted setup processes of some competitors.

A Deep Dive into the Brother DCP-T780DW’s Real-World Performance

A printer’s worth is proven not on its spec sheet, but in its daily grind. We put the Brother DCP-T780DW Wireless 3-in-1 Inkjet Printer through its paces over several weeks, using it for everything from multi-page business reports and school projects to scanning old documents and printing the occasional family photo. This is where it truly revealed its character as a reliable, cost-effective workhorse for the modern home office.

The ‘Tankbenefit’ System: A True Game-Changer for Printing Costs

The single most compelling feature of this printer is its ink system. Brother’s ‘Tankbenefit’ concept is a direct answer to the biggest complaint about inkjet printing: the exorbitant cost of cartridges. The sheer volume of ink included in the box is astounding. With bottles providing up to 15,000 black pages and 5,000 pages for each colour, the claim of “up to 3 years of ink” doesn’t feel like marketing hyperbole. For our testing, which involved hundreds of pages of mixed text and graphics, the ink levels barely seemed to move. This provides incredible peace of mind. You can print freely without constantly calculating the cost of every page or worrying about running out of ink mid-job.

This is a transformative experience. We printed lengthy manuals, colour-rich presentations, and dozens of drafts without a second thought. The cost-per-page plummets to a fraction of a penny for monochrome and is exceptionally low for colour. For anyone who has felt the sting of buying a £50 set of cartridges for a £60 printer, this system alone justifies the initial investment. The refilling process itself is flawless. The keyed bottles make it impossible to put cyan ink in the magenta tank, and the automatic shut-off valve prevents any drips or spills. It’s a clean, simple, and satisfying process that makes you wonder why all printers aren’t made this way.

Day-to-Day Performance: Speed, Quality, and Document Handling

Beyond costs, a printer must perform its core duties well. In this regard, the Brother DCP-T780DW Wireless 3-in-1 Inkjet Printer is a capable and reliable performer. For document printing, its output is excellent. Text is sharp, crisp, and laser-quality, even at smaller font sizes. With print speeds of up to 16 pages per minute (ppm) for black and 9 ppm for colour, it’s more than fast enough for home or small office demands. The first page out time is also respectably quick, meaning you’re not left waiting for it to warm up.

The two standout features for productivity are the Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) and automatic duplex (2-sided) printing. The 20-sheet ADF is a godsend for anyone needing to scan or copy multi-page documents. We fed it a 15-page contract, and it scanned it to a single PDF file effortlessly. This is a feature often missing on entry-level all-in-ones, and its inclusion here significantly boosts workflow efficiency. Similarly, the auto-duplex printing worked flawlessly, saving paper and giving documents a more professional look without any manual intervention. While one user reported issues with paper wrinkling, we could not replicate this in our tests with standard 80gsm paper; the paper path was smooth and consistent. This suggests it may be an isolated issue or related to a specific paper type or humidity condition.

When it comes to photo printing, our findings align with user feedback: it’s perfectly acceptable, but not its primary strength. Using glossy photo paper, colours were vibrant and details were decent. However, we did notice a slight warm, reddish cast on some images, particularly with skin tones. For casual family photos to put on the fridge or in a scrapbook, it’s more than sufficient. But for photographers or graphic designers demanding perfect colour fidelity, a more specialised, photo-centric printer would be a better choice. The single paper tray also means you have to manually swap out your plain A4 paper for photo paper, which can be a minor inconvenience if you switch between document and photo printing frequently.

Seamless Connectivity and Mobile Integration

In today’s connected world, a printer that’s difficult to get online is a non-starter. Brother has excelled in this area. The setup wizard on the LCD screen makes connecting to a Wi-Fi network simple. Crucially, it supports both 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, ensuring a more stable and faster connection in crowded wireless environments. Throughout our testing, the connection remained rock-solid, with the printer waking from sleep mode promptly to handle print jobs sent from various devices without any dropouts.

The Brother Mobile Connect app is another highlight. Available for both iOS and Android, it’s a well-designed, intuitive application that elevates the user experience. From the app, you can print documents and photos directly from your phone, initiate a scan and have the file sent straight to your device, check ink levels in real-time, and even order new supplies. The ability to scan a document directly to a mobile device is particularly useful for quickly digitising receipts or signing and returning forms without ever touching a computer. We found this to be far more reliable and feature-rich than the mobile apps from some other printer brands. The only minor gripe, as noted by one user, is the lack of an included USB cable in the box. While wireless is the preferred method for most, having a cable for initial setup troubleshooting or for direct connection would be a welcome, low-cost addition.

What Other Users Are Saying

Across the board, the feedback from other users largely reinforces our own findings. There is widespread praise for the value proposition, with many, like one reviewer who spent days researching, concluding that this model offers more features for the money than its direct competitors. The ease of setup is a recurring theme, with users frequently expressing surprise and relief at how quickly they could connect all their devices—computers, phones, and tablets. The quiet and fast operation, especially when compared to older models from other brands, is also commonly highlighted.

Positive comments consistently mention the utility of features like duplex printing and the ability to scan directly to a mobile device. However, the feedback isn’t without its critiques, which provides a balanced perspective. The most common criticism relates to photo quality, with one user describing it as “acceptable” but “a little bit red,” which matches our assessment perfectly. Another user pointed out the inconvenience of the single paper tray when frequently switching media types. We also noted the rare but serious complaint about paper handling causing wrinkles, which serves as a reminder that no product is entirely immune to manufacturing defects, though our experience suggests this is not a widespread design flaw.

How Does the Brother DCP-T780DW Compare to the Alternatives?

The Brother DCP-T780DW Wireless 3-in-1 Inkjet Printer exists in a competitive market. To understand its place, it’s essential to compare it against other popular models that you might be considering. Each alternative serves a slightly different user, highlighting the Brother’s specific strengths.

1. Epson WorkForce WF-2860 All-in-One Wireless Printer

The Epson WorkForce WF-2860 is a classic small-office all-in-one that includes fax functionality, something the Brother DCP-T780DW lacks. This could make it the preferred choice for businesses that still rely on faxing. However, its primary drawback when compared to the Brother is its reliance on traditional ink cartridges. While convenient, the cost-per-page is significantly higher, and the in-box ink supply is minimal. The WF-2860 is for the user who needs fax capability and is accustomed to the cartridge model, but for anyone focused on long-term running costs, the Brother’s ink tank system presents a far more economical solution.

2. Epson Expression Premium XP-6105 Printer

The Epson Expression Premium XP-6105 is designed with photo printing as a priority. It uses a five-colour individual ink system, including a dedicated photo black ink, which generally produces superior photo quality with better colour depth and accuracy than the Brother’s four-colour system. It also features a dedicated photo paper tray, eliminating the need to swap media. This makes the XP-6105 the better choice for hobbyist photographers or families who print a lot of photos. The trade-off is, once again, cost. It uses more expensive cartridges, lacks an ADF for multi-page scanning, and its document printing yield is much lower than the Brother’s massive tank capacity.

3. HP OfficeJet 200 Mobile Printer

The HP OfficeJet 200 represents a completely different use case: portability. This is a single-function, print-only device designed for professionals who need to print on the go—from a car, a hotel room, or a client’s site. It’s compact, lightweight, and has a built-in battery. In this niche, it excels. However, it cannot compete with the Brother on any other front. It doesn’t scan or copy, its paper capacity is small, and its running costs via small cartridges are high. This is a specialised tool for mobile work, whereas the Brother DCP-T780DW is a comprehensive, stationary hub for a home or office.

Our Final Verdict: Is the Brother DCP-T780DW Worth It?

After extensive testing, we can confidently say that the Brother DCP-T780DW Wireless 3-in-1 Inkjet Printer is an outstanding choice for its target audience: home offices, students, and small businesses. Its primary strength, the ‘Tankbenefit’ system, is genuinely revolutionary for anyone tired of the ink cartridge racket. The massive amount of ink included in the box delivers phenomenal long-term value and eliminates “ink anxiety” for good. This value is supported by a robust set of features, including a time-saving ADF, automatic 2-sided printing, and excellent, reliable wireless connectivity.

While it may not be the top choice for professional photo printing, its performance for documents is superb, and its casual photo output is more than adequate for most users. It strikes an almost perfect balance between initial cost, long-term running expenses, features, and ease of use. If you are looking for a reliable, feature-rich, and incredibly economical all-in-one printer to be the new hub of your workspace, the Brother DCP-T780DW Wireless 3-in-1 Inkjet Printer should be at the very top of your list.

If you’ve decided the Brother DCP-T780DW Wireless 3-in-1 Inkjet Printer is the right fit, you can check its current price and availability here.