Brother DCP-L3520CDW 3-in-1 Colour Wireless LED Printer Review: The Small Office Workhorse We’ve Been Waiting For?

For years, my home office was a graveyard of abandoned inkjet printers. The story was always the same: I’d buy a new one, marvel at the vibrant initial prints, and then, after a period of infrequent use, I’d return to find it plagued by clogged print heads, streaky documents, and cryptic error messages. The final straw was a critical 30-page document I needed for a morning meeting. My trusty inkjet decided that was the perfect moment to print everything in shades of cyan, despite having a full set of cartridges. The endless cycle of nozzle cleaning, the exorbitant cost of ink that seemed to evaporate overnight, and the sheer unreliability had become a significant bottleneck in my workflow. I knew there had to be a better way—a solution built for consistency and volume, not just occasional photo printing. This frustrating quest led me to explore the world of colour laser and LED printers, specifically seeking a multifunction device that could handle the demands of a busy home office without the drama. The goal was simple: find a workhorse that just works.

What to Consider Before Buying an All-In-One Printer

An All-In-One Printer is more than just a device that puts ink or toner on paper; it’s a central hub for your document management needs. For a small business, home office, or even a busy household, it represents a consolidation of crucial hardware—a printer, scanner, and copier—into a single, space-efficient footprint. The primary benefit is efficiency. Instead of wrestling with three separate devices, cables, and software drivers, you have one machine that handles everything from printing professional-quality reports and scanning important receipts to making quick copies of invoices. This saves not only physical space but also time and potential technical headaches, streamlining your entire workflow.

The ideal customer for a robust device like a colour LED all-in-one is someone facing the limitations of consumer-grade inkjets. This includes small business owners printing marketing materials, remote workers producing multi-page reports, or families with heavy homework and document printing needs. If your printing is frequent, text-heavy, and you value speed and smudge-proof results, this category is for you. However, it might not be suitable for those who primarily print high-resolution photographs for framing, as dedicated photo inkjet printers still hold an edge in tonal subtlety and colour depth. Similarly, if you only print a few pages a month, the higher upfront cost of a laser or LED model might not be justified. In that case, a more basic, budget-friendly inkjet could suffice.

Before investing, consider these crucial points in detail:

• Dimensions & Space: Laser and LED printers are typically larger and heavier than their inkjet counterparts due to their more complex internal mechanics, including fusers and toner drums. The Brother DCP-L3520CDW 3-in-1 Colour Wireless LED Printer measures 41 cm wide by 44.4 cm deep and weighs a substantial 18.6 kilograms. Before you buy, measure your intended space carefully, ensuring there’s enough clearance for ventilation and for opening the paper trays and scanner lid.
• Capacity/Performance: Look beyond just the print speed. Consider the paper handling capabilities. A 250-sheet input tray, like the one on this model, means less frequent reloading, which is a huge convenience for high-volume jobs. Automatic duplex (two-sided) printing is another essential feature that saves paper, money, and time, and is a must-have for any serious office printer.
• Technology & Durability: The core debate is often Laser/LED vs. Inkjet. LED technology, used here, is similar to laser but uses an LED array instead of a laser and mirrors, resulting in a potentially more reliable mechanism with fewer moving parts. This technology excels at producing razor-sharp, durable text that won’t smudge. The overall build quality should feel robust and capable of handling a demanding workload without flexing or creaking.
• Ease of Use & Maintenance: A printer’s daily usability is paramount. Consider the control panel—is it an intuitive touchscreen or a more basic LCD? How simple is it to connect to your Wi-Fi network? Long-term maintenance and cost are also critical. LED printers don’t have ink to dry out, a major advantage for intermittent users. However, the cost of replacement toner cartridges can be high, so it’s vital to research their page yield and calculate the cost per page.

Keeping these factors in mind, the Brother DCP-L3520CDW 3-in-1 Colour Wireless LED Printer stands out in several areas. You can explore its detailed specifications here.

While the Brother DCP-L3520CDW 3-in-1 Colour Wireless LED 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 and Key Features of the Brother DCP-L3520CDW 3-in-1 Colour Wireless LED Printer

Unboxing the Brother DCP-L3520CDW 3-in-1 Colour Wireless LED Printer is an experience that immediately signals a departure from flimsy consumer electronics. At 18.6 kg, it has a reassuring heft, and lifting it out of the box is a two-person job for comfort. The build is solid, with thick, durable plastics and a professional grey finish that looks perfectly at home in an office environment. There’s no creaking or flexing; every panel and tray fits together with precision.

Setup is straightforward. The printer arrives with its four toner cartridges—Black, Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow—pre-installed in a drum unit tray. The initial steps involve removing a series of protective orange plastic tabs and strips, a process clearly outlined in the quick-start guide. A pleasant surprise, confirming user reports we’d seen, is that these are not just partially filled “starter” cartridges; the printer’s own status monitor reports them as full, offering significant value right out of the box. Once powered on, the 2-line monochrome LCD screen guides you through the basic settings. While not as glamorous as a modern touchscreen, it’s functional and gets the job done. Connecting to Wi-Fi was simple using the Brother Mobile Connect app, which quickly found the printer and transferred the network credentials, bypassing the slightly tedious process of typing a password on a non-QWERTY keypad.

A Deep Dive into the Brother DCP-L3520CDW’s Real-World Performance

A printer’s spec sheet only tells part of the story. To truly understand its value, you have to live with it, push its capabilities, and see how it performs under the pressure of daily use. We put the Brother DCP-L3520CDW 3-in-1 Colour Wireless LED Printer through its paces in a busy home office environment for several weeks, handling everything from multi-page reports and colour presentations to quick scans and copies. Here’s our in-depth breakdown of its performance.

Print Quality and Speed: The Heart of the Machine

The single most important function of any printer is its output quality, and this is where the LED technology truly shines. With a resolution of 600 x 2400 DPI, the text quality is nothing short of superb. Black text is incredibly sharp, dark, and precise, even on small font sizes. We printed legal documents and dense academic papers, and the results were consistently clean and highly legible, rivaling the output of much more expensive office machines. Most importantly for office use, the toner-based prints are instantly dry and smudge-proof, so you can immediately highlight or handle documents without fear of smearing.

Colour performance is equally impressive for its intended purpose. While it won’t produce the gallery-quality photos of a high-end inkjet, it excels at business graphics. Charts, logos, and graphs in our presentations popped with vibrant, well-saturated colour. The printer managed colour gradients smoothly without the noticeable banding that can plague lesser models. The speed is another major victory. Brother claims 18 pages per minute (ppm) for both black and colour, and in our tests, it came very close to that mark on multi-page documents. The first page out time is also respectably quick, meaning you’re not left waiting for it to warm up. The automatic duplex feature is a standout, seamlessly printing on both sides of the paper without a significant drop in overall speed. It’s a robust, reliable mechanism that proved invaluable for producing professional-looking booklets and reports while cutting our paper consumption in half.

Seamless Connectivity and Setup: Getting Up and Running

A powerful printer is useless if it’s difficult to connect to. Thankfully, the Brother DCP-L3520CDW 3-in-1 Colour Wireless LED Printer offers a full suite of modern connectivity options that cater to any office setup. The inclusion of 5GHz Wi-Fi is a significant advantage, providing a faster, more stable connection in crowded wireless environments compared to older 2.4GHz-only devices. As mentioned, we found the setup via the Brother Mobile Connect app to be the path of least resistance. It’s a polished, intuitive application that not only handles Wi-Fi setup but also allows for direct printing, scanning, and checking toner levels from your smartphone or tablet.

For those who prefer a more permanent, stable connection, the inclusion of a Gigabit Ethernet port is a professional-grade feature. In an office with multiple users, wiring the printer directly to the network router ensures maximum reliability and speed for everyone. Of course, a standard high-speed USB 2.0 port is also available for direct connection to a single computer. We tested all three methods, and the printer was responsive and reliable across the board. Printing from a laptop over Wi-Fi felt just as instantaneous as printing from a wired desktop PC, a testament to the robust networking hardware and the generous 512 MB of internal memory, which helps it process large, complex documents without faltering.

Scanning, Copying, and Everyday Usability

The “3-in-1” functionality is executed with the same efficiency as its printing. The flatbed scanner on top is easy to use for digitising documents, receipts, or photos. The scanning quality is excellent, capturing fine details and accurate colours. Using the Brother iPrint&Scan desktop software or the mobile app, you can easily scan directly to a file, email, or cloud service, which is a fantastic workflow enhancement. Copying is just as simple. You can place a document on the glass, press a button, and receive a crisp, clear duplicate in seconds. The speed matches the print speed at 18 ppm, making it highly effective for quickly duplicating multi-page documents (one page at a time on the glass).

From a usability standpoint, the 250-sheet main paper tray is a game-changer for anyone upgrading from a typical 100-sheet consumer printer. It significantly reduces the frequency of paper refills, letting you focus on your work. The manual feed slot is another thoughtful inclusion, perfect for printing on a single envelope, label, or sheet of thicker cardstock without needing to empty the main tray. These may seem like small features, but they add up to a much smoother, less frustrating user experience over the long term. The machine operates quietly for its class, with the main noise occurring during the initial warm-up and printing process before it returns to a near-silent standby mode.

The Elephant in the Room: Toner Costs and Long-Term Value

We have to address the most significant point of consideration: the cost of consumables. As one user aptly noted, the replacement genuine Brother TN248 toner cartridges can seem “horrendously expensive” at first glance. This is a valid concern and the primary trade-off when moving from inkjet to laser/LED technology. However, it’s crucial to look at the cost per page, not just the upfront price. The standard black toner yields up to 2,300 pages, and the colour cartridges yield up to 3,000 pages. When you do the maths, the cost per page for text documents is often significantly lower than with many standard inkjet cartridges, which might only yield a few hundred pages.

Furthermore, the toner will not dry out or clog, no matter how infrequently you print. This eliminates the wasted cost of replacing dried-up ink cartridges—a common and expensive problem for inkjet owners. The fact that the Brother DCP-L3520CDW 3-in-1 Colour Wireless LED Printer ships with a full set of high-yield toners provides immense initial value, potentially lasting for a year or more in a typical home office. While the sticker shock of a full toner replacement set is real, for users with moderate to high print volumes, the total cost of ownership over the printer’s lifespan can be more economical and certainly far less frustrating than with an inkjet. This printer represents an investment in reliability and long-term efficiency.

What Other Users Are Saying

Our positive experience is broadly reflected in feedback from other users. The general sentiment is one of high satisfaction with the printer’s core performance, tempered by a realistic view of its running costs. One user perfectly captured this trade-off, calling it a “truly amazing printer” and “remarkable value” for the technology inside. They praised its robust build and advanced features, which we wholeheartedly agree with. However, they also astutely pointed out the “horrendously expensive” replacement toner, which is the machine’s primary consideration point.

Crucially, this same user highlighted a major positive that we can also confirm: the printer arrives with a complete set of brand-new, fully-filled toner cartridges. This isn’t always the case with new printers, many of which come with “starter” cartridges containing only a fraction of the standard toner amount. This inclusion significantly offsets the initial purchase price and means most users won’t need to think about buying replacements for a very long time, adding substantial out-of-the-box value.

How Does the Brother DCP-L3520CDW Compare to its Top 3 Alternatives?

The Brother DCP-L3520CDW 3-in-1 Colour Wireless LED Printer is a formidable machine, but it exists in a competitive market. It’s primarily a choice for those who prioritize text quality and speed. Here’s how it stacks up against three popular inkjet alternatives.

1. Epson WorkForce Pro WF-4820DWF A4 Wireless Inkjet Printer

The Epson WorkForce Pro WF-4820DWF is a business-oriented inkjet all-in-one that directly competes with entry-level laser/LED models. Its key advantage lies in its ability to produce superior photo and complex colour graphic prints, thanks to Epson’s PrecisionCore inkjet technology. It also includes an Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) for multi-page scanning and copying, a feature the Brother DCP-L3520CDW lacks. However, its prints are susceptible to smudging if not allowed to dry, and for high-volume text printing, the cost of ink and the potential for clogged nozzles if used infrequently make the Brother LED printer a more reliable and often more economical long-term choice for document-heavy environments.

2. Brother DCP-J1200W Wireless Colour Inkjet Printer

This model represents a different segment of the market. The Brother DCP-J1200W is a compact, budget-friendly inkjet designed for casual home use. Its upfront cost is significantly lower than the L3520CDW, and its smaller footprint makes it suitable for tight spaces. It’s a great option for students or families who print occasional homework, photos, and documents. However, it cannot compete with the L3520CDW on speed, paper capacity, text crispness, or durability. For anyone running a business or with serious, regular printing needs, the J1200W would quickly become a bottleneck, making the L3520CDW a much more appropriate investment.

3. Brother MFC-J4350DW Wireless A4 Inkjet Printer

The Brother MFC-J4350DW is a feature-rich inkjet that bridges the gap between home and office use. Like the Epson, it includes an ADF, making it a strong contender for users who need to scan or copy stacks of documents regularly. It also boasts Brother’s INKvestment Tank technology, which uses larger cartridges for a lower cost-per-page than traditional inkjets, bringing its running costs closer to the laser/LED model. The choice between this and the L3520CDW comes down to primary use. If your workflow involves a lot of multi-page scanning and you value high-quality photo printing, the MFC-J4350DW is a compelling alternative. If your priority is lightning-fast, smudge-proof text and maximum reliability, the L3520CDW retains the edge.

Our Final Verdict: Is the Brother DCP-L3520CDW 3-in-1 Colour Wireless LED Printer the Right Choice for You?

After extensive testing, we can confidently say that the Brother DCP-L3520CDW 3-in-1 Colour Wireless LED Printer is an exceptional machine for its target audience. It is a true office workhorse, perfectly suited for small businesses, demanding home offices, and anyone who has grown weary of the unreliability and hidden costs of consumer inkjet printers. Its strengths are clear and compelling: outstanding text quality, impressive speed for both colour and monochrome, robust build quality, and excellent connectivity.

The generous 250-sheet paper tray and automatic duplex printing are practical, time-saving features that underscore its professional credentials. While the high upfront cost of genuine toner is its most significant drawback, the high page yield and the fact that toner doesn’t dry out make it a potentially more economical choice in the long run for those with moderate to high print volumes. If you need a fast, reliable, and high-quality printer for documents and business graphics, and you’re ready to make an investment to escape the “inkjet trap,” this printer is one of the best choices on the market.

If you’ve decided the Brother DCP-L3520CDW 3-in-1 Colour Wireless LED Printer is the right fit, you can check its current price and purchase it here.