Brother DCP-L3550CDW Colour Wireless LED Multifunction Review: The Home Office Workhorse We’ve Been Waiting For?

There’s a specific, sinking feeling that every home and small office worker knows well. You have a critical, time-sensitive document to print—a contract, a presentation, or shipping labels for a day’s worth of orders. You hit ‘Print’, and… nothing. Or worse, you get a streaky, faded page because the inkjet cartridge has, once again, dried up from disuse. It’s a moment of pure frustration that can derail an entire morning. For years, we relied on compact inkjets, lured by their low initial cost, only to be caught in an endless cycle of expensive, low-yield cartridges and clogged print heads. We needed a solution that was not just a printer, but a reliable partner in our daily workflow—something that worked every single time, delivered professional quality, and didn’t cost a fortune to maintain. This quest for reliability and quality is what led us to test the Brother DCP-L3550CDW Colour Wireless LED Multifunction printer.

What to Consider Before Investing in a Multifunction Laser Printer

A multifunction laser printer is more than just an item; it’s a key solution for boosting productivity and professionalism in any office environment. It solves the core problems of slow, low-quality printing and the inconvenience of dried-up ink cartridges that plague traditional inkjet users. The main benefits are speed, consistency, and a lower cost-per-page over the long term, especially for text-heavy documents. With crisp text and vibrant colour, these machines deliver documents that make an impact, whether it’s an internal report or a client-facing proposal.

The ideal customer for this type of product is someone running a small business, a busy home office, or a small workgroup that has a moderate but steady printing volume—think 300 to 1500 pages per month. They value reliability and efficiency over the ability to print high-resolution photos (which is still the domain of specialized inkjets). It might not be suitable for those who print very rarely (less than 50 pages a month) or who primarily need to print glossy photographs. For those users, a high-quality inkjet or a simple monochrome laser printer might be a more cost-effective choice.

Before investing, consider these crucial points in detail:

• Dimensions & Space: Colour laser multifunction printers are not small. The Brother DCP-L3550CDW Colour Wireless LED Multifunction weighs a hefty 23.2 kg and has a significant footprint. Before you buy, measure your intended space carefully, ensuring there’s enough room for ventilation and for opening the paper trays and scanner lid. As we and other users found, the delivery box is enormous, and you’ll likely need two people to lift the unit into place.
• Capacity/Performance: Look beyond just print speed (PPM). Consider the paper tray capacity—a 250-sheet tray like this model’s means less frequent refilling. The Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) capacity is also vital for multi-page scanning and copying; a 50-sheet ADF is a robust feature that saves immense time. Also, consider the recommended monthly duty cycle to ensure the printer matches your workload.
• Consumables & Running Costs: The initial purchase price is only part of the story. Investigate the cost and page yield of replacement toner cartridges. The Brother DCP-L3550CDW offers standard (TN243) and high-yield (TN247) options, allowing you to balance upfront cost with long-term savings. Also, be aware of other consumables like the drum unit and waste toner box, which will need eventual replacement.
• Ease of Use & Connectivity: A good printer should be easy to integrate into your workflow. Look for versatile connectivity options like Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and USB. A user-friendly interface, such as a colour touchscreen, can make setup and daily operations much smoother. Check for compatibility with your devices, whether you’re using Windows, macOS, iOS, or Android.

Ultimately, choosing the right printer means finding a balance between features, performance, and long-term cost that fits your specific needs.

While the Brother DCP-L3550CDW Colour Wireless LED Multifunction 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 Substantial and Purpose-Built Machine

The arrival of the Brother DCP-L3550CDW Colour Wireless LED Multifunction is an event. The box is, as one user aptly put it, “absolutely enormous,” and it immediately signals that this is a serious piece of office equipment, not a flimsy consumer-grade gadget. Unboxing requires a bit of space and, ideally, a second person due to its 23.2 kg weight. Once out of its protective packaging, the printer feels incredibly solid and well-built. The two-tone light and dark grey plastic casing is professional and understated, designed to blend into an office environment rather than stand out.

Setting up the four toner cartridges was painless. They slide into a front-loading tray with a satisfying click, and removing the protective plastic strips is straightforward. The initial power-on sequence is quick, and the 9.3cm colour LCD touchscreen comes to life. This screen is one of the printer’s best physical features. It’s bright, responsive, and a world away from the clunky, non-touch monochrome displays found on many competitors. Navigating menus to connect to our Wi-Fi network was intuitive, a sentiment echoed by users who praised the “fantastically easy to navigate” interface. From unboxing to being ready for the first print, the entire process took us about 20 minutes, confirming that this is a machine designed for quick deployment. You can see its full feature set and user reviews to get a better sense of the user experience.

A Deep Dive into the Brother DCP-L3550CDW’s Performance

A printer’s value is ultimately determined by how it performs day in and day out. We put the Brother DCP-L3550CDW Colour Wireless LED Multifunction through its paces, focusing on the core functions that matter most to a busy office: setup and usability, print and scan quality, connectivity, and long-term running costs.

Setup and Usability: Mostly Seamless with a Superb Interface

In our testing, getting the Brother DCP-L3550CDW up and running was refreshingly straightforward. For most users, this will be a plug-and-play experience. We chose to connect it to our office Wi-Fi network, and the large touchscreen was a huge asset here. Instead of fiddling with cumbersome arrow keys to enter a complex password, the touch interface made it as easy as setting up a new smartphone. The printer found our network immediately, connected on the first try, and was visible to all our devices (Windows PCs, a MacBook, and iPhones) within minutes.

This positive experience is shared by many users, one of whom noted that “setting up to Wifi is as simple as it gets.” Another praised the UI as a welcome contrast to “horrible UI designs from other brands.” The ability to handle firmware updates directly from the touchscreen is another modern convenience that keeps the machine secure and up-to-date without needing to connect to a PC. However, it’s important to acknowledge that not everyone has such a smooth ride. One user reported spending hours trying to get it to print, eventually succeeding without knowing why it suddenly worked. While this seems to be an outlier, it highlights that network configurations can sometimes introduce unforeseen complications. Overall, though, the design and software are clearly geared towards user-friendliness, and for the vast majority, the process should be painless. This ease of use is a significant factor when you check the latest price and availability.

Print, Scan, and Copy Quality: The All-in-One Workhorse

This is where the Brother DCP-L3550CDW Colour Wireless LED Multifunction truly shines. The print quality is exceptional for a machine in this class. Text documents are razor-sharp and deeply black, easily matching the output of more expensive, dedicated monochrome printers. For colour documents—charts, presentations, and flyers—the results are vibrant and consistent. While it won’t produce photo-lab quality images on glossy paper (it’s not designed for that), the colour representation is more than adequate for professional business use. The stated speed of 18 pages per minute (ppm) for both colour and monochrome is accurate in our tests for multi-page documents, although there’s a slight delay of a few seconds for the first page to print as the fuser warms up.

The scanner is equally competent. Using the 50-sheet Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) to digitize a multi-page report was a breeze. It fed the pages through smoothly without a single jam, and the resulting digital copies were clear and detailed. Copying produces a faithful reproduction of the original document, with speeds mirroring the print performance. However, there is one crucial limitation that we, and a very frustrated user, discovered: the duplex feature is only for printing. You cannot perform double-sided scanning or copying via the ADF. The on-screen menu can be misleading, but the hardware simply does not support it. For users who frequently need to digitize two-sided documents, this is a significant drawback and a surprising omission in an otherwise feature-rich machine. It’s a critical point to consider before purchasing.

Connectivity and Wireless Reliability: A Flexible Hub for the Whole Office

In a modern office, a printer needs to be accessible from everywhere, on every device. The Brother DCP-L3550CDW offers a trifecta of connectivity: Wi-Fi, wired Ethernet, and a direct USB connection. We tested all three. The wired Ethernet provided the most stable, rock-solid connection, as expected. This is the best option if the printer has a permanent home near your router or a network switch. The Wi-Fi performance, for us, was flawless. We placed the printer a considerable distance from our router, with two walls in between, and it never dropped the connection. Printing from our iPhones and an Android tablet using the Brother iPrint&Scan app was seamless and worked every time.

However, wireless performance can be highly dependent on the user’s network environment. While our experience was positive, some user reviews tell a different story. One user reported being “driven mad” by constant connectivity issues, with the printer frequently going offline despite numerous resets and troubleshooting attempts. Another noted a delay for the printer to “sort itself out on the network” before advanced functions like scan-to-email would work. This suggests that while the hardware is capable, it can be sensitive to specific router settings or network congestion. For those who prioritize unwavering stability, using the wired Ethernet port is the recommended course of action.

Running Costs and Long-Term Value: The Toner Advantage

One of the primary reasons to switch from inkjet to laser is the long-term cost and reliability of toner. The Brother DCP-L3550CDW Colour Wireless LED Multifunction exemplifies this advantage. The most significant initial value comes from the fact that it ships with a complete set of four full-sized toner cartridges, each rated for approximately 1,000 pages. This is a huge bonus compared to competitors who often provide “starter” cartridges with very low yields. It means you can print thousands of pages before needing to think about replacements.

When it is time to buy more, Brother offers two options: the standard yield TN243 cartridges (approx. 1,000 pages) and the high-yield TN247 cartridges (approx. 2,300-3,000 pages). For anyone with moderate to high print volumes, the high-yield cartridges offer a significantly better cost-per-page and are the smarter economic choice. Unlike ink, toner doesn’t dry out, so even if you don’t print for weeks, you can be confident the machine will be ready to go when you need it. It is worth noting that other consumables, like the drum unit and a waste toner box, will eventually need replacing after many thousands of pages, but this is standard for all laser printers. Given its robust build and the value provided by the included toner, this printer represents a solid long-term investment, a feature that really sets it apart.

What Other Users Are Saying

Across the board, user sentiment for the Brother DCP-L3550CDW Colour Wireless LED Multifunction is largely positive, focusing on its core strengths of reliability and quality. One user summed it up perfectly: “Print quality is great; results are sharp and vibrant… I haven’t had a single paper jam or connection issue, it is highly reliable.” Many others echo the praise for the easy setup and the intuitive touchscreen, which stands in stark contrast to the often-frustrating interfaces of competing brands.

However, the feedback isn’t universally glowing, and the criticisms are consistent. The most significant complaint, highlighted by a meticulous user, is the misleading advertising around the duplex feature. “Description should make it very clear the duplexing feature is only for the printing. You can’t scan or copy on both sides!” they warn, after spending an hour with tech support who were also confused. This is a major functional limitation for some. The other common criticism revolves around intermittent Wi-Fi connectivity, with one user calling the constant offline status a “big disappointment” for an expensive printer. These user experiences confirm our findings: it’s a fantastic printer at its core, but potential buyers must be aware of the lack of duplex scanning and the possibility of network quirks.

How Does the Brother DCP-L3550CDW Compare to the Alternatives?

While the Brother DCP-L3550CDW is a powerful colour all-in-one, your needs might be better met by a more specialized or budget-friendly machine. Here’s how it stacks up against three popular monochrome alternatives.

1. Brother HL-L2350DW Wireless Duplex Monochrome Laser Printer

If you’ve determined that you don’t need colour printing, the Brother HL-L2350DW is a compelling choice. It focuses on doing one thing exceptionally well: printing crisp black-and-white documents quickly and affordably. It retains two key features of its bigger sibling: automatic duplex printing and reliable wireless connectivity. What you sacrifice is the colour capability, the scanner, the copier, and the large touchscreen. In return, you get a much more compact and significantly cheaper device with very low running costs. This is the ideal printer for students, home users, or offices that primarily deal with text-based documents like invoices, reports, and letters.

2. HP LaserJet M209dw Wireless Duplex Printer

The HP LaserJet M209dw is another strong contender in the monochrome space, competing directly with Brother’s offerings. HP’s main selling points are often its compact design and its robust HP Smart App, which many users find intuitive for mobile printing and setup. Like the Brother models, it offers fast printing speeds and automatic two-sided printing. However, some users find HP’s reliance on its app and online accounts for setup a bit intrusive. If you want a sleek, modern-looking printer and are heavily invested in a mobile-first workflow, the HP LaserJet M209dw is a worthy alternative to consider. It’s best for small businesses and home offices where space is at a premium.

3. Brother HL-L2370DN Mono Laser Printer

The Brother HL-L2370DN is very similar to the HL-L2350DW but with one key difference denoted by the “N” in its model name: a built-in Ethernet port. While it also offers a USB connection, it forgoes Wi-Fi in favour of a dedicated, wired network connection. This makes it the perfect choice for an office environment where wireless signal can be unreliable or where security policies favour hardwired connections. It offers maximum stability and is often slightly faster in network response time than its wireless counterpart. If you value a rock-solid, set-it-and-forget-it network connection above all else and don’t need wireless flexibility, this is the monochrome workhorse for you.

Final Verdict: A Top Contender for Small Offices with One Key Caveat

After extensive testing, we can confidently say that the Brother DCP-L3550CDW Colour Wireless LED Multifunction is a superb machine that delivers on its core promises. It provides fast, high-quality colour and monochrome printing, robust paper handling, and a user-friendly interface that makes it a pleasure to use. For any small business or busy home office that has outgrown the limitations and costs of inkjet printers, this is a massive upgrade in reliability and professionalism. The generous inclusion of full-size starter toners adds significant upfront value, making the initial investment feel more than justified.

We would recommend it without hesitation to anyone who needs a reliable 3-in-1 device for printing, single-sided scanning, and copying. However, the recommendation comes with one critical warning: if you frequently need to scan or copy double-sided documents, this is not the printer for you. The lack of a duplex scanner is a baffling omission that holds it back from perfection. If that isn’t a dealbreaker for your workflow, then you will be incredibly happy with this powerful, efficient, and dependable office workhorse. If you’re ready to banish dried-up ink forever and invest in a true productivity tool, you can find the best price for the Brother DCP-L3550CDW here.

Last update on 2025-10-26 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API