[SOLVED] Brother MFC-9340 has great functionality but lousy colour printing

[sannitig]

Hi Folks - I'm wracking my brain trying to figure out what printer I need that will cover all my requirements. I originally bought the Brother MFC-9340 for it's duplex scanning and printing and the fact that it had colour but my wife is now using it ...she's a designer and is not happy with the colour printing. I've always been against inkjets because the ink dries up and I do love my MFC-9340 simply for the duplexing and ease of use.

I'm looking for a printer that prints outstanding images, if it has all the functions of my MFC then I'll just sell my current MFC-9340 and replace it with your recommendations.

1. What is your printer budget? What is your country of origin?
Under $1000 but preferably as cheap as possible

2. Preferred Brand(s)
Brother (preferred)

3. Brands Not Preferred (state reason why)
No idea

4. How many pages do you print per day?
Don't print everyday

5. Do you want your printer to perform other functions (scanning / copying / fax)?
Yes if it's replacing my current colour laser MFC.
If it's cheap and does not replace my MFC then only duplex is needed

6. Preferred website for printer (eg Newegg / Tiger Direct, etc)?
Amazon/Canadacomputers/Newegg etc..

7. Do you want your printer to have WiFi capability?
Yes

8. Do you want your printer to have full color or black and white?
Full clour

9. How much do you currently spend on ink/toner?
Not much because we have toner

10. Do you print high quality or high resolution documents or photographs?
YES - MAIN PURPOSE OF THIS PRITNER

 

[cryoburner]

In general, inkjet photo printers tend to be considered better for printing photos, especially those with additional cartridges covering a wider range of colors. So, one might have to put up with the potential reliability issues if they want the best-quality prints.

According to this article, selecting the right paper type and adjusting settings can potentially get acceptable photos out of a laser printer, though it might still not be good enough for one who needs colors to be as accurate as possible...

Printing photos with a laser printer - Photo Review

How to get good-looking photo prints from a colour laser printer.

www.photoreview.com.au

I don't have any good suggestions for a printer to go with at the moment though.

 

[hang-the-9]

Are you using laser photo paper for printing when you need high quality prints? Or at least higher end paper stock? If not, try different paper first but make sure it's laser paper not for injects and not general purpose, there is a big difference in quality just by changing the paper. I have like 6 different types sitting at home, standard for documents, bright white with a heavier weight for school projects for the kids to make it look nice, several photo types.

If your wife needs quality color/photo outputs I would go with a dedicated printer for that using a technology made for photos and good colors like a Dye-sub printer. For inkjets that are much cheaper, I like the Canon Pixma line.

Some ideas here https://www.adorama.com/alc/what-is-the-best-printer-for-photographers/