With a performance reflecting its relatively lower price, the Brother didn't score as well in most printing tests. The photo print in particular took over four times longer than many of the other printers, and its quality was inferior in comparison. Text quality was also poor, particularly on the smaller 6pt font where visible banding occurred. The plain paper photo fared better, but ultimately didn't reflect the contrast of the original.
What did stand out, however, was the quality of the unit's scanner, and for this the MFC-620CN did very well. The colour scans were on par with the best of the bunch, and the OCR time from start to finish was the quickest of the bunch. There are some caveats here -- the colour scan was also one of the slowest, and the OCR quality wasn't up there with the best, but was still fairly respectable.
The features are fairly standard for this type of device, though it does include a speakerphone and a document feeder for the copier/scanner. But, for a machine designed to be used in an office environment, it wasn't as rugged as it could be. Maintaining the device involves folding it upwards where it is held in place by a purple plastic arm. This then allows access to the USB port and separate ink tanks, but unfortunately, the mechanism feels a little too flimsy for extended use.
Of all the units submitted, this and the Samsung would be most at home in a small office environment. There are concessions to the photography enthusiast in the form of card readers, but the photo performance is very disappointing. But as a machine for copying, faxing and scanning, it could well fit the bill.