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Brother 3780 vs 8905

Minimum Requirements:

• Budget: $700

• Country: USA

• Color or black and white: COLOR

• Laser or ink printer: LASER/LED

• New or used: NEW

• Multi-function: PRINT, COPY, SCAN

• Duplex Printing:

• Home or business: HOME

• Printing content:

• Printing frequency: 10 PAGES/MO

• Pages per minute :

• Page size:

• Device printing from: LAPTOP

• Connection type:

Any other details:

I'm considering the Brother color printers 3780 at $500 vs the 8905 for $650, which is often on sale, down from $700. Since the 3780 was released 8-10-23, I haven't noticed it on sale yet. It seems like the 8905 would be overkill for my low volume printing needs. Some people might think that having a printer at all is unnecessary, to go to a print shop instead, but my time is valuable, so if I can print from home and save 1 hour per month, then I saved $500 at $500/hour by not having to go to a print shop.

The main differences are that the 8905 isnt eco friendly, but has higher DPI for print/copy/scan, more paper capacity; heavier weight 17 pounds more, takes up more space, $150 more in cost, but the generic replacement toner is cheaper. I haven't been able to find ANY generic replacement toner for the 3780, but that is likely due to it being a new model, and the generic copycats need time to copy the cartridge.

Some comparison stats highlighting the differences: 3780 vs 8905. I will list the 3780 stats first

print speed 31 ppm on the 3780 vs 33 on the 8905, which is negligible.

price $500 vs $650, saves $150, although if the generic ink cartridges never become available, then the 3780 will cost far more in the long run when factoring in replacement ink

no generic replacement toners yet on the 3780 but readily available on the 8905. If trends follow, the generic copycats should make them available soon on the 3780

3780 uses replacement cartridges: TN229BK, TN229C, TN229M, TN229Y, TN229XLBK, TN229XXLBK, TN229XLC, TN229XLM, TN229XLY, DR2229CL

8905 uses TN431BK, TN431C, TN431M, TN431Y, TN433BK, TN433C, TN433M, TN433Y, TN436BK, TN436C, TN436M, TN436Y, TN437BK, TN437C, TN437M, TN437Y, DR431CL, BU330CL, WT320CL, LT-330CL, LT-340CL, CB-1010, CH-1000

touchscreen 3.5" vs 7" but I'm not sure if the 8905 has far more functionality with a larger touchscreen. I would assume yes. Anyone know?

Flatbed scanner only holds letter size paper 8.5x11 on the 3780 vs legal size paper 8.5x14 on the 8905, although both printers will scan legal size paper when using the ADF.

48 pounds vs 65 pounds on the 8905

size 18x16x16 vs 22x21x20 on the 8905

print dpi / copy dpi / scan dpi: 2400x600 print / 600x600 copy / 1200x1200 scan vs 2400x600 print / 1200x600 copy / 2400x1200 scan gives the 8905 twice the dpi on copying, same dpi on printing, twice the dpi on scanning

adf capacity 50 vs 70 pages

both have duplex print, duplex copy, duplex scan, mobile printing, adf, nfc, flatbed scanners although the 3780 flatbed scanner is 8.5x11 vs 8905 flatbed scanner is for 8.5x14

3780 is energy star rated but 8905 is not, so the power cost is more on the 8905. I'm not sure how much more in terms of energy usage or estimated energy cost difference. Peak power usage is 960 vs 1230 on the 8905.

3780 operates on 2.4 and 5 GHz, but i couldn't find the specs on the 8905. I assume that since it's a bigger more expensive machine, that it should have the same 2.4 and 5 GHz.

3780 uses LED vs 8905 uses laser technology. LED has less moving parts than laser, so it would seem that would have few parts at risk of breaking down, but this is an assumption. It might not make much of a difference is the odds of failure for those components are 1 in a million vs 5 in a million. I gave those numbers as an example, as I don't know the failure rate for laser vs led.

sound 48 decibels vs 49 is nearly the same

temperature for usage and storage is nearly the same 50-90F usage, 32-104 F storage

What happens to the machines if you store them in a hot attic or hot car/truck in the summer while moving? Does the ink powder turn into a clump in the cartridge?

Specs pages:

https://support.brother.com/g/s/id/htmldoc/mfc/cv_dcpl3520cdw/use/html/GUID-F119590A-C4FB-4CB7-A6D1-FC0E8724BF3F_1.html?c=us&lang=en&prod=mfcl3780cdw_us_as

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https://support.brother.com/g/b/manualtop.aspx?c=us&lang=en&prod=mfcl8905cdw_us

https://support.brother.com/g/b/spec.aspx?c=us&lang=en&prod=mfcl8905cdw_us

https://www.brother-usa.com/-/media/brother/product-catalog-media/documents/2022/09/29/21/53/mfc-l8905cdw-brochure.pdf