Have you ever bought something that you couldn't figure out if it was actually good and works as expected for once, or if you are just telling yourself it's good because you're sick and tired of buying new ones and really want to make this one work?

That's how I feel about our printer lately. It seemed like we never had luck with any printers. At one point, it felt like we were buying a new printer every year so we decided enough was enough - we were going paperless - but that only lasted until tax season rolled around. So here we are a few months into owning our latest inkjet printer and I can't help but wonder if this is the one, you know, the one that seems to check every expectation box for a great printer.

To be clear, we don't run a printing factory over here. Yes, I have a small printable shop and have been developing some books, but in the grand scheme of things we're not pumping out 100-page documents at a time. Our needs are relatively simple and straight forward: we don't do a ton of printing but want to be able to easily and quickly print things when we need them with minimal fuss. I know that doesn't sound like much of a criteria, but you'd be surprised how many of the popular printer brands have been a disappointment over the years.

So which printer got us all smitten and printing?
The Brother MFC-J1010DW is a wireless color inkjet all-in-one printer that can print up to 17 ppm black / 9.5 ppm color and features mobile device printing and an easy-to-use 1.8" color display. This affordable inkjet printer works with Alexa and has other desirable functionality that make it a great addition to your home, home office or small business.

It was easy to setup which, if you've ever setup a printer, you know is not always the case. There's always something that isn't connecting or a driver needing to get downloaded. In all honesty, I didn't set ours up, my partner did but I am not exaggerating when I write that he had both of our computers (and phones) done in about 10-15 minutes. Granted he is an experienced professional, but I have seen him set up printer after printer over the years and have no memory of a setup that was this quick and easy. He was very impressed and I was just confused at how quickly we were up and running compared to past experiences.

This printer works when we need it, and isn't as noisy as others (IMO). There is some kind of self-cleaning mechanism that runs a utility on a schedule, which we think is what keeps the ink from drying out and it's longevity going.

So far it's our favorite to date - we seem to never have luck with printers, but this is quickly changing our opinion. I haven't really owned too many Brother devices in recent years but so far have been happy with my purchases. In 2020 I purchased a Brother sewing machine that I am very happy with, and now this printer - hats off to Brother for continuing to produce great quality products.

I'm not convinced there is a printer that is superior to others because the value is really in finding the device that has the features that work for your needs.

Is this printer the one that fits our needs? I surely hope so because buying new printers isn't just annoying, but gets costly over time, especially if you aren't running a printing press to justify the cost. I will be sure to update this write-up if things change and it turns out this printer isn't the hero I am hyping it up to be.

In case you are thinking “just go digital, that will solve the need to have a printer”, realize that even if you go fully digital the need to print comes up every so often. The question is how do you want to deal with it when the occasion arises. If you have a friend or relative who doesn't mind printing for you, then perhaps a thank you gift or gesture is cheaper than printer, ink and paper. To each their own, but for now, we will continue to print when needed from the comfort of our own device.