Brother MFC-L3780CDW: Specs, Features, Pros & Cons
This review measures the Brother MFC-L3780CDW against the full 24-spec sheet we track for printers, comparing it like for like with the 50 other models in our database. It earns a VS Score of 71 out of 100 — the weighted result of every verified specification measured against the class average.
On the spec sheet it is strongest in scanning & copying and weakest in connectivity. Its clearest single advantage over the class average: a much higher print speed (black) — 31 ppm vs 17.21 ppm (avg). None of our retail partners currently lists the Brother MFC-L3780CDW, so availability may be limited; a missing price never affects the VS Score.
Category strengths
Where the Brother MFC-L3780CDW beats the average
- A much higher print speed (black) ?31 ppm vs 17.21 ppm (avg)
- A much higher print speed (color) ?31 ppm vs 12.51 ppm (avg)
- A much higher monthly duty cycle ?50,000 pages vs 19,346.15 pages (avg)
- Has automatic document feeder ?
- Has duplex scanning ?
- A higher input tray capacity ?250 sheets vs 182.02 sheets (avg)
- A much higher output tray capacity ?150 sheets vs 68.95 sheets (avg)
- Has automatic duplex printing ?
- Has touchscreen display ?
- Has ethernet ?
Where the Brother MFC-L3780CDW trails the average
- A much heavier build ?21.7 kg vs 9.07 kg (avg)
- A lower print resolution ?2,400 dpi vs 4,041.94 dpi (avg)
- No supertank / refillable ink ?
Editor’s note
This is the top of Brother's small-office colour line, and the feature that justifies the price is the scanner rather than the printer. The 50-sheet feeder captures both sides in a single pass at up to 58 images per minute, which changes what the machine is for: put a double-sided contract in the tray, walk away, and it is digitised before the coffee is made. Printers at half the price make you feed the stack twice.
Printing runs at 31 ppm in both black and colour. There is Gigabit Ethernet, a 3.5-inch touchscreen that holds up to 48 programmable shortcuts, an NFC card reader and a USB host port. The 50,000-page monthly duty cycle is genuine small-office territory.
Two things deserve honest mention. Brother markets this line as Digital Color, and the engine uses an LED print head rather than a scanning laser unit. In practice it behaves like a colour laser and is classified as one here, but the marketing name is doing some work.
The other is consumables. Four toners are only the start – there is a separate drum, a belt unit and a waste toner box, each with its own replacement interval. That stack is normal for colour lasers and completely unexpected for anyone arriving from an inkjet, and it is the real cost-of-ownership story.
Smaller irritations: the first page takes about 12.5 seconds, so this is not the machine for one boarding pass in a hurry. Standard input is a single 250-sheet tray plus a 30-sheet bypass, and a second tray is a paid extra. At 47.8 pounds it needs a permanent home.
If your office scans as much as it prints, I think this earns its money. If it mostly prints, you are paying for a scanner you will not use.
Specifications
Quality bars are generated automatically against 50 other printers.
Printing
Laser prints crisp text fast; inkjet handles photos and colour better.
Prints in colour, not just black and white.
Black-and-white pages per minute; higher is faster.
Colour pages per minute; higher is faster.
A higher dot density produces sharper prints.
Prints both sides of the page without manual flipping.
Refillable ink tanks cut the cost per page dramatically.
The maximum recommended pages per month.
Scanning & copying
Scans and copies as well as prints.
Feeds multi-page documents through the scanner unattended.
How many pages the document feeder holds at once.
Scans both sides of a page automatically.
Sends and receives faxes.
Paper handling
A larger tray needs refilling less often.
How many printed pages the output tray holds.
The largest paper format supported (e.g. Letter, Legal, A3).
Connectivity
Print wirelessly over the home network.
Connect devices directly without a router.
A wired network port for reliable office use.
A direct USB connection to a computer.
Print from iPhone, iPad and Mac without extra drivers.
Print and manage the printer from a phone app.
Design
An onboard touchscreen makes standalone tasks easier.
A lighter printer is easier to place and move.
How the VS Score works — and what it can’t tell you
Every measurable spec is scored against the average of all the printers we track: matching the class average scores 50, clearly beating it climbs towards 100, and each spec counts according to an editorial weight that reflects real-world impact — a battery-capacity gap moves the score far more than a colour-options list. The quality bars on the spec cards above show where this model sits inside the full range for its class, and the overall VS Score rolls every weighted result into one number.
Unknown values are never estimated. A spec this product doesn’t report simply drops out of its scoring — it isn’t penalised with a guess — but a thinner spec sheet does mean a score built on fewer data points, which is why completeness is disclosed under About this data.
Most importantly: a spec-sheet lead is not the same as a better product. Megapixels, gigahertz and benchmark points describe capacity, not experience — image processing, software optimisation, thermals, haptics and ergonomics decide how a device actually feels, and no table captures reliability or long-term support quality. Treat the VS Score as a structured summary of what can be measured, not a substitute for your own priorities.
About this data
- Specifications are compiled from each manufacturer’s official spec sheet, cross-checked against trusted specification databases, and normalised into one schema so identical things are compared identically.
- Specifications last verified August 18, 2026.
- Data completeness: 24 of the 24 specs in this category are verified (100%). Anything we could not verify is shown as Unknown — never estimated — and is excluded from the score.
- Prices and availability come from live retailer feeds via our shopping partners and refresh throughout the day; a missing price means no partner currently lists the product, not that it is discontinued.
- Want the full picture? Our editorial guidelines explain how we research products, weight the scores and stay independent.
- Spotted an error in a spec? Tell us and we will correct the sheet.
Where to buy
Prices and availability may change. Check the retailer before buying. We may earn a commission on purchases.
Price history
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The bottom line
The Brother MFC-L3780CDW earns a VS Score of 71, putting it among the very best of the 51 printers we compare here.
- Who it’s for
- Small offices that scan as much as they print. The single-pass duplex feeder is the feature worth paying for here, more than the 31 ppm print engine.
- Who should look elsewhere
- Light or occasional users. A 12.5-second first page and four separate consumable parts make it an expensive way to print a few pages a week.
- The trade-off that matters
- Workgroup scanning speed and colour laser output against a running-cost structure inkjet owners do not expect: toner, drum, belt and waste box all replace on their own schedules.
- The main alternative
- Canon Color imageCLASS MF665Cdw is slower at 26 ppm and lower resolution, but it also scans both sides in one pass and carries a three-year warranty against Brother's one.
The VS Score is generated automatically from the weighted specifications above, measured against all other printers in our database. Treat it as a shortlisting guide — not a substitute for your own priorities.
