The MFC-6490CW is an A3 alternative to A4 multifunction devices (MFDs). According to Brother, it’s the world’s first compact A3 wireless inkjet MFD.

With its 540x488mm footprint, calling it compact is stretching it a bit, but Brother has done a good job of keeping it as small as possible; it’s worth noting that if you load it with A3 paper, the paper tray will jut out from the front.

A host of buttons on the front ensure it’s easy to scan and send faxes. There’s also a 3.3in widescreen colour display that makes printing from memory cards much easier, and all major cards are supported.

Installation was simple, although the chassis does feel a little flimsy in places, especially when it comes to adjusting the input tray’s paper guides.

Ink cartridges are loaded into the front of the printer and, as is common with Brother devices, the USB socket is under the scanning unit, so you have to open the lid and trail the USB cable (not included) inside the device.

We’re not sure why Brother thinks this is such a good idea – in our view, it means you need a longer USB cable. However, with wireless and wired networking included, there’s little need to have it physically attached to your PC.

A 50-sheet auto document feeder (ADF) sits on top of the scanner, allowing for hassle-free, multi-page scanning or copying. However, we were slightly disappointed Brother didn’t find room for a duplex unit. Two paper trays provide ample storage; the top one is good for 150 sheets, while the bottom can hold 250.

We had no qualms about the quality of text printouts and it’s hard to tell them apart from those produced by a laser printer. Scans are similarly impressive with strong, accurate colours. Although not intended as a high-end photo printer, we were pleased with the photos produced by the MFC-6490CW. In testing, it produced some A3 photos that looked great when viewed from a reasonable distance, although get up close and you’ll notice lost detail.

It’s not the fastest printer around, taking just over two minutes to churn out 10 pages of text, and five minutes, 45 seconds for a colour A4 photo. But if you stick to draft mode, you’ll get closer to the quoted 33ppm (pages per minute).

Brother has resisted the temptation to supply the device with low-capacity cartridges, instead shipping standard versions. Replacements cost £16.44 for the black and £8.80 for the three colour cartridges, lasting 450 pages (3.7p per page) and 325 pages (2.7p per page) respectively. High-capacity versions cost £22.31 (black) and £12.33 (colour), and last for 900 pages (2.5p per page) and 750 pages (1.6p per page) respectively.

At more than £249.99, this MFD is reasonably priced when you consider you’re getting an ADF, print/copy/scan functions and decent A3 printing. If you don’t think you’ll make full use of its A3 capabilities, look elsewhere and save yourself some cash, but for the home office, it has a lot to offer.

If you’re not interested in faxing, it’s worth taking a look at Brother’s identically priced DCP-6690CW, which is essentially the same printer, but it substitutes a touchscreen LCD panel for the fax.

Parts of the chassis could do with being more rugged and we’d like to see duplex printing on a device such as this, but on the whole the MFC-6490CW is a decent effort from Brother.