Brother MFC-J4550DW vs Epson EcoTank ET-4950

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Better figure, where one is clearly better

MFC-J4550DW compared with EcoTank ET-4950
BrotherMFC-J4550DWEpsonEcoTank ET-4950
Overview
ReleasedJuly 2025September 2025
Printing
TypeInkjetInk tank
ColourYesYes
Speed, black20 pages a minute (better)18 pages a minute
Speed, colour19 pages a minute (better)9 pages a minute
Resolution1200 × 4800 dpi4800 × 1200 dpi
Prints both sidesYesYes
Printing detailInkjet with pigment inks; 2-sided printing at 11 ipm black and 10 ipm colour (ISO/IEC 24734); borderless printing up to A4; 256MB memory; quiet modePrecisionCore print head, 400 black nozzles and 128 per colour; 3.3 pl minimum droplet; automatic 2-sided printing on A4 plain paper at 7 pages a minute black and 5 colour (ISO/IEC 24734); borderless printing; up to 35 pages a minute black and 23 colour in draft on 75 g/m² paper
First page out5.8 seconds black, 5.9 seconds colour (ISO/IEC 17629)8.5 seconds black, 13.5 seconds colour
Ink or tonerLC527 cartridges (1,300 pages black, 900 pages each colour) or LC527XL (3,000 black, 2,000 colour)Pigment black and dye cyan, magenta and yellow in refillable tanks; 127 ml black and 70 ml colour bottles
Page yieldStarter cartridges in the box for about 350 black and 350 colour pages; yields declared to ISO/IEC 24711Ink in the box (a full set plus an extra black) prints 15,100 pages black and 5,500 colour
Duty cycleUp to 2,000 pages a month recommendedBuilt for up to 100,000 pages over its life; warranty 12 months or 100,000 pages
Scanning and copying
DoesPrint, Scan, Copy and FaxPrint, Scan, Copy and Fax
Document feederYesYes
ScannerColour CIS scanner with A4 glass and 20-sheet document feeder; 1-sided scanning at 17 ipm mono and 7 ipm colour (ISO/IEC 17991); 1200 × 2400 dpi from the glass, 1200 × 600 dpi from the feeder; scan to USB, email, network, FTP, SFTP, file and imageContact image sensor (CIS) with flatbed and 30-page document feeder; 2-sided scanning from the feeder; 1,200 × 2,400 dpi optical; feeder 5 ipm 1-sided and 3.5 ipm 2-sided, black or colour; flatbed A4 in 9 seconds black and 21 seconds colour; saves BMP, JPEG, PICT, TIFF, multi-TIFF, PDF and PNG
Copying13 ipm black and 10.5 ipm colour 1-sided, 5 and 4.5 ipm 2-sided (ISO/IEC 24735); first copy in 10.5 seconds black, 13 seconds colour; up to 1200 × 2400 dpi; 25–400% zoom; 2-in-1 ID copy2-sided copying from the document feeder (A4 plain paper)
Fax14,400 bps G3; PC-Fax send and receive; 180-page memory; broadcast to up to 50 locationsBlack-and-white and colour fax at up to 33.6 kbps (about 3 seconds a page); 100 speed dials; 100-page memory; PC fax, broadcast, fax preview, polling reception
Paper
Largest paperA4A4
Paper tray400 sheets (better)250 sheets
Paper sizesInput 150-sheet tray and 250-sheet lower tray, plus a 1-sheet manual feed slot; tray 1 A4, Letter, Legal, Folio, Executive, A5, A6, 10 × 15 cm, 9 × 13 cm, 13 × 20 cm and envelopes C5, COM-10, DL and Monarch; lower tray A4, Letter, Legal, Executive, A5 and Folio; document feeder 139.7–215.9 mm wide by 148–355.6 mm long; 2-sided A4, Letter, Executive and A5A4, A5, A6, B5, B6, Letter, 10 × 15 cm, 13 × 18 cm, envelopes (No. 10, DL, C6)
Paper typesTray 1 plain, inkjet, glossy and recycled paper, 64–220 gsm; lower tray plain and recycled, 64–120 gsm; manual feed slot 64–300 gsm; document feeder 64–90 gsm; 2-sided 64–105 gsm64–300 g/m² (300 g/m² with Epson Ultra Glossy Photo Paper)
Output tray100 sheets30 sheets; opens automatically when a job starts
Connections
Connects byWi-Fi, Ethernet, Wi-Fi Direct and USBWi-Fi, Ethernet, Wi-Fi Direct and USB
Connection detailHi-Speed USB 2.0; front USB host port; Fast Ethernet (10/100); Wi-Fi 2.4GHz 802.11b/g/n and 5GHz 802.11a/n; Wi-Fi Direct; WPSUSB; Ethernet; Wi-Fi 5 (802.11a/b/g/n/ac) on 2.4 and 5 GHz; Wi-Fi Direct; WPA3
Printing from phonesApple AirPrint (print and scan), Mopria, Brother Print Service Plugin; Brother Web Connect for Dropbox, OneDrive, Google Drive, Box, Evernote and SharePoint OnlineApple AirPrint, Mopria Print Service, Mopria Scan, Epson Connect (Email Print, Remote Print Driver, Scan-to-Cloud)
AppBrother Mobile Connect (Android, iPhone and iPad)Epson Smart Panel
Control panel6.8cm (2.7″) colour touchscreen6.1 cm colour touchscreen
Design
Weight10.4 kg7.3 kg
Power use22 W copying, 3.5 W ready, 0.9 W sleep, 0.1 W off15 W copying (ISO/IEC 24712), 7.4 W ready, 0.7 W sleep, 0.1 W off; TEC 0.1 kWh a week
Noise54 dB(A) printing (sound pressure)–
Size440 × 355 × 250 mm (W × D × H) on the UK spec page; the datasheet gives 435 mm wide375 × 347 × 240 mm (W × D × H)
In the boxPrinter, starter ink cartridges, power cord, quick setup guide, warranty cardPrinter, one set of ink bottles (127 ml black; 70 ml cyan, magenta and yellow) plus an extra black, power cable, quick setup guide, warranty document

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