Comparison Epson EcoTank L3100 vs Brother DCP-T310

The color palette that a printer or MFP can print. A large number of colors is required for high-quality photo printing and obtaining color prints with many shades. As a standard, for a color MFP, 4 colors are provided.

The maximum resolution of the image to be printed. It is usually indicated by two numbers indicating the number of dots per inch (dpi) horizontally and vertically, for example 1200x600. The detail of the image depends on this parameter – the higher the resolution, the more fine details the printer is able to convey and the better their image will be. High print resolution is important, foremost, operating with graphic material; low resolution is sufficient for high-quality text display. So there are the following options: 600x600, 1200x600, 1200x1200, 1800x600, 2400x600, 2400x1200, 2400x2400, 4800x600, 4800x1200, 4800x2400, 5760, and higher print resolutions.

The time passed from pressing the Copy button to the completion of the first copy in MFPs. Typically specified for low quality black and white printing on A4 paper. The time for the first copy to be released is the longest (because of the time to prepare for work and scan the document); subsequent copies of the same document are printed much faster. Fast first copy time is important if you have to copy documents frequently.

Black and white copy speed – the number of copies of one page that the MFP can produce in 1 minute. Typically indicated for poor print quality. This option is important if you often need to make many copies of a single document.

Colour copy speed – the number of full-colour copies of one page that the MFP can produce in 1 minute. Generally slower than black and white copy speed.

The number of pages the printer can produce per minute in black and white mode. Typically indicated for low print quality, higher print quality takes longer. This setting is important if you need to frequently print text documents.

The number of pages the printer can proceed per minute in colour mode. As like b/w printing, the print speed is usually indicated in the worst quality (at maximum speed), in higher quality the print speed is lower. This setting is worth paying attention to if you need to print colour graphic materials frequently.

Printer's print rate in photographic (highest) quality. Unlike other similar parameters, in this case the speed is usually indicated for a 10x15 sheet (A6 as the most popular format for photos). In addition, photo printing speed is not expressed in pages per minute, but in seconds per page, because such printing takes a lot of time. This option is worth paying attention to if you plan to print photos frequently.

Approximate number of pages that the MFP can print in black and white mode without replacing the cartridge. In fact, this greatly depends on the specs of the images to print, so the actual resource may greatly differ from the claimed one in one way or another. Nevertheless, according to this indicator, it is quite possible to evaluate the capabilities of the MFP and compare it with other models.