The Brother MFC-210C boasts one of the smallest footprints available in a multifunction inkjet printer.  Its compact frame makes it an excellent choice for the home or small office, and it comes at a price that should fit even the smallest of budgets.  The cost of Brother MFC-210C ink is a bit higher than competing models, however.

The machine measures a very compact 5.3 inches by 14.7 inches by 15.7 inches, and weighs only 12.1 pounds.  For a multifunction with the ability to print, scan, copy and fax, this is almost unthinkable.  Print speeds are very fast at up to 20 pages per minute for black and 15 pages per minute for color, and paper capacity is decent at 100 sheets.

The compact size of the machine and its low price do come with a few tradeoffs, however, but they are not major issues.  First, faxing is limited to 14.4 kbps, unlike many models which offer 33.6 kbps transfer speeds.  This will probably not make a difference for the user who does occasional faxing, but for sending faxes frequently, the loss in speed may become tiresome.  The other major tradeoff is the lack of an automatic document feeder for copying, scanning and faxing.  This means users will have to scan pages one at a time.  Again, for light use, this is not a problem, but users who routinely scan multiple pages at a time may become frustrated.

Brother MFC-210C ink tends to be more expensive than competing models, which could add up over time.  Thankfully, Brother MFC-210C ink cartridges have larger capacities than expected given the unit’s compact size.  This means replacing ink less often and helps keep the cost per page lower. 

The Brother MFC-210C may not be the best multifunction unit on the market, but for buyers who need an extremely compact model with many functions, it could be the perfect choice at a very low price.