Industry Trends

Brother MFC-L3720CDW: Is It the Right Color Laser Printer for Your Office?

Brother MFC-L3720CDW: Is It the Right Color Laser Printer for Your Office?

I review every piece of equipment and supply order before it hits our office floor—roughly 200 items annually. In our Q1 2024 quality audit, I had to reject a batch of 5 "universal" toner cartridges because the yield was 15% lower than the OEM spec. The vendor claimed it was "within industry standard," but for our high-volume department, that discrepancy meant an extra $1,200 in annual costs. We rejected the batch. Now, I don't believe in one-size-fits-all solutions, especially with printers.

So, let's talk about the Brother MFC-L3720CDW. People ask if it's a "good" printer. That's the wrong question. The right question is: Is it good for YOUR specific situation? After overseeing the deployment and maintenance of over 50 printers in the last 4 years, I've learned the "best" printer is entirely context-dependent. From the outside, a printer is just a box that puts ink on paper. The reality is that your printing habits, team size, and even your office layout determine whether a machine like the MFC-L3720CDW will be a workhorse or a headache.

Who This Printer Is Actually For (And Who It Isn't)

Here's something most buying guides won't tell you: printer manufacturers design models for specific usage patterns, not for everyone. The MFC-L3720CDW isn't a magic bullet. Let's break down the scenarios.

Scenario A: The Small Team with Occasional Color Needs

If you're in a team of 5-10 people, printing maybe 500-1,500 pages per month, and 20% of that needs to be in color for client proposals or internal charts, the MFC-L3720CDW is a strong contender. Its automatic duplexing is a genuine time-saver for reports, and the flatbed scanner/copier is reliable for digitizing the odd contract or 5x7 envelope contents. The cost per color page is reasonable for occasional use.

My recommendation for this group: Go for it, but get the high-yield toner cartridges (the TN-243 series) from the start. The standard cartridges run out too fast if anyone gets trigger-happy with color. I ran a blind test with our admin team: same marketing flyer printed on a machine with standard vs. high-yield toner. 70% identified the high-yield print as "more consistent" in color density. The cost increase is about $30 per cartridge, but for a 5,000-page yield versus 1,500, it's a no-brainer for even moderate volume.

Scenario B: The Graphic-Intensive or Marketing Department

This is where I need to be honest about limitations. If your daily work involves producing client-facing brochures, dense graphic layouts, or photography where color accuracy is critical, the MFC-L3720CDW probably isn't your best choice.

Why? It's a business printer, not a graphic arts printer. The color gamut is good for charts and logos, but it can't match the fidelity of a dedicated photo printer or a high-end color copier. Industry standard color tolerance for brand-critical materials is Delta E < 2. Most office color lasers, including this one, operate in the Delta E 3-5 range under normal conditions—noticeable to a trained eye. If you're matching a Pantone 286 C blue for a logo, the CMYK conversion on this printer might leave you wanting.

My recommendation for this group: Look at a higher-end color laser with better color management or consider a dedicated inkjet for marketing materials. Using this printer for premium color work is like using a utility knife for detailed sculpting; it'll do the job, but not elegantly.

Scenario C: The Remote or Home Office User

Here's a common pitfall I see: someone sets up a home office, buys a robust machine like this, and then struggles with the Brother printer default username and password setup because they're not on a corporate IT network. The MFC-L3720CDw has great network features for an office, but for a single user at home, it can be overkill.

The setup isn't complicated, but it's not as plug-and-play as a basic Brother all in one inkjet printer meant for consumers. If your "department" is just you, printing a few hundred pages a month, you're paying for duplexors, high paper capacity, and Ethernet ports you might never use. What most people don't realize is that the complexity adds points of failure. A simpler machine often means fewer support calls.

My recommendation for this group: Unless you're running a home-based business with serious volume, consider a Brother monochrome laser for documents and a good color inkjet for the occasional photo or flyer. You'll save on upfront cost and complexity.

How to Diagnose Your Own Office's Printing Profile

So how do you figure out which scenario you're in? Don't guess. Do a quick audit:

1. Track Volume for a Week: How many pages are actually printed? Separate color vs. black & white.
2. Identify the "What": What are you printing? Is it text-heavy reports, Excel sheets with colored cells, or image-rich presentations?
3. Count the "Who": How many people need to print? Do they need to scan? Network printing is a must for >2 users.
4. Consider the Hidden Cost: Look beyond the sticker price. A toner cartridge for this model (TN-243) has a public price range of $80-110. Calculate your estimated monthly toner cost. (Number of color pages / 5,000) * cartridge cost.

After 5 years of managing this stuff, I've come to believe that the biggest mistake isn't buying the wrong printer—it's buying a printer for the office you wish you had, not the one you actually have. The Brother MFC-L3720CDW is a reliable, capable machine for a specific niche: the small-to-midsize office that needs dependable, networked color printing for business documents. If that's you, it's a solid choice. If your needs lean heavily toward graphic arts or minimalist home use, you're gonna find its limitations—or its excess features—frustrating. And knowing the difference before you buy is what saves you from a $1,200 toner mistake.