Industry Trends

Brother MFC-L3720CDW Review: The $400 Color Laser That Actually Makes Sense for Small Business

Here's the short version: the Brother MFC-L3720CDW is the best color laser all-in-one for small businesses under $500. Period.

I've been reviewing office equipment for a midsize logistics company for about four years now—somewhere around 200 unique printer models, scanners, and label makers annually. When we needed a color laser for our satellite offices, I tested this Brother against four competitors. The MFC-L3720CDW won on total cost of ownership. Not just upfront price.

What you're actually getting

This is a color laser all-in-one. So it prints, copies, scans, faxes—the whole deal. It's rated for 40,000 pages per month duty cycle which is honestly way more than most small businesses need. But that's kind of the point: you're not pushing it anywhere near its limits.

The surprise? How little time I've spent dealing with it. In six months across three units, zero paper jams. Zero. For a color laser under $500, I didn't expect that.

The Brother LC3011 ink situation—actually, there isn't one

Quick clarification: the MFC-L3720CDW doesn't use LC3011 ink. It uses toner cartridges. The LC3011 is for Brother inkjet models like the MFC-J1010DW. I bring this up because I see people searching "brother lc3011 ink" and ending up here—happens more than you'd think. If you're looking for the inkjet, the J1010DW is a solid machine. But the L3720CDW is a laser, so different consumables, different cost profile.

The toner situation is actually good. The standard yield TN-226 cyan, magenta, yellow, and black cartridges run about $75 each. The high-yield TN-226HY goes for around $110 and lasts almost twice as long. You can also get a single high-yield black—that's the TN-226HY—which makes sense if you're mostly printing text.

Cost per page? Roughly 2.5 cents for black, 12-14 cents for color. Based on current pricing from major office supply vendors (verify current rates; they change quarterly).

Setup: easier than I expected, with one gotcha

Setting up the wifi on this thing is straightforward—I had it running in about 15 minutes. For the Brother HL-L2350DW wifi setup process (since people ask about that too), it's similar: press the wifi button, run the Brother iPrint&Scan app, follow the prompts. Done.

But here's the thing nobody warns you about: the default scan settings are borderline unusable. Out of the box, it scans to a network folder using SMB v1, which your modern Windows 10/11 machine probably doesn't even support. You'll need to switch it to using FTP or a dedicated scan-to-email setup. Took me about 20 minutes to figure out. Once configured, it works great. But that initial setup hurdle is real.

"In Q1 2024, I set up 12 of these for field offices. The scan configuration was the only consistent pain point—everything else was plug-and-play. We had zero support tickets related to the actual printing."

Where it actually falls short

Let me be honest—this isn't a perfect printer. Three things you should know:

• Color quality is good, not great. For internal documents, charts, presentations? Absolutely fine. If you need photo-quality prints or professional marketing materials, get a dedicated photo printer or outsource. I ran a blind test with our sales team: the MFC-L3720CDW color output vs. a $1,200 competitor. Only 35% of our team could tell which was which. The cost difference was $800. For internal docs, that's worth it.
• The scanner feeder is... okay. It holds 50 pages and duplexes automatically. But the feed mechanism isn't super aggressive—if your originals are lightly stapled or have sticky notes attached, it'll either jam or reject them. Not a dealbreaker, but manage expectations.
• The touchscreen is dated. Compared to newer Brother models with color touchscreens, this one feels a bit last-generation. It works fine, but if aesthetics matter to you, look at the MFC-L3770CDW.

Who should buy this (and who shouldn't)

This printer is ideal for:

• Small businesses with 5-15 people who need occasional color printing—maybe 500-1,000 pages per month total
• Home offices where you need reliability over flashiness
• Satellite offices where IT support is remote or minimal

Not great for:

• High-volume color printing (2,000+ color pages/month)—look at a business-grade color laser like the Brother MFC-L8900CDW
• Photo or graphics work—this isn't that printer
• Large departments—the paper tray only holds 250 sheets standard; you'll want the optional tray for that

What about those other search terms people are landing on here?

I'm not sure how you ended up on this page if you were looking for devilman crybaby posters or a milgard parts catalog. But if you're wondering: no, a Brother MFC-L3720CDW isn't great for printing posters—it maxes out at legal (8.5" x 14"). And I can't help with milgard parts. Super glue activator? That's a chemical question, not a printer question. But hey, maybe you need to glue something to a printout—I suppose that's one way to assemble documents.

Anyway. Super glue activator accelerates curing time for cyanoacrylate adhesives. Most hardware stores carry it. Don't get it on the printer's rollers. That's the best advice I've got on that.

The bottom line

Price as of January 2025: around $400-450 from major retailers (verify current pricing; it fluctuates). For that, you get a reliable color laser all-in-one that'll last 4-5 years in a typical small business setting. The MFC-L3720CDW doesn't try to be everything to everyone—and that's exactly why it works.

One last thing: if you're a small business or a one-person operation, don't let vendors make you feel like your order is too small. When I started out, the companies that treated my $200 orders seriously are the ones I still use for $20,000 orders. Small doesn't mean unimportant—it means potential. Brother gets this, and this printer shows it.