Brother MFC-J1300DW: Setup, Drivers, Ink and Common Problems

Is the Brother MFC-J1300DW right for you?

The MFC-J1300DW is the UK and European All in Box inkjet, sold with enough LC3235XL ink for up to three years of typical home printing, which is the same reservoir idea as the American INKvestment Tank MFC-J995DW. It has a touchscreen, Ethernet, NFC, fax and a 20-sheet ADF. Running costs are the lowest of any small inkjet sold in the UK at the time. It is slow, but for home use that rarely matters.

Best for: UK homes wanting an inkjet with years of ink included

Setting up the Brother MFC-J1300DW

Let the initial ink charge finish, then connect Ethernet or use the touchscreen wireless wizard. Install the Full Driver & Software Package from the UK support site for scanning and PC-Fax. Brother Mobile Connect shows reservoir ink levels and supports reordering.

1. Unbox and prepare. Remove every piece of shipping tape and packing material, install the ink cartridges, and load paper in the tray.
2. Join your Wi-Fi. Keep the printer close to the router for setup. Most printers only connect to the 2.4GHz band, so if your router broadcasts one merged network name you may need to split the bands temporarily. See our Wi-Fi guide if it will not join.
3. Install the setup app. Use Brother's official app rather than a driver you found on a search result — third-party driver sites are the most common source of printer malware.
4. Add the printer. On Windows 11: Settings › Bluetooth & devices › Printers & scanners › Add device. On macOS: System Settings › Printers & Scanners › Add Printer.
5. Print a test page and run a scan if this is an all-in-one, so you find any problem now rather than when you are in a hurry.

Ink, toner and supplies

The Brother MFC-J1300DW uses the following consumables. Match the number exactly when you buy: the same printer family often uses several different cartridge numbers by region.

• LC3233BK black ink (3,000 pages)
• LC3235XL BK ultra high-yield black (6,000 pages)
• LC3235XL C/M/Y color ink (5,000 pages each)

High-yield (XL) versions almost always cost less per page if you print regularly. On third-party ink and toner, read our honest assessment first, and note that some manufacturers push firmware that rejects non-original chips.

Full specifications