Choosing between a Brother and a Canon printer usually comes down to one question: what will it actually cost you to keep printing? Both brands make reliable machines, but they take quite different approaches to ink, toner and running costs. This guide compares the two head-to-head across home use, home-office setups and small-business printing, so you can work out which one fits how you actually print.

Brother vs Canon: The Quick Comparison

Before getting into the detail, here is how the two brands stack up on the things that matter most when you are choosing a printer for New Zealand home or office use.

Brother Printers: Where They Stand Out

Brother's real strength in the New Zealand market is its laser printer range. Laser printers use toner powder rather than liquid ink, which means pages come out fast and the cost per page stays low even at high print volumes. This makes Brother a common pick for home offices and small businesses that print a lot of text documents, invoices or reports rather than photos.

At the budget end, the Brother HL-L1230W is a compact, wireless mono laser printer built for light home or home-office use. Step up to the Brother HL-L2400DW, a 30ppm mono laser single-function printer, if you print more regularly and want faster page-out speed.

For a home office that needs print, scan and copy in one unit, the Brother DCP-L1630W is a compact mono laser multifunction printer with USB and Wi-Fi. Higher-volume options such as the Brother MFC-L5710DW (48ppm) push print speed further for busier workgroups.

If you need colour, Brother's colour laser range covers that too. The Brother MFC-L3760CDW is a 27ppm colour laser multifunction printer with wired network, wireless and USB connectivity, a solid step up from home inkjet if colour documents are a regular part of your printing.

Canon Printers: Where They Stand Out

Canon's standout strength is inkjet, particularly its MegaTank range. Instead of small cartridges, MegaTank printers use large refillable ink tanks you top up from bottles. This front-loads a slightly higher purchase price but sharply reduces the cost per page over the life of the printer, which is worth factoring in if you print often.

At the entry level, the Canon PIXMA TS3460 is a low-cost inkjet multifunction printer with USB and Wi-Fi, well suited to light home printing, photos and the occasional document.

Where Canon really targets Brother's laser territory is with its MAXIFY MegaTank business range. The Canon MAXIFY GX3060 is an 18ipm MegaTank business multifunction printer, and the Canon MAXIFY GX4060 adds colour printing at the same 18ipm speed. Both are aimed at small offices that want laser-style running costs without moving away from inkjet.

Inkjet vs Laser: Which Matters More Than the Brand

Before deciding between Brother and Canon specifically, it is worth deciding between inkjet and laser generally, since this affects running costs more than brand choice alone.

• Laser printers (Brother's specialty) use toner and are best for high-volume text and document printing. Pages print fast and toner cartridges tend to last for thousands of pages, so cost per page for text documents is typically lower.
• Standard inkjet printers print great photos and colour graphics but standard cartridges have a lower page yield, so cost per page can climb quickly if you print often.
• MegaTank inkjet printers (Canon's specialty) bridge the gap: you get inkjet's photo and colour quality with running costs that can rival laser, because refill bottles hold far more ink than a cartridge.

If your printing is mostly black-and-white documents, invoices or reports, a Brother mono laser will usually be the more economical long-term choice. If you print photos, colour graphics or a mix of documents and images, a Canon inkjet or MegaTank model is likely the better fit.

Which Should You Buy?

There is no single winner here, it depends on what you print and how often:

• Occasional home printing, some photos: Canon PIXMA TS3460 for low upfront cost.
• Regular home or home-office document printing: Brother HL-L2400DW or DCP-L1630W for low cost-per-page mono laser printing.
• Small business printing a high volume of documents: Brother MFC-L5710DW or Canon MAXIFY GX3060, depending on whether you prefer laser speed or MegaTank ink economics.
• Regular colour document or marketing material printing: Brother MFC-L3760CDW (colour laser) or Canon MAXIFY GX4060 (colour MegaTank).

For full specifications on any of these models, check the official Brother New Zealand or Canon New Zealand spec pages, or browse our full range of Brother printers and Canon printers.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are Brother printers cheaper to run than Canon printers?

It depends on the model type rather than the brand alone. Brother's mono laser printers generally have a low cost per page for text documents. Canon's MegaTank models can offer similarly low running costs for inkjet printing, particularly if you print in colour. Standard cartridge-based inkjet printers from either brand tend to cost more per page than laser or MegaTank options.

Is a laser printer better than an inkjet printer for home use?

Laser printers are generally better suited to frequent black-and-white document printing, since toner cartridges last longer and print speed is faster. Inkjet printers, including MegaTank models, are usually the better choice if you print photos or colour graphics regularly.

What is a MegaTank printer?

MegaTank is Canon's name for inkjet printers with large, refillable ink tanks instead of small cartridges. You top the tanks up from ink bottles, which typically hold far more ink than a standard cartridge, lowering the cost per page over time in exchange for a higher upfront purchase price.

Can I use a Brother or Canon printer wirelessly?

Many current Brother and Canon models, including those covered in this guide, support Wi-Fi printing alongside USB, so check the specific model's connectivity options on the product page before you buy, since not every model in each range includes wireless.

Which brand is better for a small business in New Zealand?

Both brands have strong small-business options. Brother's laser MFC range suits businesses printing a high volume of text documents, while Canon's MAXIFY MegaTank range suits businesses that want inkjet-level colour quality with lower running costs than standard cartridges.

Ready to Choose Your Printer?

Whether you are after a low-cost Brother laser printer for the home office or a Canon MegaTank model to cut your running costs, browse our full range of printers and scanners at Tech Supply Shed NZ, or head straight to the Brother and Canon collections to compare current stock and pricing.