Brother MFC-9970CDW review

OCR functionality is provided in the form of a bundled copy of Nuance's PaperPort SE document management suite, which allows you to process, OCR and categorise your scanned documents. Unfortunately, this is a cut down version of the full PaperPort software, so it routinely prompts you to buy a full version and lacks the ability to perform useful tasks, such as creating a searchable PDF.

Although we aren't entirely happy with the supplied software, we have no complaints about the MFC-9970CW's scan quality - text and images were sharp, while our photo scans were accurately coloured. The scanner can capture images from the platen at a resolution of 1,200x2,400dpi, while the duplex ADF is limited to 600x1,200dpi. We liked Brother's scanner interface, which is basic but easy to use, making it simple to preview and redefine your scan area. It even remains open and retains its previews between scans.

Scan speeds are also rather quick at anything below 1,200dpi - a readable 150dpi A4 document scan took just 13 seconds, while a sharp 300dpi scan of the same document took 19. A photo was scanned at 600dpi in 22 seconds, although a 1,200dpi version of the same image took just over a minute. A 10 second preview is strictly optional.