Brother Work Smart 1360 Wireless Color Inkjet All-in-One Printer with Automatic Duplex Printing and 1.8” Color Display | Includes Refresh Subscription Trial(1) (MFC-J1360DW)

Living with the MFC-J1360DW

After a few weeks of using Brother’s MFC-J1360DW in my home office, a pattern emerged: it’s a straightforward all-in-one that prioritizes reliability and ease of use over bells and whistles. It’s not the smallest inkjet on the shelf, but for everyday printing, scanning, and copying across laptops and phones, it behaved predictably—and that predictability is exactly what most home and small-office users need.

Setup and first impressions

Setup took minutes. I powered it on, followed the prompts on the 1.8-inch color display, loaded paper in the front tray, and connected it to Wi‑Fi without fuss. The screen is small and navigated by arrow keys, which means entering Wi‑Fi passwords or cloud credentials can feel a bit pokey. That said, once the network connection was in place, I rarely needed to use the panel for anything more complex than starting a copy or scanning to a preset destination.

Build quality is solid for the price: the lid and hinges don’t feel flimsy, the paper tray aligns cleanly, and the 20‑sheet automatic document feeder (ADF) sits neatly on top. It’s a tad chunky for a “basic” home printer, but the footprint is still manageable on a shallow desk or bookshelf. The 150‑sheet tray is a perk; I didn’t have to top it up often, and it kept dust off the paper.

Connectivity that actually works

The MFC-J1360DW supports Wi‑Fi and USB. There’s no Ethernet, but wireless was stable on both 2.4 GHz and mixed networks in my testing. Printing from a Mac, a Windows laptop, and iOS/Android devices worked on the first try. Brother’s Mobile Connect app deserves credit here: it’s simple to pair, offers clear device status, and adds useful touches like “Page Gauge,” which estimates remaining ink based on your actual usage rather than just a generic tank level.

Cloud integration is built into the printer itself. From the panel, I could print from or scan to Google Drive, Dropbox, Box, and OneDrive. For one‑offs like scanning a signed PDF straight to cloud storage, it’s convenient, and you can also drive the same workflows from the app if you’d rather avoid pecking at the tiny screen.

Everyday print performance

For text-heavy documents, the MFC-J1360DW produces crisp, dark output that looks clean even on cheap copy paper. Draft mode is usable and fast for internal notes, while standard mode is what I used for anything leaving the house. Manufacturer speed ratings are up to 16 ppm in black and 9 ppm in color; in real use, I found those numbers reasonable for single‑sided prints of simple docs. Two‑sided (duplex) printing—enabled by default on my machine—slows things down, as expected, but the time saved by not flipping pages manually still makes it worth keeping on.

Color documents with charts and graphics look balanced and punchy enough for presentations and school projects. On glossy photo paper, the printer can produce attractive snapshots with decent detail and saturation. It’s not a dedicated photo printer, and extremely fine color gradations won’t match larger, photo‑centric models, but for family photos and casual prints, results were more than acceptable.

One subtle strength: alignment and paper handling were tidy. The printer fed different paper types reliably, and my stacks of shipping labels came out with sharp barcodes and no smudges—useful if you run the occasional home business task.

Scanning and copying

The flatbed handles single pages, books, and IDs cleanly, while the 20‑sheet ADF is ideal for quick stacks of contracts and forms. The ADF is single‑sided only, so you’ll have to flip originals if you need duplex scans. For light home office workflows, that’s fine; if you regularly scan large double‑sided packets, you’ll want a machine with a duplex ADF.

Quality-wise, scans are clear with good color accuracy for documents and basic photos. Sending scans directly to cloud storage from the panel is handy. Using the app to initiate scans from a phone is even easier, with a larger preview and fewer button presses than the front panel.

Noise and reliability

Noise levels are modest. The printer ramps up during ink priming and when the ADF engages, but normal printing didn’t dominate my workspace. Sleep and wake behavior were reliable: I could send a job from my phone with the lid down, and the printer would wake, print, and return to standby without manual intervention. Across a few reams, I didn’t encounter paper jams or misfeeds.

Ink, costs, and Brother Refresh

Ink management is one of the MFC-J1360DW’s stronger software stories. Page Gauge is genuinely helpful; it estimates not just an arbitrary “percent left” but how many pages you can likely print based on your usage pattern. That helped me plan ahead and avoid late‑night runs when a color ran low.

Cartridge pricing varies by region and yield, but the running costs fall in the typical range for a cartridge-based home inkjet. If you print a lot of color, costs can add up; if you mostly print text and keep duplex on, it’s reasonable. Brother includes a trial of its Refresh subscription. If your printing is consistent month‑to‑month, the subscription can simplify budgeting and keep ink arriving before you run out. If your usage is spiky—months of near-zero, followed by a sudden flurry—you’ll likely be better off buying cartridges as needed.

Practical tips that helped me stretch ink:
- Set grayscale as the default for everyday docs.
- Use draft mode for internal notes; switch to standard for client‑facing work.
- Keep duplex enabled; it cuts paper use and often time for multi‑page jobs.
- Store photo paper flat and sealed to avoid curl and wasted prints.

Limitations to consider

• Small screen: The 1.8-inch display works, but entering passwords or filenames via arrows is slow. Do setup in the app where possible.
• Single‑sided ADF: No duplex scanning through the feeder. Fine for light use; not ideal for scanning-heavy workflows.
• No Ethernet: Wireless was stable for me, but if your setup mandates wired networking, this model won’t fit.
• Not a specialist photo printer: Casual photos look good, but serious photo enthusiasts will want more ink colors and finer control.

None of these are deal‑breakers for the target user, but they’re worth noting before you click buy.

Who it’s best for

The MFC-J1360DW hits the sweet spot for:
- Households that need reliable wireless printing from phones, tablets, and laptops.
- Home offices that print a steady mix of text documents, labels, and occasional color handouts.
- Students and remote workers who value duplex printing, a decent ADF for small batches, and simple cloud scanning.

It’s less suited to:
- High‑volume offices that need duplex scanning or enterprise connectivity.
- Prosumer photo printing where color workflow and media handling are paramount.

Day-to-day usability

Once configured, the printer largely gets out of your way. Wi‑Fi stayed connected, print queues cleared quickly, and the app made the rare administrative task painless. I appreciated that the default driver settings were sensible—duplex on, quality modes easy to toggle, and the device sleep timer tuned to balance energy saving with responsiveness.

One final note: keep the firmware updated via the app. Brother pushes occasional updates that improve wireless handling and cloud integrations, and applying them only took a couple of minutes.

Recommendation

I recommend the MFC-J1360DW for home and home-office users who value dependable wireless printing, automatic duplexing, and fuss-free cloud scanning in a compact, reasonably priced package. It’s easy to live with, produces tidy text and good-looking color documents, and the Mobile Connect app plus Page Gauge make ownership simpler than most cartridge inkjets. Be aware of the small screen, the single‑sided ADF, and the lack of Ethernet. If those aren’t blockers—and they won’t be for most households—this is a practical, low-stress all-in-one that does what it promises without drama.