HP Color LaserJet Pro 4301fdw
MSRP $599.00
“The HP Color LaserJet Pro 4301fdw offers blazing speed and great print quality, even for photos.”
Pros
- Scan and print at lightning speeds
- Good print quality
- Two paper trays
- Simple setup and use
- Reliable operation
You can also find out more about Cons
- It is not necessary to pay for color pages.
- No borderless print
HP’s Color LaserJet Pro 4301fdw is a super-fast, all-in-one printer with fax capability. It’s solidly built and should last for many years. That will help offset the $599 price tag, which is expensive for a home office if you don’t print daily.
You need to know more than just the price. You also need to understand how well it performs when it comes down quality, efficiency and ease of usage. We’ll take a look at whether its extreme speed can still deliver the quality you demand at an affordable cost per page. Scanning is also a critical feature for a multifunction device.
HP Color LaserJet Pro 4301fdw design
When HP builds midrange laser printers that can fit in a home or serve a busy office, it doesn’t skimp on sturdiness. The Color LaserJet Pro4301fdw weighs 45 pounds. It is important to be careful when unpacking this printer and setting it up. A second person would also help.
A white body accentuated with blue panels at the front, and the lid of the scanner highlighted in inky blue gives the HP Color LaserJet Pro 44301fdw an eye-catching look. I find it a bit sporty. She liked the idea of adding color to the office rather than the standard black or white. That said, your opinion might differ if blue clashes with your room’s aesthetic.
Navigation is easy with the generous 4.3″ color touchscreen. It’s backlit with an anti-glare coating and a widely adjustable angle for easy viewing. It’s easy to change copy settings, switch between paper types and choose which paper tray you want to use.
The HP Color LaserJet Pro 4401fdw comes with two paper trays. An upper tray allows you to easily insert 4×6 photo paper, envelopes, and specialty paper, up to 50 sheets. The lower tray is designed to hold 250 sheets each of letter or legal size paper. This will cover the majority of your printing requirements.
All trays are well designed, with clear markings. HP’s long history as a printer manufacturer shows in the Color LaserJet Pro 4301fdw’s thorough and thoughtful design.
A USB port is hidden behind a door that opens and closes. This allows you to print without using a smartphone. Simply plug in the thumb drive to choose which document to print, without having to connect any devices or install drivers.
HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201.fdw performance
HP’s Color LaserJet Pro 4301fdw is among the fastest color printers I’ve ever used. This printer can print up to 35 pages per minute in black-and white or color.
I had to wait until the print job was finished before I picked up the documents, unless I was standing right next to the printer. The Color LaserJet Pro 4201.fdw is able to print long documents, multiple copies and maintain excellent quality.
The text looks sharp and clear, even in fine print. The sharpness is still there in color. Vibrant colors really make my documents pop.
The paper selection feature of a laser color printer is often overlooked. I can print decent quality photos on the cheapest available paper with minimal curling, and without waiting for it to dry. The laser printer uses toner instead of liquid ink.
The best results are achieved with photo paper. When using matte or glossy photo papers, the HP Color LaserJet 4301fdw is almost as good as most inkjets. A 600 dpi limitation is evident in some photos. An inkjet printer will still be needed to achieve maximum picture quality. Only borderless printing is missing.
HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201.fdw Special Features
HP Color LaserJet Pro 4401fdw scans at the same speed as it prints. The ADF can scan up 31 pages per minute. This is slightly slower than maximum print speeds.
The resolution is 600dpi which is good enough for most applications. The best scanners can capture more detail, but that’s only noticeable when scanning photographic film prints or old documents to preserve everything exactly.
It is easy to copy documents with the large color touchscreen. The menu system is also well designed. I can duplicate documents quickly in color or black-and-white. Double-sided documents can be easily printed with a duplexer.
HP Color LaserJet Pro LaserJet 4301fdw compatible software and HP Color LaserJet Pro LaserJet Pro printer
HP Smart app is compatible with iOS and Android. This makes it easy to configure the Color LaserJet Pro 44301fdw. It’s just as easy with the touchscreen. It was easy to use because the printer came with four toner cartridges already installed.
The HP Smart app allows me to print and scan directly from my iPhone, iPad and Android device. HP updates its app regularly. Everything worked as expected. I can print directly from the photo library, my browser and other third-party applications.
Windows and macOS both make scanning and printing easy. If you require a driver, your operating system will automatically download and install it. I didn’t run into any trouble with any of the features I tested. I was unable to try faxing because I don’t have a landline.
HP Color LaserJet Pro 4401fdw price
The HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201.fdw, priced at $599 is an excellent home office printer. It’s certainly worth the initial cost, and long-term expenses are low.
HP offers both standard and high capacity toner cartridges. Black-and-white prints can be printed for as little as 2-5 cents per page.
Color documents always cost more, and with the Color LaserJet Pro 4301fdw, you’ll spend 12 to 18 cents per page on toner. That’s about the same as a cartridge-based inkjet.
It’s worth noting that HP has designed both the printer and toner of the Color LaserJet Pro 4301fdw to be eco-friendly. The printer is 25% faster and uses 27% less electricity than the previous version. The cartridges contain 78% less material, while the toner melts more slowly and offers a wider color range.
This printer is for you.
HP Color LaserJet Pro 4201.fdw is a great all-in-one that anyone will enjoy. Only the initial cost is a downside, as well as the relatively high color printing costs.
It’s a great choice for a busy office, but the investment might be hard to justify for home use. It’s unlikely you’ll need this much performance, even in a small office.
If you need borderless prints or the best photo quality, it’s hard to beat an inkjet printer. A tank inkjet printer is also cheaper than the Color LaserJet Pro 42301fdw.
That’s not to say it won’t be appreciated. The Color LaserJet Pro 4201.fdw impressed me not just for its quality and speed, but also because of the ease of use. The reliability and ease of use removed some of the inconveniences associated with budget models.
If you decide to invest in an HP Color LaserJet Pro 4301fdw, you’ll be thrilled with the speed, happy with the quality, and enjoy long-term benefits in black-and-white printing costs and durability. It’s a great all-in-one printer for a busy office.
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