HP LaserJet Pro M402dw Review - Review 2022

Aimed primarily at a pocket-sized function or workgroup, the HP LaserJet Pro M402dw ($349.99) is a potent candidate every bit a workhorse monochrome light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation printer. Its claimed cost per page is a affect high and its text quality a touch low compared with its closest competition, merely it yet delivers a balance of speed, paper handling, output quality, and running cost that'due south suitable for medium duty in a modest role. It'due south also small enough to place on a desk, making it an attractive choice as a heavy duty personal printer.

Among the M402dw's ($629.00 at Amazon) direct competitors are the Dell B2360dn ($150.00 at Amazon) and the Brother HL-6180DW . These two models are so closely matched that both are Editors' Choice monochrome lasers for heavy-duty personal to medium-duty small-part use. The primal differences between them are that the Brother model offers a somewhat higher paper capacity and lower cost per page, while the Dell printer delivered significantly faster speed on our tests. Unfortunately for the M402dw, it comes in backside both in two key areas, with lower text quality than either on our tests and a higher claimed running cost, at ii.2 cents per page.

That said, the M402dw comes in a close second (or third) to both tiptop picks. It falls betwixt the two for newspaper capacity, and information technology had better graphics and photo quality than the Dell printer on our tests, and was faster than either i. What's more, its claimed cost per page is simply 0.2 cents more than that of the Dell B2360dn.

Nuts

The M402dw's newspaper handling is easily suitable for moderate to heavy-duty use. The printer includes a 250-sheet drawer, a 100-sheet multipurpose tray, and a duplexer. That's enough for virtually small offices, but for heavier-duty use, y'all can add together an optional 550-canvass drawer ($139.99) for a total 900-canvas paper capacity.

Connectivity options include Ethernet and Wi-Fi. Connect the printer to a network with either ane, and y'all can print through the cloud, every bit well as print from a mobile device past connecting to the printer through an access point. If y'all connect it to a unmarried PC via USB cable instead, you won't exist able to impress through the cloud, merely you'll still exist able to utilise the printer's Wi-Fi Direct to connect to it directly and impress from a mobile device. You lot tin also take advantage of the built-in NFC support to connect to the printer only by tapping ta uniform phone or tablet to the NFC logo on the tiptop right of the printer.

HP LaserJet Pro M402dn

Setup, Speed, and Output Quality

At 8.v by 15 by fourteen.1 inches (HWD) and xviii pounds xiv ounces, the M402dw is small enough to share a desk-bound with easily and calorie-free plenty for one person to motility into identify. For my tests I installed information technology on a network using its Ethernet connector and ran the tests from a system running Windows Vista. Setup is standard for a monochrome laser.

Speed is a potent indicate. HP rates the M402dw at 40 pages per infinitesimal (ppm). Fifty-fifty ameliorate, it came in faster on our tests than almost printers with the aforementioned or similar ratings. I timed it on our business applications suite (using QualityLogic'south hardware and software for timing) at 17ppm. That makes information technology a flake faster than the Dell B2360dn, which managed 15ppm on our business applications suite, and a lot faster than the Brother HL-6180W, which managed just 10.7ppm.

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Output quality on our tests was acceptable for most business organisation employ, but not impressive. Text output was at the low end of the range that includes the vast majority of monochrome lasers, making it skillful plenty for about business use, as long as you don't need pocket-size fonts.

Graphics and photo output were both at the low cease of average for our tests for a monochrome laser. For graphics, that translates to beingness hands good enough for any internal business concern need. Most people would also consider it good enough for PowerPoint handouts or the like. Photos with our examination files were unusually grainy, even for a monochrome laser. However, the quality was good enough to impress recognizable images from webpages and the similar, which is virtually as much as you lot tin can expect from the category.

Decision

The HP M402dw gets lots of points for its fast speed, but misses out on being our top pick in its category because its claimed cost per page is on the loftier side. That's still enough to arrive a strong contender. The Dell B2360dn and the Brother HL-6180DW remain our Editors' Choice picks, every bit they have better text quality and a lower claimed cost per page. For heavy-duty press, take a close look, in particular, at the Brother HL-6180DW, with its higher paper capacity.

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