Expert Verdict
The HP LaserJet Pro 400 Color M451nw is a color laser printer designed for small to medium-sized offices that produce high-quality output. It can produce crisp written documents and bright photos with a maximum resolution of 600 x 600 dpi and is rather fast for the pricing. The monthly duty cycle of the HP 400 Color M451nw printer is 40,000 pages, with a suggested monthly print volume of 750 to 2,000 pages. The unit has networking capabilities built-in. It does, however, share the same high-cost HP LaserJet Pro 400 Color M451NW toner cartridges as most entry-level color laser printers, and it lacks the automatic duplexing offered in HP's somewhat more expensive 'dn' and 'dw' models.
This little printer can print in color or black and white at a speed of 21 pages per minute. The laser printer HP LaserJet Pro 400 Color M451nw has a maximum of three trays and can handle over 500 sheets. Ethernet and USB ports are located on the rear of the device for connectivity. A compact control panel with function buttons is included with the printer. The two-line LED is navigated with a two-way rocker button. That's OK for regular use, but not for manually configuring Wi-Fi: unless your network supports WPS, you'll need to connect the printer through USB or ethernet to set up the wireless (Wi-Fi Protected Setup). If the users aren't too far away from the printer, the paper-handling features are adequate for a small office or workgroup. Otherwise, individuals who must repeatedly run to the printer to reinsert documents for two-sided printing would be tiresome because of the lack of an automatic duplexer in the model.
The M451nw's per-page expenses are reasonable when compared to comparably priced color laser printers. They are, however, extravagant when compared to business inkjet printers or inkjet MFPs in the same price range. The regular black HP LaserJet Pro 400 Color M451NW toner cartridge has a page yield of 2200 pages at 3.6 cents per page. The cyan, magenta, and yellow HP LaserJet Pro 400 Color M451NW toner cartridges yield 2600 pages or 4.4 cents per color page. A four-color page costs 16.7 cents, which is slightly less than the industry average for color lasers. A 4000-page high-yield black cartridge reduces black expenses to 2.5 cents per page and four-color prices to 15.6 cents per page. The HP LaserJet Pro 400 Color M451NW toner cartridges that come with the device are good for about 1400 pages.
The M451nw has a mediocre speed that is occasionally slower than average. It produced below-average speeds of 11.7 pages per minute (ppm) on the PC and 10.3 ppm on the Mac, printing largely plain black text and a few basic grayscale pictures on plain paper. On normal paper, snapshot-size photos printed faster than usual. The highlight was a PDF document with multiple full-color pages that printed almost twice as fast as the average. The text produced by the M451nw is exceptional - dark and crisp. With HP LaserJet Pro 400 Color M451NW toner cartridges, color photographs are also fairly decent for a color laser at this price point, although human faces have an orange hue, as with other HP printers. Our full-page photo included a cool color scheme and excellent detail rendering.
Since it can be shared through Wi-Fi or Ethernet, the HP LaserJet Pro 400 Color M451nw printer is ideal for workgroups. Also, it is a space-saving workgroup printer. Both Macintosh and Windows operating systems are supported by the M451nw printer. To save money on HP LaserJet Pro 400 Color M451NW toner cartridges, the printer also has an economy mode.
Review
With the decent printing option, the LaserJet Pro 400 Color M451nw aims at delivering great quality output at a lower price. The laser printer has maximum number of 3 trays and can handle over up to 500 sheets at a time. The printer is compact is size to easily fit in any environment and features a small control panel with function buttons. Compatible with both Macintosh and Windows operating systems, the HP LaserJet Pro 400 Color M451nw toner cartridges are available at a much discounted price. The quality of ink used is of high standard and each print guarantees same output as the previous one.
To establish great connectivity, the unit comes with built-in networking options like connectivity through Ethernet or USB ports. The Pro 400 Color M451nw printer is very convenient to use and provides the facility of wireless connection. The HP M451nw printer weighs 50 lbs and measures 15.9 x 25.9 x 12.7 inches. It has a maximum print resolution of 600 x 600 dpi and delivers crisp text documents and vibrant images.
Advantages- Good performance
- Good output quality
- Supports Wi-fi and Ethernet connection
- High-quality HP LaserJet Pro 400 Color M451nw toner cartridges
- Compatible with Macintosh and Windows OS
- No automatic duplexer
- Slow printing
The compatible HP LaserJet Pro 400 Color M451nw toner cartridges include:
- HP 305 CE410X Black Toner
- HP 305 CE411A Cyan Toner
- HP 305 CE412A Yellow Toner
- HP 305 CE413A Magenta Toner
The HP 400 Color M451nw printer has a monthly duty cycle of 40,000 pages and the recommended monthly print volume is 750 to 2,000 pages. The only trouble with the HP LaserJet Pro 400 Color Printer M451nw is that it only supports manual duplexing. Except that overall it is a great choice for home or office environment.
Is it possible to extend the life of HP LaserJet Pro 400 Color M451nw toner cartridges?
HP LaserJet Pro 400 Color M451nw printers come with the Economode feature. This feature uses less toner which increases the life of your toner cartridges. However, using this full-time use of this feature is not recommended as the toner supply may outlive the mechanical parts of the HP LaserJet Pro 400 Color M451nw toner cartridges. If the print quality begins to degrade, consider replacing the toner cartridge. To enable this feature follow the steps below:
- Open the printer driver on your computer and go to the “File” menu.
- Click on the “Print” tab. Select the “Properties” or “Preferences” button.
- Select “Paper/Quality” tab.
- Tick the checkbox next to the “Economode” option to increase the life of your HP LaserJet Pro 400 Color M451nw toner cartridges.
What to do when the printer is offline and unable to print on a network with Windows 8.1 computers?
This issue occurs when the network location of a Windows 8.1 device is changed from Private to Public, and then back to Private. You will need to enable the network discovery and the “File and Print Sharing” option on your Windows device. Follow the steps below to do so:
- Open the control panel. Select “Network and Sharing”.
- Open “Network and Sharing Center” menu and select the “Manage Advanced Settings” option.
- Turn on network discovery, and then tick the “Turn on automatic setup of network connected devices” checkbox. This may require permission from the administrator. Enter the admin password, if required.
- Enable the file and printer sharing option as well.
- Click on “Save” to save these changes.
If your printer still does not print on a network, it is advised you contact the customer support number provided, regarding this issue.