HP LaserJet Pro 400 MFP M425dn

Basically a multi-function printer (MFP) variation on the? HP LaserJet Pro 400 M401dn ($399 direct, 4 stars), the HP LaserJet Pro 400 MFP M425dn ($499 direct) delivers essentially the same printing capability plus scanning, copying, and faxing. As with its single-function cousin, the printer's strong points include above par output quality and paper handling along with an assortment of extras, including a touch-screen control panel. More important, as with M401dn, the M425dn is a potentially good choice for the right office.

Although the M425dn is a little more expensive than the Editors' Choice OKI MB471 ($399 direct, 4 stars), it's very much in the same class. Both printers are meant primarily for micro or small offices or workgroups with relatively heavy-duty needs. However, the M425dn is a bit smaller, at 16.7 by 17.3 by 15.1 inches (HWD), making it a little easier to find room for.

In both cases, much of the reason for the large size is to make room for paper. For the M425dn, the paper handling features include a 250-sheet paper tray, a 50-sheet multi-purpose tray, and a built in duplexer (for two-sided printing). Although that should be enough for most small offices, if you need more, you can also add an optional 500-sheet tray ($125 direct) for a total 800-sheet capacity.

Not So Basic Basics
Basic MFP features for the M425dn include printing and faxing from as well as scanning to a PC, including over a network, and working as a standalone copier and fax machine. It can also both scan to and print from a USB memory key. In addition, it offers support for Web-based printer apps plus an assortment of mobile printing features, including HP ePrint (for printing through the cloud) and Apple AirPrint (for printing from iOS devices).

As with most office MFPs, the M425dn includes both a letter-size flatbed and an automatic document feeder (ADF) that can scan up to legal-size pages. However, it also adds one particularly nice touch.

Like a growing number of MFPs, the M425dn can scan in duplex, and it gives you the choice of copying both single- and double-sided originals to your choice of single- or double-sided copies. Unlike the vast majority of small office MFPs with this option, however, the M425dn offers a duplexing scanner rather than a duplexing ADF. In other words, it scans both sides of the page at once, instead of scanning one side, turning the page over, and scanning the other side.

Having a duplexing scanner rather than a duplexing ADF is a critical distinction that gives you much faster scans when you scan, copy, or fax in duplex. If you work with duplex originals very often, this alone can make the M425dn your preferred choice for an MFP.

Setup and Speed
For my tests, I connected the M425dn to a network, and installed the driver and software on a Windows Vista system. Setup was absolutely typical for the breed.

HP rates the printer at 35 pages per minute (ppm), which is the speed you should see for text documents with no formatting. On our business applications suite, I timed it (using QualityLogic's hardware and software for timing), at a reasonably fast 12.9 ppm. As a point of comparison, that makes the M425dn significantly faster than the MB471, at 9.5 ppm, and a bit faster than the less expensive Editors Choice Canon imageClass MF4570dn ($299, 4 stars), at 12.3 ppm.

Oddly, the M425dn was notably faster on my tests than the M401dn, at 5.9 ppm. A close look at the results shows that most of the difference is for the first page out time for each print job, a difference that's magnified by the fact that most of our test files are only one or two pages.

The most likely reason for the difference is that the M401dn went into an energy-saving sleep mode during testing more quickly that the M425dn. Having slipped into sleep mode between print jobs, it then took additional time to warm up before printing the first page of each document. HP says the two should behave identically, however, and that the difference may be due to a difference in firmware version. At this writing, HP is still looking into the issue.

Output Quality and Running Cost
The M425dn's output quality is just above par across the board. Text quality is just a bit below the best looking mono laser output available, making it more than acceptable for printing small size fonts. Depending on your tastes, you may consider it suitable for desktop publishing.

Graphics output is easily good enough for any internal business need, including PowerPoint handouts. Most people would also rate it as acceptable for graphics in reports going to an important client or customer. Photo quality is easily good enough for printing photos in a client newsletter or the like, which is the best you can expect from a mono laser.

As with the M401dn, one potential issue for the M425dn is its running cost, at a claimed 2.4 cents per page. The MB471, in comparison, claims only 1.8 cents per page, which makes it both cheaper to buy and cheaper to run. With a 0.6 cent per page difference, the MB471 will save you $60 in running costs for every 10,000 pages you print.

I also ran into the same issue with the M425dn as I did with the M401dn when trying to print from Photoshop 7 using the printer's higher-quality modes. Here again, I don't consider this a serious problem, both because it showed up only at some quality settings and because HP has already come up with a fix in a beta driver it provided. A quick test with the upgraded driver confirmed that it has no trouble printing with the same files and settings that the current driver chokes on every time.

The HP LaserJet 400 MFP M425dn offers a lot to recommend it for any micro or small office, most notably its high-quality output, fast speed, and good paper handling. If saving money is your chief concern, you'll be better off with the OKI MB471, which offers both a lower initial cost and lower running cost. However, the HP LaserJet 400 MFP M425dn's high-quality text and duplex scanning are compelling reasons to choose it instead. If you need either or both features, it's well worth the extra cost.

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