Subscores
The LaserJet Pro MFP M475dn is an all-in-one multifunction laser printer designed for small- to medium-sized businesses that print 1,000 to 2,500 pages per month. Hewlett-Packard is advertising that users can make "professional colour marketing materials" at "impressive" print speeds of up to 20 pages per minute. Something it has in common with HP's other, non-business-oriented inkjet printers is a touchscreen and a range of online business apps that we still enjoy.
The dimensions (42 x 48 x 50 cm, for a total of 30 kg) make this white- and black-coloured printer a tall machine that can still however fit on a desktop. There is a single physical button: ON/OFF. Everything else is done on the touchscreen. The printer needs to be online in order to take advantage of HP's proprietary apps. The standard 192 MB (expandable up to 448 MB) allow for simple and easy sharing within a group of 30 employees. With PCL 6, PCL 5 and Postscript 3 recognition and Mac, Windows and Linux compatibility, this multifunction printer is an easy one to use.
The USB port on the front panel allows you to print photos straight from a USB device and transfer scanned documents onto a hard drive or key.
The standard paper tray can take up to 250 pages and be adjusted to fit different formats (post cards, envelopes, transparencies).
The M475dn prints as fast in colour as it does in black and white: 22 pages per minute (ppm). That's 10 pages more than the Xerox Workcentre 6015 NI for colour. However, the HP LaserJet Pro is still a step behind the Brother MFC-9970CDW, which prints 30 ppm in both B&W and colour. Unfortunately, it loses a star for its first-page-out time, which is over a minute (see inset).
When printing double-sided, the speeds plummet to 8 ppm.
The quality is quite good. The nuances of grey are accurate and lines are thin and well-defined both in colour and B&W. Our test graph comes out sharp, clear and precise.
Laser printers are not made for photographs, but this will give you an idea of how they look on ordinary paper (blown up 3x). While the image clearly lacks precision, the overall result surpasses the Brother MFC-9970CDW.
Our measurements showed relatively accurate colouring on the whole, with the exception of the two blue tones that are much too high, muddying the average. If you are a business that needs to print marketing materials that contain a precise shade of blue (on a logo, heading, etc.), you may be disappointed with the precision in these shades.
The LaserJet Pro 400 MFP M475d has a wide array of copying options. There's a button just for copying ID cards, for example, and double-sided copying. That's a plus.
The copier takes 19 seconds to produce one page of B&W and 21 seconds for a page of colour. That's rather slow compared to the Xerox Workcentre 6015 NI, which takes 11 and 13 seconds, respectively. On the other hand, while the Workcentre is faster it generates twice as much colour difference and the overall quality isn't as precise. The LaserJet Pro's copier function is above-average for colour laser printers.
Average delta E 94 (colour difference): 4.9
Sleep mode can be set for times starting at 1 minute. The M475dn consumes 5 Watts in sleep mode. That's a lot! Laser printers today are easily capable of consuming 1 W. But it makes up for this during use, where it consumes only 350 W. That's considered low for a laser printer. Noise levels go up to 52 dB, and here too this is higher than the average 50dB normally needed in order to fit into the "silent" category.
The HP M475dn's 14.6 pence per page is higher than the Konica Minolta Magicolor 3730DN (11.1 pence) and the Brother HL-4570CDW (7.7 pence). Compared with the Epson WorkForce Pro WP-4525DNF, which is an inkjet but also has a capacity of 3,400 pages and a 3.5 pence cost per page (4 times less than the M475dn), that's something to give you pause. The cartridges included with the printer don't come full. They print 1,400 pages per colour.
ISO Lifespan for Text
Hardware
The dimensions (42 x 48 x 50 cm, for a total of 30 kg) make this white- and black-coloured printer a tall machine that can still however fit on a desktop. There is a single physical button: ON/OFF. Everything else is done on the touchscreen. The printer needs to be online in order to take advantage of HP's proprietary apps. The standard 192 MB (expandable up to 448 MB) allow for simple and easy sharing within a group of 30 employees. With PCL 6, PCL 5 and Postscript 3 recognition and Mac, Windows and Linux compatibility, this multifunction printer is an easy one to use.
Precise and enjoyable touchscreen
The USB port on the front panel allows you to print photos straight from a USB device and transfer scanned documents onto a hard drive or key.
USB port for printing straight from a key
The standard paper tray can take up to 250 pages and be adjusted to fit different formats (post cards, envelopes, transparencies).
Paper tray
The 4 ink cartridge slots are located on the front panel.
The four HP toner cartridges
Speeds
The M475dn prints as fast in colour as it does in black and white: 22 pages per minute (ppm). That's 10 pages more than the Xerox Workcentre 6015 NI for colour. However, the HP LaserJet Pro is still a step behind the Brother MFC-9970CDW, which prints 30 ppm in both B&W and colour. Unfortunately, it loses a star for its first-page-out time, which is over a minute (see inset).When printing double-sided, the speeds plummet to 8 ppm.
Quality
The quality is quite good. The nuances of grey are accurate and lines are thin and well-defined both in colour and B&W. Our test graph comes out sharp, clear and precise.
Laser printers are not made for photographs, but this will give you an idea of how they look on ordinary paper (blown up 3x). While the image clearly lacks precision, the overall result surpasses the Brother MFC-9970CDW.
Our measurements showed relatively accurate colouring on the whole, with the exception of the two blue tones that are much too high, muddying the average. If you are a business that needs to print marketing materials that contain a precise shade of blue (on a logo, heading, etc.), you may be disappointed with the precision in these shades.
Average delta E 94 (colour difference): 7.4
The lower the better.
For reference, accurate colours are 3 or lower.
The lower the better.
For reference, accurate colours are 3 or lower.
Scanner & Copier
The LaserJet Pro 400 MFP M475d has a wide array of copying options. There's a button just for copying ID cards, for example, and double-sided copying. That's a plus.The copier takes 19 seconds to produce one page of B&W and 21 seconds for a page of colour. That's rather slow compared to the Xerox Workcentre 6015 NI, which takes 11 and 13 seconds, respectively. On the other hand, while the Workcentre is faster it generates twice as much colour difference and the overall quality isn't as precise. The LaserJet Pro's copier function is above-average for colour laser printers.
Average delta E 94 (colour difference): 4.9
Energy Consumption & Noise Levels
Sleep mode can be set for times starting at 1 minute. The M475dn consumes 5 Watts in sleep mode. That's a lot! Laser printers today are easily capable of consuming 1 W. But it makes up for this during use, where it consumes only 350 W. That's considered low for a laser printer. Noise levels go up to 52 dB, and here too this is higher than the average 50dB normally needed in order to fit into the "silent" category.
Cost Per Page: 14.6 pence
The HP M475dn's 14.6 pence per page is higher than the Konica Minolta Magicolor 3730DN (11.1 pence) and the Brother HL-4570CDW (7.7 pence). Compared with the Epson WorkForce Pro WP-4525DNF, which is an inkjet but also has a capacity of 3,400 pages and a 3.5 pence cost per page (4 times less than the M475dn), that's something to give you pause. The cartridges included with the printer don't come full. They print 1,400 pages per colour.ISO Lifespan for Text
| Ink Cartridge | Price (starting at) | ISO Lifespan | Cost Per Page |
| CE410A (black) | £78 | 4000 | 2 pence |
| CE411A (cyan) | £110 | 2600 | 4.2 pence |
| CE412A (yellow) | £110 | 2600 | 4.2 pence |
| CE413A (magenta) | £110 | 2600 | 4.2 pence |
Pros
- Low cost per page
- User-friendly
- Double-sided printing
- HP ePrint, Apple AirPrint
- Fast print speeds in colour and B&W
- Good printing quality
- Compact design
- Modifiable sleep mode settings
Cons
- Slow to start after being turned on
- Energy consumption in sleep mode: 5 W
- Noise
Conclusion
What makes the LaserJet Pro 400 Color MFP M475dn stand out is its user-friendliness and all-around capability. The touchscreen is enjoyable to use and the online apps allow you to print without a computer. It prints fast and in high quality. We were, however, disappointed with the high energy consumption during sleep mode.
OUR SCORE
DigitalVersus on...