This printer has been trialled in an office of six people with moderate printing needs. This review is based on usage for a small to medium sized office.
Let's be honest. The first thing one looks for when buying a new printer is price. However, the average buyer is far more savvy than this these days and realises that the initial cost is not the only outlay to come into play. The majority of the expenditure on a printer will be on toner cartridge, paper usage and the overall life span of the machine.
The HP Laserjet 400 is not among the cheapest printers on the market but is one of several more moderately priced machines. It takes CE410, CE411, CE412 and CE413 toner cartridges which are nicely economical, particularly if you use an alternative brand. Care has to be taken when selecting an alternative toner cartridge to ensure that it will not damage the machine but there are several reputable brands available which will not invalidate the manufacturer's warranty. Hytec cartridges were used in this case, which do not invalidate the HP warranty and the results are good.
For a small and economical printer it is very quick – up to 21 pages per minute, black or colour. Speed is not a primary consideration for most offices but it does make a pleasant change if the printouts are ready by the time you get to the machine, rather than having to waste valuable time waiting for the document to finish printing.
Its also networked, which is essential for most offices. There are non-networked versions of this model available if it isn't necessary for your usage and that will work out a little bit cheaper to buy.
The duplex function works well, which isn't the case with all duplex printers. It's still relatively quick when printing on both sides so you can really cut your paper costs if you regularly print multi-page documents.
However, there is one problem. This machine can be prone to paper jams, particularly when printing on labels or card. If you have large batches of label runs to put through I would urge caution. This printer prefers you to only feed through a few sheets at a time. Selecting the correct paper medium before pressing print is essential.
In conclusion this is a suitable middle of the road printer for a small to medium sized office. It is by far the only printer fulfilling this function but it is one of several that would produce the goods.
