HP LaserJet Pro 400 M401n

By M. David Stone

Essentially a stripped-down version of the HP LaserJet Pro 400 M401dn that I recently reviewed, the HP LaserJet Pro 400 M401n leaves out the dn model's duplexer (for two-sided printing) as well as its touch screen controls, support for Web apps, and ability to print files from a USB memory key. However it offers the same high-quality output, as well as support for HP ePrint (for printing through the cloud) and Apple AirPrint (for printing from iThings by Wi-Fi). It also costs 25 percent less, making it a potentially good choice for offices that can do without duplexing.

As with the M401dn, the M401n is aimed primarily at micro and small offices and workgroups, but is also suitable for a home office with unusually heavy-duty print needs. Essentially the same size as its near twin, at 10.5 by 14.4 by 14.5 inches, its only real shortcoming for a home office is that it takes up a little too much room to comfortably share a desk with.

The similar size for the two printers comes largely from offering similar paper handling, with a 250-sheet paper drawer and a 50-sheet multipurpose tray. This should be enough in most cases, but you can also add a 500-sheet second tray ($125 direct) if you need it.

Setup and Speed
For my tests, I connected the M401n to a wired network and installed the driver on a Windows Vista system. Setup was standard fare.

Not too surprisingly, the M401n was virtually identical to the M401dn for speed. HP rates both printers at 35 pages per minute (ppm), which is the speed you should see when printing text files without much formatting. On our business applications suite, however, both printers were slow for the rating, at an effective 5.9 ppm (using QualityLogic's hardware and software for timing). In comparison, the Editors' Choice OKI B431dn came in at 11.1 ppm, and the Canon imageClass LBP6300dn , which is rated at only 30 ppm, managed 14.5 ppm.

One complication for interpreting these results is that the M401n and M401dn were both slower in my tests than the HP LaserJet Pro 400 MFP M425dn , but shouldn't have been. HP says that all three printers are built around the identical engine and should have identical speed. On my tests, however, the M425dn was more than twice as fast, at 12.9 ppm.

As I pointed out in the M425dn review, most of the difference in speed between it on the one hand and the two M401 models on the other is for the first page out time for each print job, with the difference 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 M401n (and M401dn) slipped into energy-saving sleep mode between print jobs on our tests and took additional time to warm up before printing the first page of each document. However, HP says all three printers should behave identically on this score, and that the difference may be due to different firmware versions. At this writing, HP is still looking into the issue.

Output Quality and Other Issues
As with the M401dn, output quality counts as one of the M401n's strongest points. Text quality is just a half step below the best-looking mono laser output, making it easily good enough for printing small fonts readably. Depending on how much of a perfectionist you are, you may consider the quality good enough for desktop publishing applications.

Graphics output in my tests was easily good enough for any internal business need, including PowerPoint handouts. Most people would also consider it suitable for graphics in a report going to an important client. Photo quality is better than most mono lasers can manage, making it good enough for photos in a client newsletter or the like.

One potential issue is running cost. HP claims a 2.4 cent per page cost for the M401n. That's lower than for some other printers in its price range, including the LBP6300dn, for example. However, it's higher than for the B431dn at 1.8 cents per page. That works out to a $60 difference per 10,000 pages, and, depending on how much you print, can add up to hundreds of dollars more in total cost of ownership for the M401n over the life of the printer.

Also, and not surprisingly, I ran into the same issue with the M401n as with the M401dn refusing to print from Photoshop 7 using the printer's higher-quality modes. As I said in the M401dn review, however, I don't consider this a major issue, both because the problem doesn't show up at all resolution settings, and because HP has already come up with a fix. A quick test with the current beta version of the upgraded driver showed that it has no trouble printing with the same files and settings that the current driver fails with.

If the HP LaserJet M400 M401n included a duplexer, offered a lower running cost, or both, it would be a compelling choice at the price. As it is, if you need duplexing, you should obviously be looking at the M401dn, the Oki B431dn, or the Canon LBP6300dn instead. And if you care more about running cost than output quality, the B431dn is the obvious pick. But if you don't need to duplex and need high-quality output, the HP LaserJet M400 M401n is a highly attractive choice.

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