Hands-on review: HP Laserjet Pro MFP M277dw

With the LaserJet Pro MFP M277dw, HP introduces a new technology called JetIntelligence.

JetIntelligence is HP's way of improving its product's efficiency and power usage. It has the benefit of using a new toner ink with a lower melting point, reducing power usage. And you'd be surprised how much energy a laser printer can use – especially the older ones (yes those ones that covered the office in clouds of toner dust and smelt so bad).

It on average uses 13% less energy than it's competitors, and is more compact, being just larger than a personal printer.

The M277dw is a solid printer for an small office, having all the functions you'd expect in a MFP with one minor omission: it doesn't do duplex scanning, which means a longer time at the device if you do end up scanning a double sided document.

One strength is its JetAdvantage Private Print option. I see that in a shared office, this would be a real benefit. It allows documents to be queued up and only printed when authentication is provided by way of a pin or a smartcard on a larger MFP. This prevents confidential documents being caught up in someone else's print job. It could also avoid all those unclaimed print jobs that get thrown out each week.

With a 150 sheet capacity, it's ideal for a smaller office or for a business that doesn't do a lot of printing. Its time to spool up and print means it will be ideal for the occasional user, saving money through its extremely low standby power usage.

With smaller offices printing less, when something is printed, it has to be of a high quality and the M277dw excels at this, producing fast high quality graphic and text prints. As it is a laser, it's much stronger on document printing than photo printing. The quality of photo printing is good enough for business, ideal for presentations and pamphlets or brochures.

With the ability to print from and scan to mobile devices, the M277dw is ideal for today's connected business, and although it lacks a duplex option, this is a minor quibble. After all, if you can't say something on one side, surely you're saying too much!

The HP Laserjet Pro MFP M277dw is a strong contender, and should be a serious consideration for small businesses who want the range of features that you'll often find limited to a full size MFP.

Well done HP.