HP LaserJet Pro M1212nf Laser Multifunction Printer

For a bare-bones laser printer--no wireless, no automatic duplexing--the HP LaserJet Pro M1212nf is fairly cheap, at around $199. It's as fast as could be expected, and print quality is decent, though pages tended to curl more than I like. The printer is part of HP's "Plug and Print" line of laser printers--that means no more installing drivers from a CD, which makes set-up an easy, five-minute process rather than a half-hour-long chore. Still, the HP LaserJet 1606dn offers more functionality at about the same price, so unless your office needs a fax machine, keep looking.

While there's absolutely nothing wrong with the HP LaserJet Pro M1212nf laser multifunction printer, there's not all that much to write home about either. It offers a fax where the similarly priced HP LaserJet 1606dn offered wireless and automatic duplex printing, much more useful functions in my mind--though still, of course, it depends on what you need. If you're still relying on a fax machine, then this printer will be more appropriate for you needs. For me, wireless trumps a fax every time.

So what can be said about the LaserJet Pro M1212nf? It's as fast as it should be, with first pages out in as little as seven seconds and print jobs averaging just over three seconds per page. Print quality is uniformly good, which is as it should be with a laser printer. And the manual duplex printing is as simple as it could possibly be, with no need for realigning sheafs of paper--simply take out the printed pages and move them as they are back to the paper tray. The printer tended to curl up the edges of my cheap copy paper, but I didn't experience any paper jams when using the duplex function, though I could certainly imagine it happening.

The printer features a tiny monochrome LCD screen and some basic functions on the unit; but most of the unit's interface space is taken up by the fax-machine's numberpad. The unit's a bit on the bulky side, particularly when compared to some of the sleek laser printers that Samsung offers.

So, keep in mind that there are plenty of decent laser printers at (or even below) this price range, and unless your office is crying out for a fax machine, keep looking around.

Disclosure: Review samples were provided by the manufacturer. For more information, please see our Ethics Policy.