Description
What The HP LaserJet Pro M477fnw Is
The HP LaserJet Pro M477fnw is a color laser multifunction printer for a small office. It prints, scans, copies and faxes, connects over wireless or a built in Ethernet port, and carries a touchscreen control panel. HP positions it around two ideas: speed on routine office tasks and security features aimed at protecting a networked printer.
Color laser is the important part. Compared with a monochrome machine such as the HP LaserJet Pro M426fdw, a color laser costs more to buy and more to run, and it earns that back only if the office genuinely prints color documents. Compared with a color inkjet it is faster on text and better suited to bursts of printing after periods of inactivity, because toner does not dry out.
Scanning And Workflow
The scanning side is the strongest part of HP’s description. Scanned files can go directly to email, to a USB drive, to a network folder or to a cloud service, using business applications preloaded on the machine. That matters in an office because it removes the computer from the loop: a walk up user can digitize a document and route it without opening any software. For a small business handling invoices, contracts and forms, that is often the feature that justifies a multifunction unit over a plain printer.
Print resolution is listed as 1200 by 1200 dpi for color and 600 by 600 dpi for black and white, with a separate resolution field also reading 1200 by 1200. Onboard memory is 512 MB, which is generous compared with the 128 MB on some LaserJet Pro models and matters when handling large color jobs. The control panel is a touchscreen.
Paper Handling
Maximum media size is 8.5 by 14 inches, which covers legal documents. Maximum input capacity is listed as 850 sheets, a figure that on machines of this type usually assumes an optional additional tray rather than the standard configuration, since the specification table also lists the number of trays as one. Copy speed in black and white is listed at 28 pages per minute. The chassis is substantial at 48.1 pounds and 16.4 by 18.1 by 15.7 inches, so this needs a dedicated surface.
A Duplex Question Worth Resolving Before Buying
There is a contradiction on this listing that a buyer should settle before ordering. HP uses letter suffixes in LaserJet model names to indicate features, and in that scheme d indicates automatic two sided printing. This model is the M477fnw: f for fax, n for network, w for wireless, with no d. The specification table nonetheless lists Duplex as Automatic and Dualsided printing as Yes.
Those two things cannot both be right. Either the model designation is unusual for this machine or the specification fields have been copied from a duplexing sibling model. Because automatic duplex is a feature people buy printers for, the sensible step is to confirm it against HP documentation for the M477fnw specifically rather than relying on either signal here.
The other cost that separates color laser from monochrome is the consumable set. A color laser needs four toner cartridges rather than one, and depending on the design it may also use one or more imaging drums that are replaced separately from the toner. This listing says nothing about which cartridges the M477fnw takes, what they yield or whether drums are separate parts, so anyone budgeting for running costs has to find the cartridge part numbers and yields from HP before deciding.
Highlights
- Color laser printing, scanning, copying and fax in one machine.
- Wireless plus a built in Ethernet port.
- Scan to email, USB, network folder and cloud.
- Preloaded business applications on the device.
- Touchscreen control panel.
- 512 MB of onboard memory.
- Color resolution listed at 1200 by 1200 dpi.
- Legal size media support.
- Copy speed listed at 28 pages per minute in black and white.
Things To Consider
This listing publishes less real information than most printers in this catalog. There is exactly one feature bullet, reading only Hp color laserjet mfp m477fnw, and one product image. Beyond the duplex contradiction described above, the specification table lists Scanner Type as Sheetfed on a machine HP describes as a flatbed multifunction, gives Print media as Envelopes only, and gives Sheet Size as 5 inch x 8 while the maximum media size field says 8.5 by 14. Ink Color is listed as Grey on a color laser printer. Copy resolution is listed as 600 by 600 dpi for color and 1200 dpi for black and white, the reverse of the print resolution figures on the same page. HP’s own description also uses strong comparative marketing language about competing printers, which is advertising rather than data.
- Automatic duplex is claimed in the table but is not indicated by the model designation.
- Toner cartridges are a separate purchase and color laser toner is a four cartridge set.
- The 850 sheet input capacity appears to assume an optional tray.
- Only one feature bullet and one image are published on the listing.
- Scanner type, media type and sheet size fields contradict each other.
- Print speed in color is not stated anywhere.
- At 48.1 pounds this is a two person lift.
- The model was first listed in 2015, so check current driver and firmware support.
Who Should Buy It And Who Should Not
The M477fnw suits a small office that needs color documents, fax and network scanning in one machine and values scan to folder and scan to email workflows. The Ethernet port matters for an office where wireless is unreliable, the touchscreen makes walk up use straightforward, and 512 MB of memory helps with color heavy jobs. It is a sensible fit for an office of a handful of people rather than a single desk.
It is the wrong printer for a home user, where the size, weight and running costs are all out of proportion, and the wrong printer for anyone who prints almost entirely in black and white, where a monochrome laser is cheaper to buy and to run. Offices needing higher volume color should look at the HP Color LaserJet M751dn, while smaller offices can compare the Xerox C325, the Xerox C410 and the Brother MFC-L8900CDW across the laser printers category.
