HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M177fw

HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M177fw multifunction printer

Today we will review HP’s color laserjet multifunction printer MFP M177FW. This is a relatively small and compact, low-price device (around $300) and we were pleasantly surprised that for its price, it supports LAN and Wi-Fi, even cloud printing. 

The output quality is good and the price of the device itself is very reasonable, however the laser toner is on the expensive side which brings up the cost per page.

Design and features

Communication-wise, the M177fw has USB, 10/100 Ethernet and Wi-Fi connectivity. Setup seems easy enough and the driver dialog is intuitive.

The device has an easy to operate 3-inch touchscreen display. The paper capacity is limited – monthly usage is recommended to be no more than 950 pages. The open-faced input tray can take up to 150 pages, the output tray – up to 50. The automatic document feeder is only 35 pages and is quite noisy.

The scanner lid doesn't telescope, even slightly. Even most non-telescoping lids have slight give in their hinges, but the M177fw's lid cants upward even when scanning a 100-page magazine.

Output quality and performance

The M177fw's overall output quality is almost perfect. Photos are rendered exceptionally well for a laser printer, with very little graininess. Text and monochrome graphics are equally outstanding—sharp and black. There is economy mode which saves a lot of toner, but still produces legible text. Given the cost of the toner, it’s good to have it.

The M177fw has the slower performance that's typical of low-cost color lasers. Text and monochrome pages exit at 9.9 pages per minute on the PC, and 7.7 pages per minute on the Mac. Snapshot-sized, 4-inch by 6-inch photos print at just under 2 per minute to plain paper, and 1.5 per minute to glossy laser stock. 

A full-page photo exits in about 55 seconds. Copies proceed at about 4 per minute, and scans speeds are equally acceptable.

HP Officejet Pro 8000 consumer report

The biggest downside of this machine however is the toner costs – the 1300 black toner is sold at $55, with the color toner being even more expensive. The M177fw comes with a 500-page toner so you will need a new cartridge soon enough. The cartridges are mounted on a carousel inside the printer. 

To access a cartridge, you have to press an icon of the cartridge in the supplies menu on the control panel

HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M177fw
Reviewed by Test and Review on 02/17/2017
Rating: 4.0