PRINTING. The HP LaserJet Pro M12w prints using laser technology, which picks up powdered 'toner' on a roller and fuses it to the paper with heat. It prints black-and-white text with Excellent quality, as we've come to expect from a laser printer. Text printing was very quick, 14.3 pages per minute, costing 6.4 cents per page. It prints black-and-white graphics with some obvious defects, but OK for casual use, at 6.7 pages per minute, costing 13.8 cents per page. The capacity of the main paper tray is 150 sheets, a typical size.
CONTROLS and DISPLAY. The printer has no display screen.
CONNECTIVITY and NETWORKING. You can connect directly to a PC with a USB cable, or to your network router wirelessly with WiFi. Apple AirPrint and Google Cloud Print are built-in, to print wirelessly from smartphones, tablets and PCs. You can also install HP's app on your smart phone or tablet, as another option for printing over your WiFi network. You can also print an email remotely by forwarding it directly to this printer.
COST OF OWNERSHIP AND TONER. When this section was last updated, the printer's purchase price was about $100, cheap for a black and white laser printer. Printing uses up toner. Over time, as you print, the costs add up. This printer uses one cartridge. The HP toner cartridge used in testing was the 79A. At the time, its price was $55. We estimate the cartridge to last a long time: around 7.2 months. After 2 years of typical use, we estimate the total cost to be $273, typical for a mono laser. The estimated yearly cost is $86, very high for this printer type. So the 3-, 4- and 5-year estimates are $359, $446 and $532 respectively.
PRINTER FIRMWARE. Firmware is software that exists inside the printer. All models are evaluated using the latest firmware version available at the time of testing.
SOFTWARE. The collection of software accompanying the printer may include: the printer driver, printer applications, electronic user manual, (and for all-in-ones:) scanning, faxing, and OCR apps. These get installed on your personal computer. All models are evaluated with a Windows 10 PC using the latest version of printer driver and printer support apps available at the time of testing. The software version was 1.0.2.29428.
