PRINTING. The HP LaserJet Pro MFP M26nw 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, 13 pages per minute, costing 5.6 cents per page. It prints black-and-white graphics with some obvious defects, but OK for casual use, at 4.6 pages per minute, costing 10.9 cents per page. The capacity of the main paper tray is 150 sheets, a typical size.
SCANNING and COPYING. Scanning performance was Very Good, fine for general-purpose scanning. It can scan or copy an area up to 11.7 x 8.5 inches (letter size). Copying performance was Very Good, suitable for most purposes. Includes OCR (optical character recognition) software, useful for making scanned documents editable in a word processor program.
CONTROLS and DISPLAY. The printer has a medium-size 2.5-inch display screen.
CONNECTIVITY and NETWORKING. You can connect directly to a PC with a USB cable, or to your network router either wirelessly with WiFi or with an Ethernet cable. 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 $140, cheap for an all-in-one 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 toner cartridge to last an extraordinarily long time -- around 14 months -- following a typical printing schedule. After 2 years of typical use, we estimate the total cost to be $286, typical for a mono laser. The estimated yearly cost is $73, very high for this printer type. So the 3-, 4- and 5-year estimates are $360, $433 and $506 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 11.21.0.5551.
ABOUT THE TONER CARTRIDGE, SOFTWARE AND FIRMWARE. Our test results are valid only for the HP-brand toner cartridge, and the software and firmware versions indicated. If your printer's software or firmware differ from the ones shown you either have an older or a newer version of these. Manufacturers may periodically upgrade the printer's firmware to enhance operation, fix bugs, or add features. Firmware updates are downloadable directly to your printer via a wired or wireless network (if internet capable). You can check your printer's firmware version, or upgrade to the latest firmware by either (1) running the HP printer-update app installed on the PC, or (2) accessing the "Settings" section of the printer menu and navigating to the firmware update option. Consult the user manual or HP's website for further guidance. Try searching online.
