HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4301fdw Color Laser Printer vs Epson EcoTank ET-2850 All-in-One Supertank Printer

What separates them

These two differ on 8 recorded specifications. The HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4301fdw Color Laser Printer is $249.01 dearer. They are different kinds of product — color laser mfp against ink tank mfp — so read the table as two spec sheets rather than a like-for-like.

HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4301fdw Color Laser Printer vs Epson EcoTank ET-2850 All-in-One Supertank Printer

HP

HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4301fdw Color Laser Printer

$549.00

Color laser means four cartridges to replace instead of one, and a full set of high-yield 214X costs more than half the printer -- that is the trade being made, not print quality.

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Epson

Epson EcoTank ET-2850 All-in-One Supertank Printer

$299.99

One set of Epson 502 bottles covers about 4,500 black and 7,500 color pages, which works out under a cent a page -- the lowest running cost of any printer in this department.

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Who the HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4301fdw Color Laser Printer is for

Buy it if: Offices printing color in volume that need laser output rather than inkjet.

Avoid it if: Anyone printing occasional color, for whom an ink tank machine costs far less to own.

Who the Epson EcoTank ET-2850 All-in-One Supertank Printer is for

Buy it if: Home and small offices printing color regularly where cost per page is the deciding number.

Avoid it if: Anyone needing a document feeder for multi-page scanning.

Specifications, side by side

8 of 16 rows differ. Differences first.

SpecificationHP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4301fdw Color Laser PrinterEpson EcoTank ET-2850 All-in-One Supertank Printer
Price$549.00$299.99
ConnectivityGigabit Ethernet, dual-band Wi-Fi, USBWi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct and USB
Document feeder50-sheet reversing ADFNone -- flatbed glass only
DuplexAutomatic two-sided printing and scanningAutomatic two-sided printing
Duty cycleUp to 75,000 pages a month maximumUp to 3,000 pages a month maximum
Print resolution600 x 600 dpi5760 x 1440 dpi
Print speedUp to 35 ppm mono and color, LetterUp to 10 ppm mono at ISO, 33 ppm draft
Rated powerAbout 700 W printing, 1.3 W in sleepAbout 12 W printing
Warranty1-year limited hardware warranty2-year limited warranty with registration
Cartridge policyDynamic Security -- third-party cartridges are blocked not published
Cost per page not publishedAbout 0.8 cents mono and 2.2 cents color, excluding paper
Head technology not publishedPrecisionCore piezoelectric, not thermal
Input tray250 sheets, expandable to 900 not published
Page yield per refill not publishedAbout 4,500 black and 7,500 color pages
Recommended volume750 to 4,000 pages a month not published
Replacement cartridgesHP 214A or 214X, four cartridges not published
Replacement ink not publishedEpson 502 bottles, black and three colors

Every row is a figure one or both products record. A blank is a figure the catalogue does not hold, not a zero.

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