HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4301fdw Color Laser Printer vs Epson EcoTank ET-4850 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 $149.01 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-4850 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-4850 All-in-One Supertank Printer

$399.99

The same ink economics as the ET-2850 with the two things that machine lacks: a 30-sheet document feeder and Ethernet, which is what makes it usable as a shared office printer.

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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-4850 All-in-One Supertank Printer is for

Buy it if: Small offices wanting supertank running costs with a feeder and a wired network port.

Avoid it if: Single-user desks, where the ET-2850 does the same printing for less.

Specifications, side by side

8 of 15 rows differ. Differences first.

SpecificationHP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4301fdw Color Laser PrinterEpson EcoTank ET-4850 All-in-One Supertank Printer
Price$549.00$399.99
ConnectivityGigabit Ethernet, dual-band Wi-Fi, USBEthernet, Wi-Fi and USB
Document feeder50-sheet reversing ADF30-sheet ADF
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 dpi4800 x 1200 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 13 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
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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