HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw Mono Laser Printer vs Epson EcoTank ET-2850 All-in-One Supertank Printer

What separates them

These two differ on 9 recorded specifications. The HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw Mono Laser Printer is $149.01 dearer. They are different kinds of product — mono laser mfp against ink tank mfp — so read the table as two spec sheets rather than a like-for-like.

HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw Mono Laser Printer vs Epson EcoTank ET-2850 All-in-One Supertank Printer

HP

HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw Mono Laser Printer

$449.00

The step that matters is the cartridge, not the speed: HP 148X holds about 9,500 pages, so at roughly $199 a cartridge this prints for about 2.1 cents a page.

Full details →

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.

Full details →

Who the HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw Mono Laser Printer is for

Buy it if: Workgroups printing a few thousand pages a month where cost per page dominates.

Avoid it if: Anyone planning to use compatible cartridges, which this firmware refuses.

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

9 of 16 rows differ. Differences first.

SpecificationHP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw Mono Laser PrinterEpson EcoTank ET-2850 All-in-One Supertank Printer
Price$449.00$299.99
ConnectivityGigabit Ethernet, dual-band Wi-Fi, USBWi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct and USB
Cost per pageAbout 2.1 cents on 148X, excluding paperAbout 0.8 cents mono and 2.2 cents color, excluding paper
Document feeder50-sheet reversing ADFNone -- flatbed glass only
DuplexAutomatic two-sided printing and scanningAutomatic two-sided printing
Duty cycleUp to 80,000 pages a month maximumUp to 3,000 pages a month maximum
Print resolution1200 x 1200 dpi effective5760 x 1440 dpi
Print speedUp to 42 ppm, Letter monoUp to 10 ppm mono at ISO, 33 ppm draft
Rated powerAbout 600 W printing, 1.1 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
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 cartridgeHP 148A, about 2,900 pages, or 148X, about 9,500 pages 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.

Compare the HP LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw Mono Laser Printer with something else →