The HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M180nw ($299.99) is one of the smallest and least-expensive entry-level color laser all-in-one (AIO) printers we've recently seen.
It's a little bit slower than our current Editors' Choice, the somewhat more expensive Canon Color imageClass MF634Cdw, and it prints as well, but the lack of an automatic document feeder (ADF) for sending multipage documents to the scanner, as well as a lofty per-page cost of consumables, should give pause to high-volume offices.
Even so, its small footprint, strong print speed, and good output quality make it more than suitable as a personal color laser AIO for churning out low-volume prints and copies in a home-based business, or even a micro office or workgroup.
Lean and Neat
Under-$300 color laser AIOs don't abound, and manufacturers usually need to cut some corners to get to this price point.
Often, one of the first things to go is the aforementioned ADF, which really isn't a necessity in environments that don't scan and copy multipage documents.
Also missing on this little desktop color laser AIO is the ability to print two-sided pages automatically.
In other words, you must manually turn your pages over to print the other side, but like most printers that don't support auto-duplexing, the M180nw's software drivers walk you through, telling you when and describing how to flip the pages manually.
It's really not that difficult, and not even particularly annoying, especially if you don't have to do it very often.
If, on the other hand, ADFs and automatic two-sided printing are important to you, HP's own LaserJet Pro MFP M277dw ( at Amazon) , another Daxdi top pick, comes with a 50-sheet ADF and prints two-sided pages without assistance, as does the Canon MF634Cdw, and they both scan multipage two-sided documents automatically.
Where the HP M180nw outshines these competitors, though, is in its petite size and light weight, which is somewhat unusual for a full-blown color laser AIO printer.
It measures 11.5 by 16.5 by 15 inches (HWD) and weighs just 34.6 pounds.
That's several inches in all directions and 14.2 pounds lighter than the Canon MF634Cdw ($795.00 at Amazon) , whereas the more expensive and more robust HP M277dw is only slightly bigger, but 6.2 pounds heavier, than its less-expensive M180nw sibling.
Of these three color laser AIOs, the M180nw is the most likely to fit on a small or average-size desktop.
The comparably small control panel, which consists of a two-line monochrome text LCD, a handful of tiny buttons, and a 10-key number pad, resides to the left of its 100-sheet output tray.
The printer comes with one 150-sheet input tray, and its maximum monthly duty cycle is 30,000 pages (up to 1,500 recommended), which is hefty for a color laser AIO in this price range.
Both the Canon MF634Cdw and the HP M277dw also come with 150-sheet paper input trays and 30,000-page monthly duty cycles, as well as 1-sheet multipurpose trays for overriding the main drawer, which, by the way, the HP M180nw does not have.
Connecting and Securing
Given its price, the M180nw's connectivity options are respectable.
In addition to dual-band Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and connecting to a single PC via USB, you get Wireless Direct (HP's Wi-Fi Direct equivalent), which is a peer-to-peer network protocol that allows you to connect your mobile devices to the printer without either them or it being connected to a LAN or an intermediary router.
Other mobile features include Mopria, HP ePrint (for printing from your Android phone or tablet), Apple AirPrint, and HP's own Smart app.
The Smart app also allows you to print from your mobile devices without them or your printer being connected to a network.
The M180nw's security features aren't as extensive as you'd find on not only higher-end HP AIOs, but also several other higher-volume models.
As with most other laser printers, you get a secure (SSL, HTTPS) embedded web server that allows you to monitor or configure the machine from both your local network and the internet, as well as the ability to enable or disable specific ports and features.
Unfortunately, the ability to secure print jobs with PINs or control access per user or department via username and password are not available; you'll have to step up to another model, such as Canon's MF634Cdw, for those features.
Respectable Speed for the Price
HP rates the M180nw at 17 pages per minute (ppm) for simple monochrome documents.
I tested it over Ethernet from our standard Intel Core i5-equipped testbed PC running Windows 10 Professional.
When printing our 12-page Microsoft Word monochrome text document, I clocked it at 15.4ppm, or just slower than its 17ppm rating.
That's 3.5ppm slower than Canon's MF634DW.
The HP LaserJet Pro M277dw was tested under a previous benchmarking regimen, with different hardware and software.
Comparing its scores here isn't practical.
However, the HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M281fdw ($349.99 at HP) , which is a step above the M277dw, printed the same 12 pages at 21.7ppm.
When I combined the M180nw's scores from the previous 12-page Word document test with the results from printing our colorful graphics- and photo-laden Excel charts, PowerPoint handouts, and Adobe Acrobat PDF files, the HP M180nw churned at 10ppm, or about 0.6ppm slower than the Canon MF634Cdw and 1.6ppm behind the HP M281fdw.
Terrific Output Quality
One of the more impressive aspects of the LaserJet Pro M180nw is its print quality.
During my tests, standard serif and sans-serif typefaces came out well-shaped and highly legible at both small and large sizes.
Even fonts that required magnification to read looked good, as did our Excel graphics and PowerPoint handouts.
Gradients and dark fills and backgrounds contained little-to-no banding, blotching, or other toner distribution flaws, and hairlines (rules smaller than 1 point) printed flawlessly, unbroken from end to end.
The output from the M180nw is good enough for most business applications, even marketing material where you want to put your best foot forward.
Also surprising is how well the M180nw prints photos.
The 4-by-6-inch and 8-by-10-inch images I printed, though not perfect compared with the output from some photo-centric inkjets, looked better than those I've printed on several other color laser AIOs.
I wouldn't recommend the M180nw's photo output for keeper family images or photos from cherished events, but they do look good enough for embedding in presentations, newsletters, and other business documents.
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Soaring Running Costs
Without question, the most disappointing aspect of the HP M180nw is its off-the-chart cost per page (CPP).
Its running costs of 4.6 cents for monochrome pages and 23.5 cents for color pages relegate this otherwise capable little AIO to a very low-volume machine; you won't want to use it for more than, say, 100 to 200 pages per month.
It's running costs are 1.1 cents per page higher for monochrome pages than the HP M277fdw and 1.4 cents higher than the Canon MF634Cdw.
If that doesn't sound like much, keep in mind that for every 100 monochrome pages you print, that 1.4 cents represents an additional $1.40.
Every 10,000 pages you print will cost you $140, and if over the life of the printer you churn out 200,000 monochrome pages, that additional 1.4 cents will cost you $2,800—enough to buy 10 HP M180nw AIO printers.
Another alternative, especially if you or your organization aren't wedded to laser (toner) output, is a higher-end business-oriented inkjet AIO, such as the Editors' Choice Brother MFC-J6935DW ($959.06 at Amazon) , which not only delivers low running costs (1 cent for monochrome pages and less than 5 cents for color pages), but also provides all the high-end features discussed here and more, such as an auto-duplexing ADF, and it can print tabloid-size (11 by 17 inches) pages.
If the MFC-J6935DW is too big for you, HP's smaller and less-expensive OfficeJet Pro 8216 Printer (1.7 cents monochrome and 7.7 cents color) might do the trick.
Fitting a Niche
The HP OfficeJet Pro MFP M180nw is a barebones color laser AIO designed for light duty use.
It prints reasonably fast and well, but also expensively, which doesn't matter so much when you're churning out only a few pages per day.
If you require higher-volume output and additional productivity features, such as, say, an auto-duplexing print engine and ADF, our top pick, Canon's MF634Cdw, is a good choice.
And, if your application doesn't require laser output, one of the many top-drawer business-centric inkjet AIOs, such as the Brother MFC-6935DW, might do.
Otherwise, if the few pages you print and copy each month must be high-quality, HP's M180nw is a smart choice.
HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M180nw
The Bottom Line
The HP LaserJet Pro MFP M180nw is an entry-level color laser AIO that prints well and at a reasonable clip, but large-volume offices should note its high cost of consumables.
