Geeking Out with the HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477

A few weeks ago I shared with you my first thoughts of the HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477. You may be wondering why the first couple of words in the title of my review are “Geeking Out” … after all, surely this is just a printer, why so much enthusiasm? 

For those of you who have followed my channel and this website for the past ten years, you will know about my background. If you are new here, my career has covered being a computer engineer, using printers purely as a back office tool. A couple of years later I developed my graphic design skills and business, during which time I enthused over large format and complete print solutions. Fast forward to today and apart from a few really cool printers I have reviewed, my complacency set this category of product into “functional” rather than “exciting” category. 

I must admit that this has now changed. The HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477 has been like a breath of fresh air and made me want to take more time over the documents I produce. The speed for general documents is lightning fast. When printing out a nice business presentation, I was amazed at the print quality. The actual resolution of this model is 600dpi, which can be enhanced up to 38,400dpi. Add to that the fact that the M477 is Pantone® calibrated, you can really achieve great looking prints. I took some time to compare the results with some inkjet and other laser printers here at Geek HQ and I must admit that the HP toner seems to sit a little higher on the page and gives a crisper more engaging result. 

Another feature that really impressed me is the paper handling. In previous years I would often turn to an inkjet printer with a straighter paper patch for using thicker materials. The M477 handles up to 200gsm card and even glossy finish photo papers. With the right paper selection, the resulting prints are quite simply amazing. If you reprinting photographs to frame, the trained eye would suggest you use a dedicated photo printer, but in my opinion the photographs I printed look amazingly realistic. It is worth noting that there are two models of this printer, both the M477fnw and M477fdw feature wireless connection, plus USB 2.0 and gigabit ethernet for wired connectivity. The M477fdw that I have here offers automatic (rather than manual) two-sided printing, which is a cost conscious environment is a great feature to have.

Looking back at when I first unboxed this multi-function wonder, I was pleased at how compact the footprint is. HP packed a lot of features into the M477 by placing the output tray, scanner, document feeder and 4.3-inch colour touchscreen display, above the main body of the machine. This adds so much more functionality and some features that I have really enjoyed using. Whilst I won’t specifically talk about the fax and scan-to-email functions that I have not used yet, I will share my experience of the copying and amazing User Interface. Everything is driven by the large touch screen, with really cool icons and a well designed UI. Accessing the various setup menus, which you rarely need to do, is simplicity itself. Checking your toner levels through to performing a copy of a full colour document is a breeze. It is very fast to scan and print out a colour accurate copy too. This is a feature I use a lot, often producing an additional copy of a document and then scanning it to my Mac to annotate or sign and then attach to an email. All of this was very efficient and increased the speed of my workflow too.

The HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477 is a very well thought out piece of kit. The build quality is excellent and the quality of the documents I have been printing hasten again got me enthusiastic about graphic design. Oh and did I mention that I can print direct from my phone to the M477 … pure geek out time again!

This article is sponsored by HP. Views and opinions remain my own.

Getting Organised for 2016 with HP

As a busy content creator there are certain tasks that I always strive to make easier. To me, easier often equates to more enjoyable and the happier I am, the more creative I become. Throughout my years of running my own business, I have used many different printers and just recently HP gave me the chance to check out their Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477. 

I like to keep a tidy office and more specifically for Geek HQ that means a crispy clean studio for presenting my videos and a functional and well thought out editing room. To keep the creative juices flowing it is essential for me to have unnecessary gadgets hidden away. All my cameras are neatly stored in a sturdy waterproof case and accessories in cupboards and drawers. Even the myriad of memory cards that I have accumulated over the years are neatly tucked away in little boxes inside a drawer under my main editing screen. 

Part of my plans for 2016 is to really get my main storage areas organised too. As you can imagine running an evolving channel and website, plus two other businesses, sees a lot of products coming in and out of Geekanoids HQ. To help with this, I now employ three colourful storage cupboards and have successfully arranged my lens filters, review products and business supplies into the various compartments. 

In my workspaces I employ the same triangular layout that is often associated with kitchens … you know, the sink, preparation area and cooker which are meant to all be easily accessible by simply turning around this imaginary triangle. The same applies to my technology. Sitting at my desk is akin to being at the controls of a starship. Keyboard and trackpad at hand and to the right of me I have my notes and supplies cupboard. A quick turn to my left and I can access my memory card reader, essential for the amount of video I produce. A little further to the left is the spot for my printer. 

Plenty of connectivity options including gigabit ethernet. Photograph ©Geekanoids

On first unboxing the HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477 I was very pleased to see that for such a well specified printer, the footprint was nice and compact. This is down to some neat design decisions, placing the paper output above the main body of the printer and the control panel and document feeder above that. The design is pretty snazzy too, with a clean white finish which makes me super happy as it fits in with the rest of my kit. Placement was super easy too, thanks to the built-in wireless connection and the gigabit, yes gigabit!!! ethernet that I opted to use.

HP really is looking to reinvent the office with their advancements in printer technology and their new LaserJets are packed to the brim with things that certainly make me geek out. For starters, speed is of the essence and the M477 delivers impressive mono and full colour pages at up to 28ppm. In addition to this I have experienced some reliable and paper saving two-sided prints. Part of this speed is down to HP re-engineering their toner to melt at a lower temperature. This equates to faster printing and a lower electricity bill too.

The touchscreen control panel is a joy to use. Photograph ©Geekanoids

So, whilst it’s early days in my experience of the M477, so far it has been a real pleasure. I can honestly say that integrating this within my workflow was super easy. The modern looks and awesome touchscreen colour display make me geek out a little more every time I use it. Now it’s time for me to get back to work … stay tuned though, as I will update you in a few weeks with a look at some of the features and that all important quality assessment.

This article is sponsored by HP. Views and opinions remain my own.