HP Color LaserJet Pro M182nw Review: Specs, Pros and Cons

Laser printers are often chosen for their efficiency and dependable output quality. It makes no surprise that offices, ranging from home-based to large ones use this kind of printer to handle documents. However, it is necessary to choose the right machine that fits your printing volume and business scale. For your workgroups or small offices, the HP Color LaserJet Pro M182nw can serve well.

The M182nw is an entry-level color laser printer that boasts efficiency and high productivity. It delivers a number of features such as AIO functionality, crisp color as well as seamless connectivity for reliable printing performance. This laser printer is specially designed for home office environments or workgroups with low printing volume.

Compact Laser Printer with Sleek Design

The HP M182nw is an office printer that brings a professional look through its design. This compact printing machine looks great on your desktop or office corner, thanks to smooth and sleek lines that can make a statement in your workspace. Despite its elegant design, the laser printer is engineered with robust construction to give a premium look.

The printer measures 11.5 inches by 16.5 inches by 15.0 inches (HWD) and weighs 34.6 pounds. This is one of the best HP’s space savers to help you with the document without making your desktop look cramped.

You won’t find an auto document feeder on the top of this device so it does not serve auto duplex functionality. Instead, it has a flatbed scanner with a control panel that reminds me of my old calculator. The control panel comes with a 2-line LCD with numeric keypad, allowing you to navigate and configure the setting effortlessly.

HP Color LaserJet Pro M182nw Printing Specs

The M182nw is built as a color laser AIO printer, which means it has print, copy, and scan functions. This machine supports up to 600 x 600 dpi resolutions combined with HP ImageRET 3600 resolution technology to result in stunning details and vivid color. Thanks to photo printing capability that allows you to print photo-laden documents with terrific output.

The monthly duty cycle is rated at 30,000 pages with recommended monthly volume up to 1,500 pages. This rating exceeds my expectations since the M182nw is an entry-level printer with a rather low price range. Additionally, the recommended monthly capacity is somehow sufficient for workgroups or home-based offices with low printing volume.

This AIO printer also offers scan and copy functions. It features up to 600 x 600 copy resolution with maximum copy is rated at 99 pages. Meanwhile, the scanner supports 1200 x 1200 dpi with CIS scan technology.

Acceptable Paper Tray Capacity

The HP M182nw is an ideal printer for low volume. It has a 150-sheet input tray capacity that is acceptable for small business or home-based offices. It also comes with a 100-sheet output bin to ensure a tidy output stack. Frankly speaking, I’m not really happy with the paper tray capacity that is much lower than my expectation. For this price range, HP can make it better by giving a 250-sheet input tray.

This printer lacks an auto document feeder, which means it does not support automatic duplexing. Whenever you need to print 2-sided pages, you need to flip the pages manually. It may be tolerable for one or two pages but when it comes to printing hundreds of pages, you should think about it.

As with other laser printers, the M182nw supports various paper sizes ranging from 3 x 5 inches up to 8.5 x 14 inches. Supported media types include cardstock, envelopes, plain paper, brochure, glossy, photo paper, and transparencies.

Fair Print Speed for the Price

The M182nw is rated at 17 pages per minute, which is exactly the same speed as its sibling, the M180nw. I found the first page out is around 11.6 seconds for the monochrome page and 13.5 seconds for color. When it printed a photo-laden document, the printer delivered 10 pages per minute. This print speed is fair enough for an entry-level laser printer at this price range.

The copier’s performance is at a similar rating to the printer. The machine can copy up to 17 pages per minute for both color and monochrome pages with the first copy out time is about 14.4 seconds. With such speed rating, the M182nw is a printer that makes you wait.

HP Color LaserJet Pro M182nw Output Quality

One of the best parts of laser printers are a dependable print result and overall output quality. The M182nw is no exception since it delivers stunning print results. When I tested the printer, characters and fonts are well-shaped. High legibility for characters in large and small sizes also becomes another plus point I gave for this machine.

When it came to graphics and charts, the M182nw managed to deliver clean results without noticeable streaking and banding. Hairlines were hardly visible so I could say it would work well for any office documents and other business applications.

In addition, I found the M182nw is not a perfect photo printer. Though it can handle photo printing, the result is not as terrific as consumer-grade photo printers. This product may not be a good choice for family photography but it looks good enough for flyers or newsletters.

Consumables and Operation Costs

As with other laser printers, the M182nw uses toner (dry ink) as its consumables. It has four individual drum-like toner cartridges that boast more capacity. The machine is compatible with HP 215A toner cartridge for black and colors (CMY), which standard cartridge gives up to 1050 yield for black and up to 850 yield for color.

While most laser printers offer inexpensive running costs, the M182nw is an exception. Knowing this printer runs at an expensive cost is a bit irritating. After comparing toner cartridge price and its yield, I found it costs about 4.6 cents per black page and 23.5 cents per color page. This price surprised me, particularly to the print cost per color page.

For this reason, I would recommend this printer for very low volume printing. It will be fine if you print up to 200 pages per month. But if your printing volume is higher, you may need to allocate more budget for this machine.

Respectable Connectivity and Security

Given that it’s an entry-level printer with a low initial cost, the M182nw offers respectable connectivity options. The standard connectivity includes Wi-Fi, USB, Wi-Fi Direct, and Ethernet. The printer is also supported by mobile printing capability consisting of HP ePrint, Apple AirPrint, and Mopria. Thanks to HP Smart App that lets you explore more about this printer.

HP understands that security is a priority. To maintain control and privacy, the M182nw features password protection and basic encryption. It also boasts secure browsing via SSL/TLS and firewall. Additionally, the device lets you enable/disable network ports effortlessly.

HP Color LaserJet Pro M182nw Pros and Cons

The HP M182nw is a modest printer to make your business printing more reliable. Personally, I like many aspects such as high-quality output as well as respectable connectivity and security. And yet, there are several things to dislike about this printer. Before making a purchase, get to know more about things to like and dislike.

HP Color LaserJet Pro M182nw Pros

• Professional design

Sleek and professional design is surely the first aspect you’ll like about this printer. The work environment can be tough and stressful, so HP delivers this good-looking printer to boost your mood. Not only is it beautiful, but it is also so space-saver that it can fit into your niche.

• Impressive print quality

The M182nw is a laser printer and its quality is undoubted. You will love the way it produces sharp and black text as well as high-quality color to make your business document look professional. Thanks to ImageRET 3600 resolution technology that helps the printer deliver such impressive output quality.

• Affordable initial cost

If you are looking for a printer with a reasonable initial cost, the M182nw is right there. This is an entry-level laser printer that costs below $300 so you don’t have to break the savings only to purchase the device.

HP Color LaserJet Pro M182nw Cons

• Slow print speed

Among aspects to dislike about this printer is slow print speed. The manufacturer rates this printer at 17 pages per minute, which is far below the average of laser printers. But considering its price range, this speed is tolerable.

• Lacks of an auto document feeder

The M182nw does not feature an auto document feeder so you shouldn’t expect automatic duplexing. It supports duplex printing but you have to flip the pages manually. It sounds inefficient, doesn’t it? If you have to print a pile of duplex documents, the M182nw is surely not a favorite.

• Expensive running costs

Unlike most laser printers, the M182nw runs at a relatively expensive price, particularly the color pages. In a condition that you need to save the company budget, make sure your printing volume does not exceed 200 pages per month.

Conclusion

The HP M182nw is a wireless printer to boost your productivity. It is designed for home-based office or small-scale business with low monthly printing volume. The machine supports a number of features for business application and office printing. If you are looking for an efficient printer with low initial cost and dependable output quality, the M182nw can meet your needs.