Meet HP's first $99 LaserJet: The LaserJet Pro M12 & M26 Series Printers

HP began October by announcing six new “fast, affordable and mobile-enhanced” A4 monochrome laser printers and MFPs—more, if you include individual configurations and models that will be sold in select regions outside the United States.

The new portfolio includes the LaserJet Pro M12 laser printer series, which has a starting price of just $99, making this the first sub-$100 LaserJet. It also includes the LaserJet Pro MFP M26 series, the LaserJet Pro M100 series (which includes the LaserJet Pro M102w and the LaserJet Pro MFP M130fn and M130fw) and the LaserJet Pro M200 series (which includes the LaserJet Pro M203dw and the LaserJet Pro MFP M227fdw). HP’s press release says the new devices were designed to be compact, to support mobile printing and to offer improvements in print speeds of about 15 to 20 percent compared with previous devices.

HP tells us that the new LaserJet Pro M12 and LaserJet Pro MFP M26 families are additions to its lineup. Meanwhile, the LaserJet Pro M102w replaces the LaserJet Pro P1102w from 2010, and the LaserJet Pro M130fn and M130fw replace the LaserJet Pro MFP M127fn and M127fw from 2013. The new LaserJet Pro M203dw and LaserJet Pro MFP M227fdw replace the LaserJet Pro M201dw and LaserJet Pro MFP M225dw from 2014.

Altogether, the new portfolio ranges in starting price from $99 to $329 and in speed from 19 ppm to 30 ppm. The LaserJet Pro M12 and LaserJet Pro MFP M26 series are designed for individuals and small workteams of up to three users printing 100 to 1,000 pages per month. The LaserJet Pro M100 and M200 series models are designed for small workteams of up to five users and print volumes of 150 to 2,000 pages per month.
 

HP's New Low-Cost LaserJets
Model	LaserJet Pro M12a, M12w	LaserJet Pro MFP M26a, M26nw	LaserJet Pro M102w	LaserJet Pro MFP M130fn, M130fw	LaserJet Pro M203dw	LaserJet Pro MFP M227fdw
Product Type	A4 mono laser printers	A4 mono laser MFPs	A4 mono laser printer	A4 mono laser MFPs	A4 mono laser printer	A4 mono laser MFP
Standard Functions	print only	print, copy,  scan	print only	print, copy, scan, fax	print only	print, copy, scan, fax
Estimated Street Prices	M12a: n/a M12w: $99	M26a: n/a M26nw: n/a	$159	M130fn: $209 M130fw: $259	$199	$329
Availability	M12a available in regions outside U.S., M12w available in U.S. 10/3/16	M26a available in regions outside U.S., M26nw available in U.S. 10/3/16	10/1/16	10/1/16	12/1/16	12/1/16
Letter-Size Print Speed	19 ppm		23 ppm		30 ppm
Max. Monthly Duty Cycle	5,000 pages		10,000 pages		20,000 pages
Max. Print Resolution	600 × 600 dpi				1,200 × 1,200 dpi
Paper Input (standard/max.)	150/150 sheets		160/160 sheets (150-sheet tray + 10-sheet priority tray)	150/150 sheets	260/260 sheets (250-sheet tray + 10-sheet priority tray)
Max. Paper Size	8.5 × 14 inches
Automatic Duplex	no				yes
Automatic Document Feeder	no			35-sheet ADF	no	35-sheet ADF
Connectivity	M12a: USB 2.0 M12w: USB 2.0, 802.11b/g/n wireless, Wireless Direct	M26a: USB 2.0 M26nw: USB 2.0, Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n wireless, Wireless Direct	USB 2.0, 802.11b/g/n wireless, Wireless Direct	M130fn: USB 2.0, Ethernet M130fw: USB 2.0, Ethernet, 802/11b/g/n wireless, Wireless Direct	USB 2.0, Ethernet, 802/11b/g/n wireless, Wireless Direct	USB 2.0, host USB, Ethernet, 802.11b/g/n wireless, Wireless Direct
Display	LED control panel	M26a: LED control panel M26nw: 2-line LCD	LED control panel	M130fn: 2-line LCD M130fw: 2.7-inch color touch screen	LED control panel	2.7-inch color touch screen
Mobile Printing Features	M12a: none M12w: HP ePrint, Mopria certified	M26a: none M26nw: HP ePrint, Mopria certified	ePrint, Apple AirPrint 1.5 with media presence sensor, Google Cloud Print 2.0, Mopria certified			ePrint, Apple AirPrint 1.5 with media presence sensor, Google Cloud Print 2.0, Mopria certified, NFC touch-to-print
New Supplies	yes: toner cartridge 79A		yes: toner cartridge 17A and imaging drum 19A		yes: toner cartridges 30A/30X and imaging drum 32A
Best CPP*	5.50¢		4.52¢		n/a
*CPP figures are based on the highest-yield cartridges available for a given product. No multipack pricing is used.
Source: Actionable Intelligence

LaserJet Pro M12 and MFP M26

 

According to HP, the new LaserJet Pro M12 and LaserJet Pro MFP M26 are based on an existing engine design from Canon. Our best guess is that it is the same 19 ppm engine platform used in the Canon imageCLASS LBP6030w from 2014, as well as some previous products. The maximum monthly duty cycle on this engine design is just 5,000 pages.

HP is billing M12 and M26 as some of its most affordable LaserJets ever. Pricing for the LaserJet Pro M12w starts at $99. This model is available as of October 3 as an online product only from selected office retailers. There is also a less fully-featured LaserJet Pro M12a model available in Asia and Europe that has only a USB port for connectivity and no mobile printing support, as opposed to the M12w’s wireless connectivity and mobile printing support. HP promises the LaserJet Pro MFP M26, the multifunction version of the M12, will be “available at a very affordable everyday low price,” although it did not provide specifics. It will be sold exclusively at Walmart, and although HP provided an availability date of October 3, the model has yet to appear on Walmart’s site or in advertising from Walmart, so we don’t have a price point on this new unit. Again, it appears that there are two models in the LaserJet Pro MFP M26 family, only one of which will be available in the United States. The model Walmart will be selling in the United States appears to be the M26nw, which has both Ethernet and wireless connectivity, mobile printing support and a 2-line LCD. There is also a M26a model for Asia and Europe that has only USB connectivity, no mobile printing support and no LCD (just LEDs and buttons).

HP says the new units are the smallest that HP has ever released in their class. The M12 series models measure 13.7 × 9.4× 7.7 inches (w × d × h), and the M26 series measures 16.5 × 10.5 × 10 inches.

HP is introducing a new all-in-one toner cartridge with the LaserJet Pro M12 and LaserJet Pro MFP M26 models. The machines use the new replacement HP 97A (CF279A) toner cartridge, which is rated at 1,000 pages and appears to be priced at $54.99, although HP has not confirmed this. This price would provide these models with a cost per page (CPP) of 5.5 cents. This is high, no doubt about it, and that is in the entry-level segment where per-page costs are pretty uniformly high, ranging from about 3 cents to nearly 6 cents on the Samsung Xpress M2020W. And while HP does not have the highest page costs in this class, the M12 and M26 come pretty close. These are clearly products designed for lower-volume customers for whom getting a low price upfront is more important than long-term running costs.
 

Supplies for HP LaserJet Pro M12/M26 series
Part	Part Number	Page Yield*	MSRP
HP 79A standard-yield black toner cartridge	CF279A	1,000	$54.99
Best CPP: 5.50¢
*Based on the ISO/EC 19752 standard
Note: M12/M26 series ships with starter cartridge with a yield of 500 pages.
Source: Actionable Intelligence

LaserJet Pro M100 and M200 Series

The new LaserJet Pro M100 and M200 families are also based on a Canon monochrome laser engine but use a newly designed engine. The consumables used in these devices employ the JetIntelligence technology that HP first announced in early 2015 in some color devices, with the first monochrome JetIntelligence-based devices coming out in September 2015. Presumably, the new LaserJet Pro M100 and M200 families use the same Precision Black chemically produced toner (CPT) as previous monochrome JetIntelligence-based devices, although HP has not confirmed this.

One thing that is different about this platform compared with previous monochrome JetIntelligence platforms is that HP is not using one-piece or all-in-one toner cartridges. Instead, it is using a cartridge that combines toner and developer and a separate imaging drum. Two-piece consumables are not unheard of for HP/Canon desktop lasers, but these are the first two-piece JetIntelligence consumables that we are aware of.

The LaserJet Pro M100 series consists of three models: the single-function LaserJet Pro M102w, which is priced at $159; the multifunction LaserJet Pro MFP M130fn, which sells for $209 and the multifunction LaserJet Pro M130fw, which is priced at $259. The new units are faster and more robust than the new M12/M26 models, featuring print speeds of 23 ppm and a 10,000-page maximum monthly duty cycle. The multifunction models differ primarily in connectivity (the fw includes wireless and the fn does not) and display (the fn has a 2-line LCD, and the fw has a 2.7-inch color touch screen). HP indicates that the LaserJet Pro M100 series models were available as of October 1 from major retailers, online and HP commercial partners.

Compared with the previous LaserJet Pro P1102w and LaserJet Pro MFP M127fn and M127fw, the new LaserJet Pro M102w and the LaserJet Pro M130fn and M130fw offer a number of improvements. Print speed has been improved to 23 ppm, up from 19 ppm on the LaserJet Pro P1102w and 21 ppm on the LaserJet Pro MFP M127fn and M127fw. As is typical with the JetIntelligence platform, first-print-out times have been improved as well to 7.2 seconds on the new machines verses 8.5 to 9.5 seconds on the previous models. The new models also use a newer version of Apple AirPrint that has a media presence sensor to automatically scale jobs to the correct paper size. The LaserJet Pro M100 family also supports Google Cloud Print 2.0—Google Cloud Print was not supported on the predecessor models. Finally, the new family uses an input tray hidden behind a dust cover, while the paper tray on the previous models was exposed.

The LaserJet Pro M100 models use new consumables: the HP 17A (CF217A) toner cartridge and the HP 19A (CF219A) drum. The toner cartridge yields 1,600 pages and is priced at $62.99, while the drum yields 12,000 pages and sells for $69.99. Together, they provide a CPP of 4.52 cents. This is still expensive for this class of device but about 1 cent better than on the LaserJet Pro M12/M26. It is, however, higher than on the previous models. The LaserJet Pro P1102w used the HP 85A toner cartridge, which yields 1,600 pages and is priced at $68.99 for a CPP of 4.31 cents. The LaserJet Pro MFP M127fn and M127fw use the HP 83A toner cartridge, which delivers 1,500 pages and is priced at $63.99, for a CPP of 4.27 cents.
 

Supplies for HP LaserJet Pro M100 series
Part	Part Number	Page Yield*	MSRP
HP 17A standard-yield black toner cartridge	CF217A	1,600	$62.99
HP 19A imaging drum	CF219A	12,000	$69.99
Best CPP: 4.52¢
*Based on the ISO/EC 19752 standard
Note: M100 series ships with starter cartridge with a yield of 700 pages.
Source: Actionable Intelligence

Meanwhile, the LaserJet Pro M200 series consists of two models: the LaserJet Pro M203dw and LaserJet Pro MFP M227fdw, which will sell for $199 and $329, respectively. These machines are faster than the M100 models, featuring a print speed of 30 ppm, and have a higher maximum monthly duty cycle of 20,000 pages. These models also support more paper input than the M100 series. HP says that the LaserJet Pro M200 series is expected to be available December 1 from major retailers, online and HP commercial partners.

The new LaserJet Pro M203dw and LaserJet Pro MFP M227fdw’s list of improvements over the LaserJet Pro M201dw and LaserJet Pro MFP M225dw include a print speed boost from 26 ppm to 30 ppm, faster first-print out times of 6.6 and 6.7 seconds versus 8 seconds, the Apple AirPrint with media sensor described above, Google Cloud Print 2.0 and enclosed rather than exposed input trays. The M227fdw boasts one additional enhancement as well: NFC touch-to-print technology.

Like the M100 series, the LaserJet Pro M200 series uses two-piece JetIntelligence consumables, including a choice of the HP 30A (CF230A) standard-yield toner cartridge or the HP30X (CF230X) high-yield toner cartridge. Yields are 1,600 pages and 3,500 pages, respectively. The HP 32A (CF232A) imaging drum is rated at 23,000 pages. Unfortunately, we could not find pricing for these consumables. We presume HP will release supplies pricing closer to the launch date. However, HP did say the M200 series will offer 5 to 10 percent lower CPP than the previous LaserJet Pro M201dw and LaserJet Pro MFP M225dw, which used the HP 83A cartridge discussed above to deliver a CPP of 4.27 cents.

Supplies for HP LaserJet Pro M200 series
Part	Part Number	Page Yield*	MSRP
HP 30A standard-yield black toner cartridge	CF230A	1,600	$63.99
HP 30X high-yield black toner cartridge	CF230X	3,500	$95.99
HP 32A imaging drum	CF232A	23,000	$84.99
Best CPP: n/a
*Based on the ISO/EC 19752 standard
Note: M200 series ships with starter cartridge with a yield of 1,000 pages.
Source: Actionable Intelligence

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