HP LaserJet M1120 MFP Review
All-in-one machines have overtaken sales of single-function inkjet printers in the market, but is slower to appear with laser engines. HP has begun to restore this balance, and LaserJet M1120 MFP, an entry-level, mono laser all-in-one, designed for home and small offices.
For everyone who used to work with inkjet-based all-in-ones, was LaserJet M1120 MFP surprisingly high. The laser power in the lower half of the machine is a bit more space than an ink jet engine, but the machine has an appearance of solidity, with its slate gray columns of both sides.
A 250-sheet paper tray has a 10-sheet � HP calls it a priority tray set above. This is useful if you often need to download more than one-sheet special media simultaneously. Paper feeds from a balcony �projecting from the middle unit, which makes the whole machine rather patchy appearance.
Far above the output tray is the part of the flatbed scanner and it hinges up to about 30 degrees, giving access to the toner cartridge and drum. It is supported by elastic hinges, so it stays where it was made when they open.
On top of the device is a two-line LCD screen � no backlight � and a set of eight buttons, while a little cramped, enough to control all functions. The only connector on the back is a USB 2 connection, and there is no possibility of an internal network interface. But a network version of the device, LaserJet M1120n MFP, is available for around � 20 more.
When the scanner portion of the lifting M1120 MFP, it is easy to slot in the drum and toner cartridge, but it slides right into the depths of the machine. The pattern in the box is only good for 1,000 pages, half of normal capacity.
It is a bad trend with many printer makers. The introduction of specific, low capacity, �starter� consumables, ensure that businesses are ready to buy ink or toner soon after buying the printer itself. Since the stores where they are a big part of their money, you can see the marketing logic, but it is both an annoyance and an extra cost to the customer. There is no plausible benefit to you or me.
HP offers a copy of Readiris OCR software and a utility called LaserJet Scan, which simplifies the scanning of files, email and applications. The driver itself is pretty sparse, but it allows for scaling, watermarks and instructions for manual duplexing.
LaserJet M1120 MFP is said to 19ppm print and in our test of five page text print completed and the text and images in 22 seconds each. This equates to 13.6ppm, which is closer to the manufacturer�s claim than many machines we tested. A single page, 15 x 10cm photo print completed within 8 seconds, an excellent result for a printer in this class. Finally, a single page photocopy lasted 15 seconds back more than a reasonable time.
Print quality of the machine is good, with well formed characters to small point sizes, and no signs of stray toner. Grayscale patterns used to reproduce color shades also come through in the originals well, with little noticeable banding and a good selection of dithering patterns represent different tones. This includes printed images that are clean and smooth, especially over the resolution of the device, adjusted to 1200 dpi.
Unfortunately the same can not be said for copies of grays. With flatbed scanner to make copies works well for black text, but not for any shade of gray matter when gray shades are watching grainy and uneven, despite the native resolution 1200 dpi scanner. The scanner itself is a color unit, so it can be used to scan photo prints, and works with the included OCR software.
There are only a few deliveries in the LaserJet M1120 MFP, a drum and toner cartridge rated for 2000, five percent page. A typical online price of just under � 40 for the pattern indicates a price per print, including paper 0.7p from 2.81p. It is OK, but not so low as some of its competitors, all-in-ones from Kyocera Mita.
Conclusion
For all who need additional functionality in an all-in-one printer, but do not need color printing, it is a good personal device that is easy to use and provides high-quality black printing. It is not as good at photo grayscale copies, however, and in 2000 page capacity of the drum and toner cartridge is not much more than from some cartridges. For this price, the various inkjet all-in-ones offer similar value and add color to the mix and value, although less maintenance a good differentiator for lasers, it is not so evident here.
