HP LaserJet MFP M234sdw All-in-One Monochrome Laser Printer

Le me clear a lot of misunderstanding about these printers. First, there are 2 identical printers with different usage. The M234sdw and the M234sdwe. The “e” at the end of the name tells you it is an HP+ printer that will be cheaper to buy (about $30 cheaper) and will have one extra year of warranty. To get these benefits, you must agree to only use new HP cartridges and no third parties). In order to insure that you abide by this rule, HP will monitor your printer on the Internet and disable it if a) It detects a non-HP cartridge or b) It cannot access the printer. THAT is why the M234sdwe MUST be connected to the Internet all the time. It is up to you to decide if saving $30 is worth being policed by HP and using ONLY HP cartridges or not. I chose the freedom of the unmonitored printer and bought the M234sdw for $218.

The second important point is that whichever printer you chose, you will find that connecting to the Internet is a pain in the a… Mostly because these are low cost printers that have no ability to enter your Wifi Password on the printer itself. So… you MUST use the “HP Smart App” just to connect to the Internet. It’s not the easiest method but I did it without creating an HP account. You simply bring your cell phone within Bluetooth reach of the printer and follow the instructions.

The third point that generates a lot of negative resentment about these printers is HP’s aggressive behavior in selling you “stuff” you do not need. The HP Smart app is a Trojan Horse. It tried to sell me a subscription for $10/months to have “Premium” access to Print and Scan on my printer (This is not a joke) I even attached a picture of the offer. I am not sure what “Premium” access is since they don’t even make the effort of explaining it, but I expect to be able to Print and Scan without having to pay $10/months. Remote Printing and scanning has no value to me… how can you scan from across the word? Doesn’t somebody need to load the documents?

Last, the documentation “User Guide” is terrible. You have a minimal way to interface with that printer – A tiny touch screen – and no manual that tells you how to adjust the brightness of your print or the number of copies you want, etc. I had to experiment, write these functions and post them besides the printer when my wife or I later need them. That is unacceptable from a company like HP.

Once you go through all these hassles, you will realize that this still a very good printing machine (One thing HP is still great at). It prints very fast and its font quality is superb. It’s photo printing is the best one can expect from a black and white printer. It is compact and – being made by HP – I hope reliable. An easy recommendation especially if you are Tech Savvy and you can find your way through HP’s marketing tricks.

This printer took a year and a day to hook up with my home wi-fi network.
Finally, set about printing an RMA for a return item that was purchased by mistake.
Now hear this: All the time I was struggling with printer set-up it was printing out one-pagers by the dozen telling me the status. The last one printed insisted that the wifi was not setup – but it was.
Then when I went to first print that RMA, HP was doggedly obsessed with lack of paper.
Did handstands with the paper stack – to no avail.
Cleaned the rollers? – brand new out of the box??
Changed paper.
Went to HP support and asked for help. Of course they wanted the serial number, so opened up the printer and gave it to them.
But no, that number could apply to a number of devices – and the model number requested.
I gave the model number and it said that was an error – and looped me back.
Had to re-enter it all once again, to no avail.
A few rounds of that track and I tried telephone support – of course it hung up and also said it was really busy.
Tried a few more paper swaps and all sorts of variations of the online tips.
Nada.
Nice idea to have a bottle of toner that allows refills of the laser.
A little cranky by then, struggled to apply the Styrofoam to the printer to send it back.
But not just me, wife struggled for 15 minutes.
Come on folks, is it that difficult to engineer a working product and instructions for reassembly should return be needed?
I will never touch an HP product because they make support nearly non-existent and furthermore worthless.
Zero stars should beavailable.
Later HP, you could have won me over.

Printing is about the only thing that this does well (including double sided printing).

1. Copying double sided pages has to be done manually by copying the first page, reinserting the printed page upside down and the correct way up, and then copying the reverse page. Even my previous el cheapo HP inkjet printer had a 2 page to 2 page copying function where you didnt have to play paper jockey like that.
2. Scanning – WHAT A JOKE! HP wants you to use its HP Smart app to scan documents. Only on my andriod device was I able to get this scanning function to work – meaning I would have to use my phone to control the scanner, and forward scanned docs by email to myself so I could download those scanned docs that I wanted to store on my laptop. HP Smart would not even install on my PC running Windows 10 – the installation program just stalled and went nowhere, and was not available for Mac OS 10.15 that I use. I eventually was able to use Mac OS’ scan function, but… when I used the document feeder to scan multiple page docs, the pages got scanned slanted. I had to use the flatbed scanner screen, loading and scanning each page manually in order to get a scanned page that was now only slightly slanted, but slanted nonethess.
3. While I was using the scanner, Error 41 which is a printing error occured, and I had to reboot the printer/scanner to resolve this.

WORST printer/scanner I have ever used! It’s going to the UPS store tomorrow to be sent straight back to Amazon!

I recently started using the HP LaserJet MFP M234sdw Printer at our dental practice, and I must say, it has significantly improved our daily operations. The printer’s multifunction capabilities, including printing, scanning, and copying, are exceptionally efficient, which is vital in a fast-paced environment like ours. The print quality is outstanding, providing clear and crisp documents, which is crucial for printing detailed dental records and patient information. One of the features I appreciate most is its wireless connectivity. It allows me to print directly from various devices, making it super convenient to handle patient records and other documents from anywhere in the office. The printer’s speed is another highlight; it handles high-volume printing without any lag, which is essential for keeping up with the busy workflow of our practice. The HP LaserJet MFP M234sdw also impresses with its compact size, fitting perfectly into our office space without cluttering it. Moreover, its user-friendly interface makes it easy for everyone in our team to use, which is a significant plus considering the varying levels of tech-savviness among our staff. Overall, this printer has been a fantastic addition to our dental practice. Its efficiency, ease of use, and high-quality output make it an invaluable tool for our daily administrative tasks. I highly recommend the HP LaserJet MFP M234sdw to any professional setting that demands reliability and quality in document handling.

If you are a looking for a one stop pro Black/White printer solution for your small business needs, this is it! It has amazing printing speeds and wifi connectivity features that will make your life easier.

My HP LaserJet M234sdw printer was a breeze to setup and use. I like really like the build quality as it looks really nice on our station. The print speed is quick and consistent with more than 30 pages per minute; more importantly we didn’t have any ink smudges and paper print quality looks and feels amazing. We had a print job of over 300 pages and it was able to handle it without an issue or taking a break.

The Setup was super simple and easy. The HP app was great as we it guided us through the entire process. The rest of the setup was pretty intuitive and self-explanatory. I highly recommend getting the HP Instant Ink service as we got two month free and the toner rates seemed comparable to other off label toners especially when to signup for higher print page tiers.

I love that It is also able to print thick stock papers which makes it a breeze for printing posters. I also love the fact that we can scan directly to phone as previously I needed to install desktop software to do that. It also has a mobile fax feature which can be setup on HP’s account and auto prints as fax’s come in. If I really need to get nitty picky, I wish they have the control screen on the printer rather than the paper tray. The paper tray had a wobbly tendency so when you touch the scan button, it wouldn’t always recognize the first time, having a touchscreen I feel like would have been better. But also think about it, being an office printer, I have been able to use the printer with gloves on, which I think wouldn’t have been possible with a touch screen. Other than this minor inconvinence, this is an excellent printer.

Overall, we are really satisfied with the printer and love the speed along with the HP app to keep the printer secure along with some of the scanning features. Highly recommend this product for anyone looking for high speed high quality printing solution.

This product is worthless. The scan function is horrible. Even with enhanced software like Adobe it’s still slow, jams often, and ultimately not very useful. A cell phone scanner app is much more efficient. Less than 6 months after purchasing it completely stopped working. I got a “paper jam” error but there was no jam and it completely shutdown all uses of the printer. Good luck getting tech support. You call and get directed to a website full of useless FAQ’s. Oh yeah and the automated online “chat service” with no actual person offering answers. Save your time and money and purchase something better!

This HP LaserJet all in one device makes printing, scanning, and copying seamless and easy. The print speed is blazingly fast. I especially noticed the speed for double sided print jobs. I have never seen a printer in this price range that can print as fast. The print speed is rated at up to 30 pages per minute.

Setup was simple and consisted of plugging it in, connecting to Wi-Fi network, and downloading the App. Creating an account and using the App is required to use the printer. The ink subscription plan is not required, but using manufacturer toner is required.:

Once connected, wireless printing is as easy as pushing a button from my laptop or wireless device. I was able to print from my iPhone as well as my Chromebook and Windows devices. It is really that easy and convenient!

Since this printer is wireless, placement is not limited to being near the sending device. This printer can be placed anywhere that can accommodate it that is near a power outlet. The footprint is large and it weighs about 20 pounds, so proper product placement is necessary..

The print quality is excellent and is far superior to the average inkjet. It does not take long for power on and print when it is in sleep mode. The 150 sheet tray capacity makes large print jobs fast and easy. It is capable of printing on a variety of paper types. The supported paper sizes
are plain, envelopes, rough, bond, label, cardstock, and postcards

The copy function works well and is also quite fast. Most people don’t need to make copies as much anymore, but it is very nice to have the capability. The flatbed design is ideal for copying and scanning.

I scan documents frequently and found the function to be quite capable. Scan quality is scalable by quality. It is capable of high resolution color scans that look identical to the original. The top scanner resolution is 6000 x 1200.

I don’t need to print in color, so I prefer to use a laser printer rather than an inkjet printer
Laser toner powder will not dry out, and the page for page cost is cheaper than inkjet cartridges. The cartridge is rated at printing approximately 1100 pages.

This HP M234SDW is perfect. Just make sure you are not buying its evil twin (m234sdwe). Model numbers that end in “e” are a little bit cheaper, but they require you to sign up for an HP account, will only print while connected wirelessly (no USB printing, which is a deal breaker for me), won’t work with generic toners, and demand a lot of your private data. Many of the negative reviews you see are for “e” models. By contrast, this laser printer M234SDW is great! Set up took 2 seconds. You plug it in, then launch the HP Smart app on your computer (it was already installed on my computer, otherwise you have to download it first. Apparently you can do this from your phone as well, but I did it from my Windows 10 PC). Make sure your computer is connected to the same home WiFi that you plan to use for your printer. In the HP Smart app, click on “add new printer.” Once it finds the printer, click on it, then follow the prompts, and voilà, printer ready to go. It honestly took longer to write this review. Btw, the instructions say that you have to download the HP Smart app on your phone too if you want to print from it. Not true. When I print from my (android) phone, as long as I’m connected to the same home WiFi, it just finds the printer using the default Samsung print app in the phone. There’s also a WiFi Direct option. The printer “wakes up” from sleep whenever you send a job to it, just like it should. You don’t have to go wake it up like my old HP P1102w wireless printer that this is replacing. You can automatically print double sided even from the phone, which is awesome. Just remember that the ADF scanner only scans one sided. I knew that when I bought it, but still a bummer. The only issue I encountered is HP support. When I registered this brand new printer for warranty, it showed that I only have “7 months” of coverage left. This was definitely brand new in the box, not used, so I emailed HP support my receipt and hope to get the warranty validity period corrected. Just make sure you check your warranty on their website (the serial number is outside the box… Don’t throw it away, or else you have to open up the printer and find it next to the toner cartridge). Enjoy!

Printer jammed on every job sent. The first HP tech I spoke to told me my computer needed to be updated at a cost of $85. I told him my computer was up to date and he was full of it. He did not attempt to troubleshoot the computer. I hung up. Then I contacted the HP chat line. I spent over an hour with HP chat tech. Not once did the tech troubleshoot the printer. The tech continued to trouble shoot items on my computer set up. Finally, I told her I was hanging up. Nothing was wrong with the computer set up or the printer installation. I then contacted Amazon and returned the computer. At the local office supply store, I learned that HP printers are the most frequently returned. Sad to hear that. My first HP printer lasted 20 years. Cheers to Amazon customer service returns.

I started with the box arriving on time and mostly undamaged. It had a small dent in the corner of the box from shipping. I opened the box and found that the dent had no effect on the product. The rest of the unboxing went smoothly.
The process of removal of the packing material was very well thought out.
I proceeded to try to install it on my network. The instructions talk about disabling your VPN. I kept the VPN off. I had a hard time getting the HP Smart software to find the printer from my desktop. I finally realized that my antivirus software was still engaged. As soon as I temporarily disabled the antivirus the rest of the installation process went smoothly. After the printer was found, the antivirus was able to be turned back on without problems.
I like the advanced features of this unit for the price. It can scan multiple pages with the document feeder. It can print from the same duplex feeder. The HP Smart software makes these features seamless and easy to use.
The only thing that I was disappointed with is the fact that it only had one paper tray. I do occasionally print to legal size paper and I had 2 trays, one of legal and one of letter size paper on a prior unit. But I can easily swap out the stack of paper when I need to change sources.
Once you purchase a laser printer you will never go back to an inkjet. The price of this machine is very nice for everything that it can do. It basically replaces 3 machines in the office.
One function that I have not used yet is the fax function. Basically, HP is offering a fax on demand from the scanner service. I still have an old fax that scans just fine and I can usually print to another source.
I look forward to printing complex tasks like Christmas cards and envelopes, tax returns, and other legal sized, double-sided documents. This printer should serve all of my needs except color printing for years to come. It is really great and they have come a long way in small office level printers. I am impressed.