HP LaserJet Pro MFP 3101fdw Wireless Monochrome All-in-One Printer

I got this HP LaserJet Pro MFP 3101fdw wireless printer to replace my aging Epson Workforce inkjet printer, and it has been a game-changer for my home office. This review below covers my experience with this fantastic machine, highlighting its features, performance, and a few minor quirks.

The initial setup was a bit of a mixed bag. The printer struggled to find my network, and I had to intervene by manually entering the IP address. However, once I overcame this hurdle, the printer seamlessly connected to all the computers in my house that needed access. But the real surprise came when I printed my first test page. The speed at which it produced the page left me astonished. It was waiting for me in less time than it took me to cross the room! No more waiting for ages; this printer churns out pages almost instantaneously! The print quality was equally impressive, with crisp, laser-quality text and well-rendered graphics. The machine’s compact design also fit perfectly into my home office, taking the same spot as the printer it replaced.

The HP LaserJet Pro MFP 3101fdw is a versatile powerhouse that combines printing, scanning, copying, and even faxing into one sleek device. While I don’t often need to send faxes, the option is a nice addition for those rare occasions. The touchscreen interface makes navigating through its functions a breeze. It’s a significant upgrade from traditional button-based menus, providing a more intuitive and user-friendly experience. Printing directly from my iPhone is another feature that I came to appreciate. Setting it up was surprisingly easy, and it’s a huge convenience when you need to print something from your mobile device. I was initially concerned about the scanner’s capabilities since this is a black and white printer. However, it pleasantly surprised me by offering color scanning, which expands its versatility. It works seamlessly, quickly digitizing documents without compromising on quality.

Talking about the main issues and potential improvements, I’d say that the initial setup process was a bit cumbersome, particularly when trying to connect the printer to the network. A more straightforward setup would be a significant improvement. Also, the requirement to use approved HP toner cartridges can be limiting for those who prefer more cost-effective third-party options. Some flexibility in this area would be appreciated. And the last suggestion is that the paper tray design could be more user-friendly. The necessity of pulling it from both sides rather than the front can be a bit inconvenient.

Pro-tips. Assign a static IP address to the printer to ensure a hassle-free connection. If your printing needs are primarily in black and white, this printer offers a cost-effective and time-efficient solution.

*** TL;DR ***
I wholeheartedly recommend the HP LaserJet Pro MFP 3101fdw for home offices. It impresses with its blazing-fast printing speed, high-quality output, and versatile features. This remarkable speed, combined with its superb print quality, makes it a standout choice for busy home offices. While the initial setup could be smoother, it’s a solid performer that makes it an excellent choice for those primarily printing in black and white. Solid 5 stars product!

+++ Pros +++
1) High-quality HP product.
2) Lightning-fast printing speed.
3) Excellent print quality.
4) Versatile features (printing, scanning, copying, faxing).
5) Wireless connectivity, no network wiring needed.
6) Color high-definition scanning capability.
7) Compact and space-efficient design.

— Cons —
1) Initial setup can be challenging and problematic.
2) Restricted use of third-party toner cartridges.
3) The paper tray design could be improved.

This printer started out great but when received in November but it is now February and the scanner in it is completely shot. Now I know why the purchase price is so cheap, because the product is very cheaply built.

This printer worked fine, until a paper got stuck. After opening the compartment where the toner is located, I could not get it closed again. I even removed the toner, but it will not close. The printer is now useless because nothing will print unless this compartment is closed.

Notice: This product was received at no charge as part of the Amazon Vine program but this is an unbiased review.

This is a review of the HP Laserjet Pro MFP 3101fdw Wireless Black & White Printer/Copier/Scanner/Fax. It’s a small business workstation and it works great as a personal laser printer that runs on your Wi-Fi network.

I had no problems with the setup. I previously downloaded HP software for a different HP laser printer, so I’m not sure if that made this installation so easy. The set up was done on a Mac. All I had to do to get the printer on my computer was to log the printer on to my WiFi router, and go to the Mac’s printer selection and find the HP Laserjet Pro MFP 3101fdw printer on the printer list. I just selected it as my default printer and I was ready to go. No other registration, installation, or downloads were needed.

The printer is amazingly fast. Once you click the print button on your document, the page prints in seconds. It’s almost instantaneous. I’ve had printers years ago that took 30 seconds or more to warm up enough to print the first page. There was none of that with this printer. The print quality was very good. The text is sharp and crisp and graphics are reproduced well.

Next, I tried the copy function. You use the touch screen to navigation the different options, and I selected the copy function and started the process. It was fast and easy. The touchscreen is much better than using buttons to navigate a menu. Copying was also very fast. The page comes out in virtual seconds. The quality is good, but there was some loss of detail on a few of the graphics.

Then I tried the scanning function. You’ve got several options as to where to send your scan, which includes email, network servers, computers, and my choice, a USB drive. That was best for me. The scan was quick and it’s very good quality. It loaded on my USB drive and I was able to transfer it to my computer.

Lastly there’s a fax function, but I’ve rarely got the need to send a fax so this was not tested.

They also have the option of printing from your phone through an HP app. I’ve not tried this function either.

When I’ve used previous HP printers, I’ve had to deal with their Ink Replacement Program. Under the program they charge you around $8 per month to join. If you’ve got a busy office and you print lots of documents, then a hundred dollars per year to get a continuous supply of toner cartridges and an extra year on the warranty and a discount on toner that’s ordered through the program might be worth it. You’ll have to decide if this is a good business decision, but I print so few documents that it’s not worth it to me.

The other issue is HP has a chip in their toner cartridges and it blocks you from getting some cheaper third party toner. The good side is the HP toner for this model is fairly reasonable, it’s a little over sixty bucks for a yield of about 3,000 pages.

Other than that, the printer works great. It’s one of the fastest printers I’ve ever owned. You click the print button on a Word document, and within a couple of seconds the page is done. It’s crazy fast.

Pros:
• Very fast printer
• Wi-Fi printing works well
• The printing, copying, scanning all work seamlessly
• Can support multiple computers on your network
• Text and graphics are sharp and crisp.
• Solid blacks print fairly well.

Cons:
• You have to deal with HP verification and the initial registration of your printer and they check your printer to see if there’s a HP toner cartridge installed

Bottom line, this is a really fast and a good quality printer, but you might have to deal with the HP software and cartridge verification when you install your first HP printer on your computer.

I ordered this printer because I have been using another B&W laserjet for about 20 years and figured it was time to upgrade. This one has a lot of newer features that make life easier and is great!!

What I like about this:
1) You can print directly from your iPhone to the printer. Easy to set up.
2) It is super easy to setup on a network with the software.
3) I like the touch screen convenience and the ability to scan directly to a computer (if you get it set up right)
4) The app for your phone is nice but not required but it very easy to use.
5) This thing prints FAST!

What I did not like about this:
1) Even being a computer science major and having a mesh network set up at my house with 3 different routers and a repeater I still struggled to get all the features working on this machine. Some were easy like network setup, print from iPhone, and print from computer but scan to computer was a challenge. You have to download the full webpack (NOT the EasyStart) to make that work. I am still struggling with getting the scan to email to work as I don’t currently have an email server and gmail isn’t working for me.
2) It seems that you have to order HP toners or approved HP toners. I am used to purchasing what I want as they are normally 1/2 price from the name brand – this one will not allow that although I am not sure the cost of the toner (yet).
3) The paper tray could be a little deeper for more supplies.

Overall, this is a fast printing printer – so fast that when the sound stops the paper is already in the tray not just warming up to print. It is a lot quieter than some laser-jets I have used and I like the design of this one. It has direct print and a bunch of features and still has a RJ45 connection just in case you do want to hard wire – even though you don’t have to with the wireless. I really do like the features on this machine and it scans nicely in color and prints clearly in B&W. This is a good price for this quality of a laser-jet printer – save yourself frustration with inkjets if you print mainly text for work and grab this printer!

I ordered this printer to replace an HP OfficeJet 9000-series printer that has been a bit problematic for us. (It would frequently refuse to print anything for my wife’s laptop, but it seemed reliable for me on several other computers in the house.

That other HP was a color inkjet printer, and this new HP is the first laser printer I have ever had at home. My thought was that this would be a good printer for everyday print jobs – kids homework sheets, etc. I still have another color inkjet printer in my home office (a different brand), and that one has been very good for my uses – I print a lot of custom overlays for calculators – super nerdy stuff, but it serves the task well).

My hope was that this new printer would be more affordable to operate. I have an HP Instant Ink subscription on that previous HP inkjet printer, and it really wasn’t worth the cost since we were no longer using it very often. I see that this new Laserjet printer offers the same subscription, but I haven’t decided it it is worthwhile yet. I will probably wait until it comes time to replace the toner cartridge for the first time to decide what I will do.

Initial impressions for this new printer were a bit mixed. I had a hard time getting the HP software to find the printer on my network at first, but once I put in the IP address of the printer I was able to get it running on all the computers in the house that needed access.

The first test page I sent to the printer was waiting for me in less than the time it took me to walk across the room! It was very fast. I printed another test page for the purpose of this review – see attached photo. The print quality is very good – showing nice crisp text like a laser printer should. The graphics rendered well, too.

The machine itself fits well on the desk in our kitchen (same spot as the printer it replaced), and it isn’t terribly noisy when it prints.

I also ran a quick test of the scanner – I was initially worried that since this was a black/white grayscale printer so the scanner may not be color. I was happy to find out that it does indeed scan in color with no issues.

Overall I am very pleased with this product, and I will be putting it through its paces over the next several months with the kids’ school work and other work. I will update this review if anything unexpected happens…

5 star rating from this user!

Hp makes horrible devices; Customer Support is up to now impossible, non-existent, really.
I have spent the whole time since I bought the Dec 23, 2023 to now trying to communicate with HP about this printer, and have gotten nowhere. I would never buy this Printer ever again. I just will try to return it ASAP.

95% of the time when I need to print, I don’t need color. I don’t print photos and mainly documents. This monochrome printer is exactly what I needed. It’s perfect and about half the cost of a color printer. I am so happy with this purchase. Laser is the way to go. By the time I walk into the printer room, I no longer have to wait. The documents are ready for me.

On the third one in 30 days. And they’ve all suffered from the same issue. They work for a few days then the window goes blank and won’t respond. So, the only way around it is to power off/power on. Now if you don’t mind that exercise or if you regularly power you equipment off at the end of the day you may be fine. But I don’t. And dealing with their support has been a brutal exercise. We also have an Epson that we’ve had for 2-3 years and absolutely problem free.

I used to be a loyal HP consumer – have had to rethink that going forward.

So far so good on the quality of prints and scans, no more Ink Jet’s for my monochrome documents printing!
The control panel on this Laser Jet is clear and easy to use, but just a little small for my “old eyes” 🙂 That all said, I missed out on a $30 price drop from HP Direct (reg $259) which started today on 2-11-24 and so I’m now chewing on whether or not I should return this one for the better price point HP Direct unit since Amazon does not offer price difference credit.