subject: HP LaserJet M1120MFP Toner Review [print this page] All-in-one devices have outstripped sales of single-function printers inside the ink-jet market, but have been slower to appear with laser engines. HP has tried to redress this situation and the LaserJet M1120 MFP, an entry-level, mono laser all-in-one, has been created for home and also small office use.
For those who are used to working with inkjet-based all-in-ones, the LaserJet M1120 MFP is surprisingly tall. The laser engine in the bottom portion of the device occupies quite a bit more room compared to an ink-jet engine, but the machine looks sturdy with its slate grey columns down both sides.
A 250-sheet paper tray has a 10-sheet multi-purpose tray set on top of it. The output tray is positioned halfway up the device, giving the machine an appearance comparable to a piecemeal.
Quite a way higher than the output tray is the flatbed scanner area and this hinges up wards to around 30 degrees, to deliver the means to access the toner cartridge. It is held up by sprung hinges, so stays where it's set, while open.
On top of the unit there is a two-line Liquid crystal display - without any backlight - as well as a set of eight buttons that are sufficient to manage all of the device's functions. The only connection at the back is a USB 2 socket and there is simply no internal alternative for a network interface. Nevertheless, a network edition of the unit, can be obtained for approximately 20 more.
HP supplies a copy of ReadIRIS OCR software along with a utility known as LaserJet Scan, which will simplify scanning to files, e-mail in addition to other applications. The driver itself is relatively sparse, however it does offer scaling, watermarks and instructions with regard to manual duplexing.
The LaserJet M1120 MFP is said to print as much as 19ppm but in our tests concluded the five-page text print, and the text and graphics prints, in 22 seconds, each. One single page, 15 x 10cm picture print finished in 8 seconds, a great end result for a printer within this class. Lastly, a solitary page photocopy required 15 seconds, and that is once again a more than reasonable time.
The print quality was there, having sharp characters right down to small point sizes without any indication of stray toner. Greyscale patterns, normally used for reproducing coloured tints in originals looked great, with very little apparent banding along with a very good variety of dither patterns recreating various tones. This is at the same time true for printed pictures, which appear clean as well as sleek, specially from the unit's top resolution, that is improved to 1200dpi.
Sadly, the same cannot be stated for copies of greyscales. When using the flatbed scanner to produce photocopies works well for black text, but not for any kind of greyscale material in which shades of grey appear grainy as well as bumpy. The scanner itself is a colour device, so it can be used in order to scan photo prints, along with working with the provided OCR software.
For anyone who wants the additional features of an all-in-one printer, yet has no desire for colour print, this is an excellent personal device, which is easy to use and creates good quality black print. It isn't so great on photocopying greyscales, on the other hand, and low capacity of the toner cartridge isn't a lot more than from a number of inkjet cartridges. At the price range, various ink-jet all-in-ones provide equivalent value and also put colour to the value mix and even though reduced upkeep ought to be a very good differentiator for lasers, it isn't so obvious in this instance.
