The HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdw ($629.99) is a small office multifunction printer (MFP) with a compact build, solid speed, very good graphics quality, and a wide range of connection choices. Although comparable laser-class inkjets rival, or even exceed, its speed and undercut its running costs, plenty of people still prefer lasers for their dependability and crisp text and graphics. As such, the M477fdw is an appealing choice for a small office or workgroup with average printing needs.

Design and Features
The 51-pound M477fdw is compact for an MFP, measuring 16.4 by 15.7 by 18.6 inches (HWD), so it could even fit in the corner of a large desk in a pinch. Standard paper capacity is 300 sheets of up to legal-size paper, split between a 250-sheet tray and a 50-sheet multipurpose feeder. An optional 550-sheet paper tray ($149.99) can be added, for a maximum paper capacity of 850 sheets. It includes an auto-duplexer for two-sided printing. The M477fdw has a maximum monthly duty cycle of up to 50,000 pages and a recommended monthly duty cycle of up to 4,000 sheets, which is nearly the same as the recommended 4,200 sheets of the Editors' Choice HP Officejet Pro X576dw MFP ( at Amazon) , a color laser-class inkjet.

On top of the printer are a flatbed, which can scan letter- or A4-sized paper, and a 50-sheet automatic document feeder that supports single-pass, two-sided scanning. In the top right front of the M477fdw, protruding from the pylon that holds the flatbed, is a 4.3-inch touch-screen display to control the machine's MFP functions, with dedicated touch-sensitive buttons (identified by icons) for backspace, home, and help at the bottom of the display. Below the front panel is a port for a USB thumb drive.

You get a good selection of wired and wireless printing choices including USB for connecting to a computer, and Ethernet for connecting to a wired LAN. (We tested the printer over an Ethernet connection, with its drivers installed on a printer running Windows Vista.) Wi-Fi is built in, and the printer supports HP wireless direct, and NFC touch-to-print. It is also Apple AirPrint compatible, as well as Mopria-certified (for direct printing from compatible Android devices). Google Cloud Print 2.0 is supported and the M477fdw offers a good set of drivers, including PCL 6, PCL 5e, and HP's PostScript emulation. Most businesses don't need to print with PostScript, but for those that do, a driver is a must.

The HP M477 series includes two other models, the M477fdn ($579.99) and the M477fnw ($529.99). The M477fdn omits wireless connectivity, and the M477fnw lacks a duplexer, and integrates Wi-Fi and Wireless Direct but not NFC.

Print Speed
Speed is a plus for the M477fdw, which zipped through our business applications suite (using QualityLogic's hardware and software for timing) at 10.6 pages per minute (ppm). That's a good result considering its 28-page-per-minute rated color printing speed, and a little faster than the Editors' Choice HP Officejet Pro X576dw MFP, a color laser-class inkjet, which we timed at 9.5 ppm on the same tests. The M477fdw is considerably faster than the Dell Color Cloud Multifunction Printer H825cdw ($399.99 at Dell Technologies) , which we timed at 6.5ppm in its default duplex mode. That said, speed was well short of the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-6590 ( at Amazon) , a laser-class inkjet, which we timed at 12.7ppm.

Output Quality
Overall output quality is a wash, with very good graphics, subpar photos, and average text. Text should be good enough for any business use, except ones requiring tiny fonts. Graphic output should be fine for PowerPoint handouts, even for clients or colleagues you are seeking to impress. With photos, our monochrome test image showed considerable tinting, and most photos lost detail in light and/or dark areas. The photo quality is not good enough here to print your marketing materials in house.

Running Costs
Running costs of 2.2 cents per monochrome page and 13.6 cents per color page (based on HP's prices for its highest-capacity cartridges), are on the high side, particularly for color. The Dell H825cdw has the same monochrome costs, and color costs of 12.8 cents per page. The M477fdw's running costs are considerably higher than some laser-class inkjet MFPs such as the Epson WF-6590 (1.6 and 6.8 cents) and the HP X576dw (1.3 cents  and 6.8 cents). Although the M477fdw is a bit faster than the HP X576dw, its higher running costs and smaller paper capacity leave it a bit short overall of the Editors' Choice X576dw, our top pick for up to medium-duty printing in a small-to-midsize office or workgroup.

Conclusion
The HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP M477fdw's modest size and paper capacity, but substantial monthly duty cycle, combined with a strong feature set, make it a good choice as a color MFP for up to medium-duty printing. In that role it offers solid speed and very good graphics quality, though subpar photo quality brings the overall output quality down to average. Its running costs, particularly for color pages, can't match inkjets like the Editors' Choice HP X576dw. But if you're a fan of laser printers, the M477fdw is a compelling choice to anchor a workgroup or small office.

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