HP LaserJet 4100mfp: wired copying and color scan-to-email review

The HP LaserJet 4100mfp is an earlier wired multifunction printer for black-document printing, walk-up copying and scanning to email. Its useful distinction is that it can send a color scan file even though printed pages and copies are monochrome. Its important limits are the older SMTP email workflow, manual handling of two-sided originals and an optional, rather than standard, output duplexer.

The exact US HP page maps this model to C9148A#ABA and marks it discontinued. The original configuration is different from both the print-only 4100 series and the more heavily equipped 4101mfp. This review follows its own manual and does not claim a new hands-on speed, image-quality or reliability test.

Scanning reaches the computer through email

The included Jetdirect 10/100Base-TX card supports network printing and digital sending. For scanning, the product communicates with a configured SMTP gateway and sends attachments to the chosen email address. The recipient can receive and save those files on a computer. This is not a promise of a desktop USB scanning application or an unrestricted direct-to-folder route.

HP documents PDF, JPEG, TIFF and multipage TIFF attachments, with color or black-and-white settings. The administrator must configure the network and email parameters. Before relying on an older unit, demonstrate delivery through the actual compatible SMTP gateway. The original instructions do not establish compatibility with every modern mail provider’s authentication or encryption requirements.

Parallel is available for direct printing, but it does not borrow the network email-scanning function. Standard USB, built-in Wi-Fi, AirPrint and Mopria routes are not established here. The published Windows 95 through XP and older Mac OS software lists are historical; verify a suitable print driver for the intended computer.

Legal originals use the feeder, not the glass

The 30-sheet automatic document feeder accepts Letter, A4 and Legal originals within the guide’s size, weight and condition limits. Remove staples and unsuitable attachments and flatten documents before feeding. Fragile, worn or irregular items belong on the scanner glass, whose maximum ordinary sizes are Letter and A4. Legal feeder support does not make the flatbed Legal-sized.

The guide says the feeder accepts double-sided originals, but its actual copying and email procedures prompt the user to turn those originals over before scanning the reverse sides. It therefore does not provide automatic duplex scanning or single-pass two-sided capture. This distinction matters for a stack of signed contracts: the user still has a second handling step.

Standalone copying is supported from the glass or feeder. Color scanning does not create color copying; the printed copy remains monochrome. An integrated analog-fax arrangement is not established by the exact source material read, so this review does not promise one merely because the device is called multifunction.

600 sheets and optional two-sided output

The standard C9148A input is 100-sheet Tray 1 plus 500-sheet Tray 2. The documented paper table supports Letter, Legal and A4, with normal capacity based on 75g/m² plain paper. The total is 600 sheets, subject to paper thickness and loading limits. Extra cassettes are optional.

The output duplexer is standard on 4101mfp, while 4100mfp needs the accessory. Do not count it as included because a shared manual has a duplex chapter. Even with that accessory installed, automatic output does not remove the manual-turnover requirement for two-sided originals.

Suitable envelopes use Tray 1, up to ten, with the guide’s material and orientation instructions. Opening the rear output gives a straighter path when needed. HP forbids printing both sides of an envelope; the separate 75-envelope feeder is optional rather than part of the included capacity.

Included storage provides a documented PIN routine

The standard configuration includes 64MB RAM and a hard disk of at least 5GB. Unlike the print-only 4100’s optional storage arrangement, this MFP’s included disk supports the guide’s private jobs. A supporting driver assigns the PIN and the user enters it at the control panel before release.

Ordinary private jobs are deleted after release, and turning the MFP off deletes private, quick-copy and proof jobs. Persistent stored jobs have different behavior. Verify the actual disk, driver and job-release function on a specific older unit rather than assuming all original parts remain installed.

Workload and placement still need independent checks

HP declares 25 one-sided Letter pages per minute and 24 A4 pages per minute for printing. Separate scanning rates should not be substituted for either. The manual lists a 150,000-page monthly duty cycle, but a positive recommended monthly range is unestablished here. The large duty figure does not supply that missing recommendation.

The guide identifies C8061A and C8061X replacements at approximately 6,000 and 10,000 pages on its five-percent-coverage basis, with actual life affected by toner use. No current cost or remaining cartridge supply is inferred. The body is about 16.4 inches wide, 17.5 deep and 21.25 high, and 55 pounds excludes toner. Leave access for trays, rear output and the scanner lid, and verify the actual US 110–127V label.

Choose this model only when its maintained Ethernet, copying and compatible scan-to-email arrangement fits the work. Automatic two-sided capture, direct desktop scanning or a current wireless workflow should lead to a model that explicitly supports that complete requirement.