HP LaserJet Pro 400 Color M451dn: wired color printing with automatic duplex review

Color office output with a deliberately wired configuration

The HP LaserJet Pro 400 Color M451dn is a color print-only laser whose useful distinction is included automatic two-sided printing over USB or a wired network. The exact US product is CE957A#BGJ, and HP labels it discontinued. This assessment covers its documented 110–127-volt, 60-Hz US configuration. It does not establish the condition, supplies or remaining support of an individual older machine.

Both black and color Letter speed are specified at up to 21 pages per minute. The original model comparison separately lists 20 A4 pages per minute. Those figures describe the maker's output specification rather than results of a hands-on test. The two-line monochrome control display does not prevent color printing, just as a color display elsewhere would not prove a color engine.

Resolve the wireless wording before choosing a connection

Standard connections are USB 2.0 and 10/100 Ethernet. The original exact dn comparison lists those interfaces without an included wireless connection. The US product page contains a general Auto Wireless Connect sentence, but its own footnote reserves built-in wireless for M451nw and M451dw. The technical field describes wireless as optional with a hardware accessory. None of those statements supplies a radio in standard M451dn.

USB is suitable for a directly attached compatible computer. The original installation procedure uses an A-to-B USB cable and says to connect it when the software prompts. The documented dn package does not include that cable. Ethernet supports a shared local-network installation; use the configuration page to identify the actual printer address before installing the queue.

AirPrint is documented over a network, with a possible firmware upgrade noted in the guide. HP's current mobile matrix also lists this exact suffix with Mopria Print Service. A phone can therefore reach a correctly networked Ethernet printer without a printer Wi-Fi radio. This mobile plan remains separate from the computer-driver duplex routine: the available application settings must be checked instead of assumed.

Three hundred sheets, approved duplex media and Legal clearance

Included capacity is 300 ordinary sheets: 50 in multipurpose Tray 1 and 250 in Tray 2. The original comparison and detailed paper table identify an optional 250-sheet third tray. That accessory is excluded here. A generic support listing with a different feeder capacity in its title does not override the actual model instructions.

The original paper matrix confirms Letter, Legal and A4 in both included feeds and in the automatic duplex path. Use an actual compatible driver, the correct paper size and type, and the two-sided printing option. The Windows guide distinguishes automatic duplex from the manual routine that prints one side, requires the stack to be reloaded in Tray 1 and continues from the panel.

Type restrictions still matter. The original guide allows automatic duplex on 60–160 g/m² paper, while the current product field extends to 163. This review keeps the more conservative documented range. It excludes envelopes, labels, transparencies and the guide's Tough type from automatic duplex. The input's ability to accept heavier glossy stock is not permission to send it through the duplexer.

For envelopes, the original Tray 1 table supports up to ten, face up with the top toward the product. Select the matching size and type and keep the job one-sided. Legal paper requires extending Tray 2 about 2.5 inches in front of the printer. Check that clearance where the printer will actually sit.

Printing color does not add document capture or private release

M451dn has no scanner, copier, fax, glass or feeder. A generic support software note mentioning a scanner driver does not change the exact hardware. A phone-camera feature likewise cannot substitute for a physical scanner when a document-capture requirement is selected.

PIN-held document release has not been established for this standard configuration. The original networking material discusses passwords and security, but an administrator password or encrypted management connection is not evidence that documents wait for a user-entered release PIN. This review leaves that capability unknown rather than qualifying the printer from a general security heading.

Check cartridge identity and the actual space available

HP recommends 750–2,000 pages per month; the separately stated 40,000-page maximum duty cycle is not a routine workload target. Replacement supplies are 305A CE410A black, CE411A cyan, CE412A yellow and CE413A magenta, with 305X CE410X as the higher-yield black option. Current maker cartridge data lists about 4,000 pages for 305X and about 2,600 composite color pages for each color cartridge under ISO/IEC 19798.

The historical printer page says about 2,200 for standard black 305A, while current exact cartridge data says about 2,090. That discrepancy is retained instead of presenting one number as settled. Introductory cartridges were about 1,400 pages and are different from replacement yields. The body is approximately 15.9 by 19.1 by 12.7 inches; weights differ between sources and remain unconfirmed here. M451dn fits a wired color-print routine when automatic ordinary-paper duplex matters and wireless printing hardware or scanning is unnecessary.