HP LaserJet Pro M118dw: wired or wireless monochrome driver duplex review

Office paper handling in an earlier print-only model

The HP LaserJet Pro M118dw is worth considering for a small monochrome office whose main job is producing documents. The reviewed US 4PA39A#BGJ is discontinued, so this is an earlier-model reference rather than a claim of current retail availability. Its useful combination is standard automatic two-sided printing, a substantial main tray and both wired and wireless connections. It can take on everyday correspondence, invoices and longer Legal documents without requiring an optional duplex attachment.

The scope is still narrow. This is a black-and-white laser printer with no document scanner, copier or fax hardware. The LED description in its specifications refers to the control panel; it does not make the printing engine an LED device or add a color screen. Likewise, mobile-app features should not be mistaken for a way to feed paper originals into this machine. If scanning incoming paperwork is part of the same essential job, a separate scanner or different device is needed.

The main tray and priority feed serve different jobs

The standard paper arrangement combines a 250-sheet main input tray with a 10-sheet priority tray. HP rates those plain-paper capacities using 75 g/m² stock. Both tray orientation tables explicitly include Letter, Legal and A4, including two-sided work. The combined standard input is therefore 260 sheets for those documented ordinary-paper formats; the small priority opening is not an optional 250-sheet expansion.

In practice, the main tray can hold the normal office paper while the priority feed handles a short interruption. When printing envelopes, use the appropriate envelope size, Envelope media type and documented manual-feed selection in the driver. The guide allows up to ten envelopes in either tray. That is a separate media limit from its much larger plain-paper capacity, and envelopes are not a reason to assume automatic duplex support.

Letter and A4 or smaller paper allow the main tray door to close. Longer Legal stock needs additional room. The original guide lists the closed body at 14.5 inches wide, 16 deep and 8.8 high, weighing 15.2 pounds with cartridges. Fully opened, it reaches 24.6 inches deep and 14.1 high. Reserve room at the front for loading and above the unit for supplies rather than using the closed dimensions as a complete installation footprint.

Choose the printing method before relying on duplex

A compatible computer can connect through Hi-Speed USB 2.0. A shared office can instead use standard Gigabit Ethernet or built-in Wi-Fi. The supported HP-driver instructions provide automatic duplex, with Letter, Legal and A4 appearing in the guide's two-sided tray tables. Set the binding and correct media in the actual driver; a document application's page count does not configure the paper path by itself.

AirPrint is documented for Apple devices on the same network subnet. There is a meaningful qualification, however: the original OS X duplex instructions say the automatic feature is available with the HP print driver and might not be available through AirPrint. Consequently, the existence of both AirPrint and duplex hardware should not be read as proof that every AirPrint application exposes two-sided printing. Verify that combination if driverless duplex is essential; this review retains it as an unconfirmed combination.

Genuine Wi-Fi Direct provides another arrangement for printing without a shared router network. The guide specifically describes compatible Android devices using the HP Print Service or Mopria plugin, as well as supported computers with an HP driver. Some mobile devices must switch to the printer's wireless signal and reconnect to their normal network afterward. The Wi-Fi Direct password or connection PIN authorizes that connection; it is not a secure-release PIN holding a confidential document at the printer.

Workload and supplies need separate checks

HP's maximum one-sided speed is 30 Letter pages per minute, separately 28 A4. Neither is a measured result here or a duplex rate. For routine workload planning, use the recommended 200 to 2,000 pages per month rather than the much larger 20,000-page maximum duty-cycle figure. A tray that reduces refilling does not by itself establish that the printer is intended to run at its maximum duty every month.

The M118dw uses its own HP 94A CF294A or high-yield 94X CF294X toner choices, declared around 1,200 and 2,800 pages respectively. The original introductory cartridge is around 1,000 pages. Its separate HP 32A CF232A imaging drum has a different declared life, around 23,000 pages. The shared family manual also lists 30A and 30X cartridges for other models; those adjacent entries should not be substituted for the M118dw-specific rows.

Before relying on an earlier unit, check the actual toner and drum condition, current driver availability and firmware. Historical cloud-printing references are not continuing service guarantees. The reviewed US electrical specification is 110–127 volts at 50–60 Hz, so inspect the rating label when assessing an imported or second-hand machine. With those checks satisfied, the strongest use is a small office printing monochrome documents through a supported driver, especially where automatic duplex and Legal handling matter.