HP LaserJet Pro M404dn: wired monochrome printing with automatic duplex review

Automatic two-sided pages on a wired office network

The HP LaserJet Pro M404dn is a monochrome laser built around printing rather than document capture. The exact US product page identifies W1A53A#BGJ and lists it as discontinued. This review covers the documented 110–127-volt, 50/60-Hz US configuration. HP's separately specified 220–240-volt edition is different electrical hardware, not an alternative setting on the same unit.

The useful distinction in this suffix is included automatic print duplex. A compatible computer driver can send an approved ordinary sheet through the printer for both sides without requiring the user to turn the stack. That changes a routine of reports or two-sided correspondence compared with a manual-duplex model. It does not add scanning, copying or fax: M404dn remains print only.

The current exact US specifications list up to 40 Letter pages per minute by default, separately up to 42 with HP High Speed. HP notes that the high-speed setting may require a firmware upgrade. This review uses the default 40 Letter rate in matching. A mode-dependent maximum should not silently become a promise for every paper, document and queue.

Check the connection field as carefully as the feature tiles

Included computer connections are USB 2.0 and Gigabit Ethernet. The exact technical configuration says no wireless capability. Some generic feature tiles displayed on an M404dn page refer to dual-band Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. They do not establish a radio in the dn configuration and are not used to qualify this model for infrastructure Wi-Fi or Wi-Fi Direct.

A USB cable provides a direct computer queue. Ethernet provides a shared local-network arrangement. In either case, install a driver that actually supports the intended computer and expose the printer's duplex options. The software is downloaded rather than assumed to be present on an included installation disc. Confirm a sample job from the real application before relying on its settings.

AirPrint and Mopria are documented network-print options. A phone can reach an Ethernet-connected printer through the same local network; its own wireless connection does not require the printer to have a radio. The original AirPrint instructions specify the shared network or subnet. The guide separately warns that Mac HP-driver duplex controls might not be available through AirPrint, so the mobile routine here does not inherit the confirmed computer-driver duplex promise.

Included paper capacity and the duplex path are separate checks

The standard inputs hold 100 sheets in Tray 1 and 250 in Tray 2, using HP's 75 g/m² capacity basis. Together that is 350 ordinary sheets. The optional 550-sheet third tray is additional equipment, not part of the reviewed base configuration. A product photograph with an extra drawer is insufficient evidence that a seller includes it.

The original HP paper table explicitly maps Letter, Legal and A4 to both included feeds and the duplexer. Those are the confirmed automatic-duplex sizes retained here. Select the loaded size, correct media type and two-sided binding in the actual driver. The main feed's paper-weight allowance and the multipurpose feed's heavier-stock allowance are different; acceptance through an input is not blanket approval for duplex.

Specific loading instructions are more useful than a broad media-name list for envelopes. The original guide limits them to Tray 1, up to ten, loaded face up with the short postage end entering first. Select Envelope type, exact size and manual feed as instructed. Labels also use Tray 1. Neither is assigned an automatic-duplex workflow in this review.

PIN-held release needs more than the rear USB socket

HP documents private jobs and storage for this family, but the original guide requires a dedicated USB 2.0 storage device with at least 16 GB free in the rear host socket. It must be installed and configured, with a compatible driver. The standard documented package does not include that separate storage device.

Accordingly, default M404dn matching does not claim PIN-held document release. With an actual upgraded setup, the original Personal Job routine can require a PIN at the control panel, but that is an equipment and setup decision to verify. A printer administration password or a promotional security heading is not equivalent to a ready private-print routine.

Workload, supplies and space complete the decision

The recommended monthly printing range is 750–4,000 pages. The separately stated maximum duty cycle is 80,000 pages, which is not the recommended ongoing workload. These and the speed figures are maker specifications, not the results of a hands-on review.

US and other Americas configurations use 58A CF258A toner, approximately 3,000 pages, or 58X CF258X, approximately 10,000, under ISO/IEC 19752. The original regional supply table assigns different cartridge families elsewhere. Check the actual region instead of buying by a shared engine name. HP also discloses dynamic security for new or reused HP chips; remaining toner in a used machine is unknown.

The closed body is approximately 15 inches wide, 14.06 deep and 8.5 high, with more room needed to open and service it. Original and current weights differ, so this review leaves weight unconfirmed. The M404dn fits a wired monochrome office when automatic ordinary-paper duplex is useful and a scanner or printer radio is unnecessary.