HP LaserJet Pro MFP M28w: monochrome printing and color flatbed files review

A small monochrome MFP for short jobs and individual originals

The HP LaserJet Pro MFP M28w combines black-only laser printing, standalone copying and a color-capable flatbed scanner. Its useful role is a modest Letter or A4 document routine with occasional originals that someone can place on the glass. The deciding limitation is handling: this is a glass-scanning setup, and the verified two-sided computer-printing procedure requires manual refeeding.

The exact HP US page identifies W2G55A and explicitly marks it discontinued. This review covers the documented US low-voltage configuration, nominally 110–127 volts at 50–60 Hz. Other regional power supplies exist, so inspect the actual rating label rather than treating an English-language listing as proof of a universal-voltage printer.

HP declares up to 19 one-sided Letter pages per minute, separately 18 on A4. The exact model column matters: faster neighboring M28–M31 configurations do not change this unit's rate. These are maker declarations, not measurements from this review. The recommended printing range is 100–1,000 pages per month; the separate 8,000-page duty ceiling is not its advised sustained workload.

Choose the connection before planning the scan routine

Standard interfaces are USB 2.0 and built-in 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi. For a single computer, use a compatible installed print and scan solution over USB. On Windows, the original instructions open HP Printer Assistant, choose Scan and then Scan a Document or Photo. The documented Mac route uses HP Easy Scan and saves the completed scan to a file.

A shared wireless arrangement can combine desktop scanning software with supported AirPrint or Mopria printing devices on the suitable local network. The original English network guide specifies 2.4-GHz operation. Confirm the installed application's support for the actual computer; a historical operating-system list does not guarantee every present version.

Genuine Wi-Fi Direct is also documented, providing a separate peer printing route. Join the printer's signal using the actual connection credentials. Do not assume that successful Direct printing establishes computer scanning over that same peer connection. Its password or connection PIN is also different from holding a confidential document until someone releases it at the printer; held-job PIN printing remains unconfirmed.

A color scanner does not make this a color printer

The flatbed uses a CIS sensor with up to 600 ppi optical capture and 24-bit color. It can preserve a colored original in a computer file even though the printer makes monochrome pages. The maximum glass size is 8.5 by 11.7 inches, accommodating Letter and A4 rather than a complete 14-inch Legal original.

The original hardware diagram and capture procedures document a plain glass scanner without a document feeder. Each page needs manual positioning. For a multipage file, the software can combine successive captures, but the person must still replace each original. There is no automatic two-sided feeder scan or included fax function.

ID copying is a particularly useful small-document routine: capture one side of the card, turn it on the glass and capture the other side, then print both images on one face of a sheet. That sequence does not establish automatic duplex scanning or automatic two-sided printing.

Paper limits deserve more attention than the footprint headline

The included input holds 150 ordinary sheets, with a 100-sheet output bin. The exact product table supports Letter and A4-sized work and gives a custom-paper maximum length of 11.69 inches. A later shared technical appendix lists a longer custom range. Because those original sources disagree, Legal printing is unconfirmed here and does not qualify for the Legal selection.

Ordinary paper is specified at 65–120 g/m². Envelope support is positive, but the original user guide says five while the exact product datasheet says ten. Start with a single suitable envelope, select the envelope size and type in the driver and follow the original face-up, short-postage-edge loading illustration. The normal-sheet capacity is not an envelope capacity.

The documented Windows two-sided routine prints the first sides, then requires the stack to return to the input with the printed face down and top edge first. Continue from the computer and, if prompted, the control panel. The Mac manual-duplex feature requires HP's driver and is explicitly unavailable through AirPrint. Automatic duplex hardware is not established by the sources used for this M28w assessment.

Check supplies, space and software together

The reviewed US replacement cartridge is HP 48A CF248A, declared approximately 1,000 pages; the introductory cartridge was approximately 500. The original regional table distinguishes 44A and 47A supplies for other markets. Check the actual cartridge and region rather than ordering solely by the similar printer family name. No current cost per page or remaining toner is assumed.

The exact US specification describes a closed body of 14.2 by 10.4 by 7.8 inches and 11.9 pounds. The older shared guide differs slightly in height and weight, so strict bounds for those fields remain unconfirmed. Opening the lid and trays needs additional room. Choose a feeder-equipped or automatic-duplex MFP instead when unattended document stacks matter more than a small desktop body.