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DeskJet 2855e vs LaserJet 4301dw
This independent, spec-based comparison covers the HP DeskJet 2855e, the HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4301dw. All figures below come directly from HP's published manufacturer datasheets — Top 10 Printer accepts no payment for placement and is not affiliated with HP.
A wireless colour laser all-in-one with the full connectivity suite. Handles print, scan, copy, and fax for busy small-to-medium offices.
Price (MSRP): $829.00–$899.00
Print speed: 35 ppm
Cost per page: $0.020
Monthly duty cycle: 50,000 pages
Resolution: 600 dpi
Connectivity: WiFi, USB, Ethernet, Bluetooth, NFC
Which printer is right for you?
When choosing between the HP DeskJet 2855e and the HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4301dw, focus on three numbers from the table above: monthly duty cycle (does the printer match your real volume?), cost per page (the long-run figure that dwarfs the sticker price), and print speed in pages per minute (anything under 15 ppm starts to feel slow in a busy office). The cheapest printer on day one is rarely the cheapest printer over three years — our printer cost calculator can model the full total cost of ownership using these exact spec values.
Workflow matters too. Inkjet printers like the HP DeskJet 2855e excel at colour, photos and low up-front cost, but laser printers like the HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4301dw pull ahead on speed, durability and cost per page once monthly volume passes a few hundred pages. If you print receipts, shipping labels or text-only documents at scale, the laser side typically wins. If you print photos, school projects or marketing collateral, the inkjet side wins on output quality.
A spec sheet alone won't tell you which printer is right for you. The most important comparison isn't print speed or DPI — it's how a printer fits the way you actually use it. Below are the metrics our editors weigh most heavily when comparing printers head-to-head, and what each one really means in day-to-day use.
Print speed (PPM) — the headline number
Pages per minute is the spec manufacturers love to advertise, but real-world speed is almost always lower than the rated PPM. ISO/IEC 24734 measures continuous black-and-white printing on plain paper at default quality. If you print mostly colour, photos, or duplex (two-sided), expect throughput to drop by 30–60%. Office shoppers should look for a PPM of 25 or higher; home users rarely benefit from anything above 15 PPM.
Cost per page — the spec manufacturers hide
A $79 inkjet can easily cost more to operate over three years than a $399 colour laser. We calculate cost per page using the printer's official ISO yield (the number of standard pages a full ink or toner cartridge prints) and the current MSRP of the highest-yield supplies. Anything under 1¢ per page for black text and under 5¢ for colour is considered excellent. If you can't find this number on a printer's product page, that's usually a red flag — use our total cost of ownership calculator to estimate it yourself.
Duty cycle and recommended monthly volume
Duty cycle is the maximum number of pages a printer can physically produce in a month without breaking. Recommended monthly volume is what the manufacturer actually expects you to print. The recommended figure is usually 5–10% of the duty cycle and is the number that matters: exceed it regularly and you'll burn through fuser units, rollers, and waste-toner bottles faster than the warranty covers. Match the recommended volume to your real workload, not your peak.
Connectivity, paper handling, and the boring details that decide the winner
The features that look minor on a spec sheet often decide which printer you'll keep using. A 250-sheet input tray means refilling paper once a week instead of every other day. Automatic two-sided (duplex) scanning saves hours over a year of multi-page paperwork. AirPrint, Mopria, and Wi-Fi Direct matter more than the headline "wireless" bullet. And a properly-sized replaceable maintenance kit can mean the difference between a five-year printer and a two-year throw-away.
What to do after you've narrowed it down
Once you have two or three printers selected on this page, click through to each printer's detail page to see the full spec table and our editor's notes. Read the 2026 printer buying guide for category-specific advice on what matters most for home, office, photo, or wide-format printing. Confirm the printer is still in production and that supplies are widely available before buying — older models often have inflated cartridge prices because the manufacturer has stopped subsidising them. Finally, check the methodology page to see exactly which sources, tests, and editorial standards we used to score every printer in this comparison.
All printer data on Top 10 Printer comes from manufacturer datasheets, official product pages, and ENERGY STAR / EPEAT registries. Prices are starting MSRPs and may differ from street prices. We do not earn affiliate commissions from any link on this page — read our affiliate disclosure.
DeskJet 2855e vs LaserJet 4301dw: spec-by-spec breakdown
Both printers ship with WiFi, USB, Bluetooth support. The DeskJet 2855e adds HP+ that the LaserJet 4301dw doesn't include. The LaserJet 4301dw offers Ethernet, NFC that the DeskJet 2855e omits.
On the box, HP positions the DeskJet 2855e for home printing and school projects, while the LaserJet 4301dw is positioned for office colour mfp and wireless colour laser and small business — useful as a sanity check that you're matching the printer to the right room of the house or the right desk in the office.
On raw print speed, the LaserJet 4301dw is the quicker of the two, rated at 35 pages per minute versus 10 ppm for the DeskJet 2855e — a 71% gap. For a single-page job that's negligible, but on a 50-page report the difference adds up to roughly 214 seconds saved.
In the entry-level price band (under $100), the DeskJet 2855e starts at $89.99 while the LaserJet 4301dw starts at $829.00 — a sticker delta of $739.01 before consumables. Where ongoing economics are concerned, the DeskJet 2855e's estimated running cost is around 5.0¢ per page versus 2.0¢ per page on the LaserJet 4301dw. Over 5,000 pages — a typical home-office year — that translates to about $150.00 in extra ink or toner spend, which often dwarfs the upfront sticker gap.
The DeskJet 2855e is a inkjet printer, the LaserJet 4301dw is a laser printer — that single difference dominates almost every other comparison: warm-up time, ink versus toner economics, photo quality, and noise level all hinge on it.
Resolution is 4,800 dpi on the DeskJet 2855e versus 600 dpi on the LaserJet 4301dw; visually the gap is hard to spot on plain text but matters for fine line art and small fonts at point-size 8 or below.
Manufacturer duty-cycle ratings put the DeskJet 2855e at up to 1,000 pages per month and the LaserJet 4301dw at up to 50,000 pages per month; in practice the comfortable "recommended monthly volume" sits at about a quarter of those figures, so the DeskJet 2855e is happiest in occasional household (under 1,500 pages a month) use and the LaserJet 4301dw in departmental (up to 150,000 pages a month) use.
Bottom line: the DeskJet 2855e wins on sticker price and the LaserJet 4301dw wins on print speed, so the right choice depends on whether your weekly print queue or your initial budget is the binding constraint.
Common questions about the DeskJet 2855e vs LaserJet 4301dw match-up
Mac, Windows, ChromeOS, Linux compatibility? Both the DeskJet 2855e and the LaserJet 4301dw are AirPrint and Mopria certified, so most operating systems work driver-free. Linux support varies by model — check HP's HPLIP project page if you'll be printing from a Linux desktop, since not every printer in the HP catalogue is supported equally.
Which one prints photos better? Resolution alone doesn't decide this — paper handling, dye-versus-pigment ink, and the printer's photo profile all matter. Between the DeskJet 2855e and the LaserJet 4301dw, photo output skews to whichever model lists "photo printing" in its use cases above; the other is optimised for documents.
What's the warranty difference? HP standard limited warranty applies to both, typically one year on the printer plus separate terms for the printhead. The LaserJet 4301dw occasionally ships with extended business warranty options that the DeskJet 2855e does not — confirm at checkout if that matters.
Can either one scan or fax? Multifunction (all-in-one) capability shows on the use-case row above. If neither is marked as an MFP and you need scan or copy, neither model in this pair is the right pick — check our home all-in-one or office all-in-one categories instead of the DeskJet 2855e versus LaserJet 4301dw pairing.
DeskJet 2855e vs LaserJet 4301dw: spec-by-spec breakdown
Both printers ship with WiFi, USB, Bluetooth support. The DeskJet 2855e adds HP+ that the LaserJet 4301dw doesn't include. The LaserJet 4301dw offers Ethernet, NFC that the DeskJet 2855e omits.
On the box, HP positions the DeskJet 2855e for home printing and school projects, while the LaserJet 4301dw is positioned for office colour mfp and wireless colour laser and small business — useful as a sanity check that you're matching the printer to the right room of the house or the right desk in the office.
On raw print speed, the LaserJet 4301dw is the quicker of the two, rated at 35 pages per minute versus 10 ppm for the DeskJet 2855e — a 71% gap. For a single-page job that's negligible, but on a 50-page report the difference adds up to roughly 214 seconds saved.
In the entry-level price band (under $100), the DeskJet 2855e starts at $89.99 while the LaserJet 4301dw starts at $829.00 — a sticker delta of $739.01 before consumables. Where ongoing economics are concerned, the DeskJet 2855e's estimated running cost is around 5.0¢ per page versus 2.0¢ per page on the LaserJet 4301dw. Over 5,000 pages — a typical home-office year — that translates to about $150.00 in extra ink or toner spend, which often dwarfs the upfront sticker gap.
The DeskJet 2855e is a inkjet printer, the LaserJet 4301dw is a laser printer — that single difference dominates almost every other comparison: warm-up time, ink versus toner economics, photo quality, and noise level all hinge on it.
Resolution is 4,800 dpi on the DeskJet 2855e versus 600 dpi on the LaserJet 4301dw; visually the gap is hard to spot on plain text but matters for fine line art and small fonts at point-size 8 or below.
Manufacturer duty-cycle ratings put the DeskJet 2855e at up to 1,000 pages per month and the LaserJet 4301dw at up to 50,000 pages per month; in practice the comfortable "recommended monthly volume" sits at about a quarter of those figures, so the DeskJet 2855e is happiest in occasional household (under 1,500 pages a month) use and the LaserJet 4301dw in departmental (up to 150,000 pages a month) use.
Bottom line: the DeskJet 2855e wins on sticker price and the LaserJet 4301dw wins on print speed, so the right choice depends on whether your weekly print queue or your initial budget is the binding constraint.
Common questions about the DeskJet 2855e vs LaserJet 4301dw match-up
Mac, Windows, ChromeOS, Linux compatibility? Both the DeskJet 2855e and the LaserJet 4301dw are AirPrint and Mopria certified, so most operating systems work driver-free. Linux support varies by model — check HP's HPLIP project page if you'll be printing from a Linux desktop, since not every printer in the HP catalogue is supported equally.
Which one prints photos better? Resolution alone doesn't decide this — paper handling, dye-versus-pigment ink, and the printer's photo profile all matter. Between the DeskJet 2855e and the LaserJet 4301dw, photo output skews to whichever model lists "photo printing" in its use cases above; the other is optimised for documents.
What's the warranty difference? HP standard limited warranty applies to both, typically one year on the printer plus separate terms for the printhead. The LaserJet 4301dw occasionally ships with extended business warranty options that the DeskJet 2855e does not — confirm at checkout if that matters.
Can either one scan or fax? Multifunction (all-in-one) capability shows on the use-case row above. If neither is marked as an MFP and you need scan or copy, neither model in this pair is the right pick — check our home all-in-one or office all-in-one categories instead of the DeskJet 2855e versus LaserJet 4301dw pairing.
DeskJet 2855e vs LaserJet 4301dw: spec-by-spec breakdown
Both printers ship with WiFi, USB, Bluetooth support. The DeskJet 2855e adds HP+ that the LaserJet 4301dw doesn't include. The LaserJet 4301dw offers Ethernet, NFC that the DeskJet 2855e omits.
On the box, HP positions the DeskJet 2855e for home printing and school projects, while the LaserJet 4301dw is positioned for office colour mfp and wireless colour laser and small business — useful as a sanity check that you're matching the printer to the right room of the house or the right desk in the office.
On raw print speed, the LaserJet 4301dw is the quicker of the two, rated at 35 pages per minute versus 10 ppm for the DeskJet 2855e — a 71% gap. For a single-page job that's negligible, but on a 50-page report the difference adds up to roughly 214 seconds saved.
In the entry-level price band (under $100), the DeskJet 2855e starts at $89.99 while the LaserJet 4301dw starts at $829.00 — a sticker delta of $739.01 before consumables. Where ongoing economics are concerned, the DeskJet 2855e's estimated running cost is around 5.0¢ per page versus 2.0¢ per page on the LaserJet 4301dw. Over 5,000 pages — a typical home-office year — that translates to about $150.00 in extra ink or toner spend, which often dwarfs the upfront sticker gap.
The DeskJet 2855e is a inkjet printer, the LaserJet 4301dw is a laser printer — that single difference dominates almost every other comparison: warm-up time, ink versus toner economics, photo quality, and noise level all hinge on it.
Resolution is 4,800 dpi on the DeskJet 2855e versus 600 dpi on the LaserJet 4301dw; visually the gap is hard to spot on plain text but matters for fine line art and small fonts at point-size 8 or below.
Manufacturer duty-cycle ratings put the DeskJet 2855e at up to 1,000 pages per month and the LaserJet 4301dw at up to 50,000 pages per month; in practice the comfortable "recommended monthly volume" sits at about a quarter of those figures, so the DeskJet 2855e is happiest in occasional household (under 1,500 pages a month) use and the LaserJet 4301dw in departmental (up to 150,000 pages a month) use.
Bottom line: the DeskJet 2855e wins on sticker price and the LaserJet 4301dw wins on print speed, so the right choice depends on whether your weekly print queue or your initial budget is the binding constraint.
Common questions about the DeskJet 2855e vs LaserJet 4301dw match-up
Mac, Windows, ChromeOS, Linux compatibility? Both the DeskJet 2855e and the LaserJet 4301dw are AirPrint and Mopria certified, so most operating systems work driver-free. Linux support varies by model — check HP's HPLIP project page if you'll be printing from a Linux desktop, since not every printer in the HP catalogue is supported equally.
Which one prints photos better? Resolution alone doesn't decide this — paper handling, dye-versus-pigment ink, and the printer's photo profile all matter. Between the DeskJet 2855e and the LaserJet 4301dw, photo output skews to whichever model lists "photo printing" in its use cases above; the other is optimised for documents.
What's the warranty difference? HP standard limited warranty applies to both, typically one year on the printer plus separate terms for the printhead. The LaserJet 4301dw occasionally ships with extended business warranty options that the DeskJet 2855e does not — confirm at checkout if that matters.
Can either one scan or fax? Multifunction (all-in-one) capability shows on the use-case row above. If neither is marked as an MFP and you need scan or copy, neither model in this pair is the right pick — check our home all-in-one or office all-in-one categories instead of the DeskJet 2855e versus LaserJet 4301dw pairing.
DeskJet 2855e vs LaserJet 4301dw: spec-by-spec breakdown
Both printers ship with WiFi, USB, Bluetooth support. The DeskJet 2855e adds HP+ that the LaserJet 4301dw doesn't include. The LaserJet 4301dw offers Ethernet, NFC that the DeskJet 2855e omits.
On the box, HP positions the DeskJet 2855e for home printing and school projects, while the LaserJet 4301dw is positioned for office colour mfp and wireless colour laser and small business — useful as a sanity check that you're matching the printer to the right room of the house or the right desk in the office.
On raw print speed, the LaserJet 4301dw is the quicker of the two, rated at 35 pages per minute versus 10 ppm for the DeskJet 2855e — a 71% gap. For a single-page job that's negligible, but on a 50-page report the difference adds up to roughly 214 seconds saved.
In the entry-level price band (under $100), the DeskJet 2855e starts at $89.99 while the LaserJet 4301dw starts at $829.00 — a sticker delta of $739.01 before consumables. Where ongoing economics are concerned, the DeskJet 2855e's estimated running cost is around 5.0¢ per page versus 2.0¢ per page on the LaserJet 4301dw. Over 5,000 pages — a typical home-office year — that translates to about $150.00 in extra ink or toner spend, which often dwarfs the upfront sticker gap.
The DeskJet 2855e is a inkjet printer, the LaserJet 4301dw is a laser printer — that single difference dominates almost every other comparison: warm-up time, ink versus toner economics, photo quality, and noise level all hinge on it.
Resolution is 4,800 dpi on the DeskJet 2855e versus 600 dpi on the LaserJet 4301dw; visually the gap is hard to spot on plain text but matters for fine line art and small fonts at point-size 8 or below.
Manufacturer duty-cycle ratings put the DeskJet 2855e at up to 1,000 pages per month and the LaserJet 4301dw at up to 50,000 pages per month; in practice the comfortable "recommended monthly volume" sits at about a quarter of those figures, so the DeskJet 2855e is happiest in occasional household (under 1,500 pages a month) use and the LaserJet 4301dw in departmental (up to 150,000 pages a month) use.
Bottom line: the DeskJet 2855e wins on sticker price and the LaserJet 4301dw wins on print speed, so the right choice depends on whether your weekly print queue or your initial budget is the binding constraint.
Common questions about the DeskJet 2855e vs LaserJet 4301dw match-up
Mac, Windows, ChromeOS, Linux compatibility? Both the DeskJet 2855e and the LaserJet 4301dw are AirPrint and Mopria certified, so most operating systems work driver-free. Linux support varies by model — check HP's HPLIP project page if you'll be printing from a Linux desktop, since not every printer in the HP catalogue is supported equally.
Which one prints photos better? Resolution alone doesn't decide this — paper handling, dye-versus-pigment ink, and the printer's photo profile all matter. Between the DeskJet 2855e and the LaserJet 4301dw, photo output skews to whichever model lists "photo printing" in its use cases above; the other is optimised for documents.
What's the warranty difference? HP standard limited warranty applies to both, typically one year on the printer plus separate terms for the printhead. The LaserJet 4301dw occasionally ships with extended business warranty options that the DeskJet 2855e does not — confirm at checkout if that matters.
Can either one scan or fax? Multifunction (all-in-one) capability shows on the use-case row above. If neither is marked as an MFP and you need scan or copy, neither model in this pair is the right pick — check our home all-in-one or office all-in-one categories instead of the DeskJet 2855e versus LaserJet 4301dw pairing.
DeskJet 2855e vs LaserJet 4301dw: spec-by-spec breakdown
Both printers ship with WiFi, USB, Bluetooth support. The DeskJet 2855e adds HP+ that the LaserJet 4301dw doesn't include. The LaserJet 4301dw offers Ethernet, NFC that the DeskJet 2855e omits.
On the box, HP positions the DeskJet 2855e for home printing and school projects, while the LaserJet 4301dw is positioned for office colour mfp and wireless colour laser and small business — useful as a sanity check that you're matching the printer to the right room of the house or the right desk in the office.
On raw print speed, the LaserJet 4301dw is the quicker of the two, rated at 35 pages per minute versus 10 ppm for the DeskJet 2855e — a 71% gap. For a single-page job that's negligible, but on a 50-page report the difference adds up to roughly 214 seconds saved.
In the entry-level price band (under $100), the DeskJet 2855e starts at $89.99 while the LaserJet 4301dw starts at $829.00 — a sticker delta of $739.01 before consumables. Where ongoing economics are concerned, the DeskJet 2855e's estimated running cost is around 5.0¢ per page versus 2.0¢ per page on the LaserJet 4301dw. Over 5,000 pages — a typical home-office year — that translates to about $150.00 in extra ink or toner spend, which often dwarfs the upfront sticker gap.
The DeskJet 2855e is a inkjet printer, the LaserJet 4301dw is a laser printer — that single difference dominates almost every other comparison: warm-up time, ink versus toner economics, photo quality, and noise level all hinge on it.
Resolution is 4,800 dpi on the DeskJet 2855e versus 600 dpi on the LaserJet 4301dw; visually the gap is hard to spot on plain text but matters for fine line art and small fonts at point-size 8 or below.
Manufacturer duty-cycle ratings put the DeskJet 2855e at up to 1,000 pages per month and the LaserJet 4301dw at up to 50,000 pages per month; in practice the comfortable "recommended monthly volume" sits at about a quarter of those figures, so the DeskJet 2855e is happiest in occasional household (under 1,500 pages a month) use and the LaserJet 4301dw in departmental (up to 150,000 pages a month) use.
Bottom line: the DeskJet 2855e wins on sticker price and the LaserJet 4301dw wins on print speed, so the right choice depends on whether your weekly print queue or your initial budget is the binding constraint.
Common questions about the DeskJet 2855e vs LaserJet 4301dw match-up
Mac, Windows, ChromeOS, Linux compatibility? Both the DeskJet 2855e and the LaserJet 4301dw are AirPrint and Mopria certified, so most operating systems work driver-free. Linux support varies by model — check HP's HPLIP project page if you'll be printing from a Linux desktop, since not every printer in the HP catalogue is supported equally.
Which one prints photos better? Resolution alone doesn't decide this — paper handling, dye-versus-pigment ink, and the printer's photo profile all matter. Between the DeskJet 2855e and the LaserJet 4301dw, photo output skews to whichever model lists "photo printing" in its use cases above; the other is optimised for documents.
What's the warranty difference? HP standard limited warranty applies to both, typically one year on the printer plus separate terms for the printhead. The LaserJet 4301dw occasionally ships with extended business warranty options that the DeskJet 2855e does not — confirm at checkout if that matters.
Can either one scan or fax? Multifunction (all-in-one) capability shows on the use-case row above. If neither is marked as an MFP and you need scan or copy, neither model in this pair is the right pick — check our home all-in-one or office all-in-one categories instead of the DeskJet 2855e versus LaserJet 4301dw pairing.