HP remains determined to not allow any other printers on the market to have more features or keep a sleeker look than their products. The Colour LaserJet CM1312nfi maintains this multi-function goal, but at the expense of some of the basics. For anyone that is looking for a centralised faxing station or a way to make colour copies on a budget this is a great printer, but there are some things to consider before purchasing.
Design
HP has perfected the desktop, multi-function printer design. This boxy setup has a small footprint and can fit on a decently sized desk, but weighs upwards of 20 kg without paper or the HP CM1312nfi toner. The front face folds down to reveal the 150 sheet input tray while the 125 sheet output tray is nestled between the input tray and the colour screen. There are a handful of of one-touch navigational buttons and a beautiful screen, which make all functions of the printer doable without using the software. There is 160 MB of internal memory, which can hold around 250 pages of faxes, and slots to support nearly any style of media card or memory stick. The scanner is a standard flatbed which is situated on the top of the machine. The HP CM1312nfi toner cartridges are accessed through a single latch panel along the right-hand side.
Advantages
Just as with many HP printers, the Colour LaserJet CM1312nfi does quite a few things decently. The colour prints come out at 600 x 600 dpi and can even be used on glossy paper, making it a perfect choice for small businesses needing to print out photographs on all mediums. Faxing and scanning is a breeze with small work groups as the internal memory can hold hundreds of pages of information and transmit data to multiple computers via Ethernet or a high speed USB 2.0 cable.
Disadvantages
One of the major flaws with this printer is the setup. Work groups that run multiple operating systems tend to have major problems when it comes to installing the drivers and software. This generally happens when multiple stations attempt to scan and print at the same time, sending the orders from different various computers. While the price is decent for this many features, the limited paper and HP CM1312nfi toner capacity means that this printer will remain in very small offices.
