HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 3301fdw: Specs, Features, Pros & Cons
This review measures the HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 3301fdw against the full 24-spec sheet we track for printers, comparing it like for like with the 50 other models in our database. It earns a VS Score of 67 out of 100 — the weighted result of every verified specification measured against the class average.
On the spec sheet it is strongest in scanning & copying and weakest in connectivity. Its clearest single advantage over the class average: a much higher print speed (color) — 26 ppm vs 12.51 ppm (avg). None of our retail partners currently lists the HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 3301fdw, so availability may be limited; a missing price never affects the VS Score.
Category strengths
Where the HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 3301fdw beats the average
- A much higher print speed (color) ?26 ppm vs 12.51 ppm (avg)
- A much higher print speed (black) ?26 ppm vs 17.21 ppm (avg)
- Has automatic document feeder ?
- A higher input tray capacity ?250 sheets vs 182.02 sheets (avg)
- A much higher monthly duty cycle ?40,000 pages vs 19,346.15 pages (avg)
- Has automatic duplex printing ?
- Has touchscreen display ?
- Has ethernet ?
- A higher ADF capacity ?50 sheets vs 34.48 sheets (avg)
- Has color printing ?
Where the HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 3301fdw trails the average
- A much lower print resolution ?600 dpi vs 4,041.94 dpi (avg)
- A much heavier build ?17.1 kg vs 9.07 kg (avg)
- No supertank / refillable ink ?
Editor’s note
This is HP's compact colour laser MFP for a small work team: 26 ppm in both black and colour, automatic two-sided printing, a 50-sheet document feeder, fax, and a 4.3-inch capacitive touchscreen in a 17.1 kg body that sits on a desk rather than a stand.
The numbers that matter for a shared machine are the volume ones. HP rates the 3301fdw at up to 40,000 pages a month and pairs a 250-sheet tray with a 100-sheet output bin. Print resolution is a conventional 600 x 600 dpi in both black and colour — laser sharpness for text and charts, not photo output. HP quotes two-sided printing at 15.5 ipm, so duplex costs roughly 40 per cent of the simplex rate.
Two things to read before buying. First, HP's own datasheet labels this a 'Dynamic security enabled printer': it contains technology that may prevent cartridges without an Original HP chip or circuitry from working, and firmware updates can change that behaviour. If third-party toner is part of your cost plan, this is the wrong printer. Second, HP does not state whether the document feeder scans both sides in a single pass, so we have left our duplex-scanning field empty rather than assume it — confirm it with HP if two-sided scanning matters to your paperwork.
Connectivity is complete for an office: Gigabit Ethernet, dual-band Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi Direct, a walk-up USB port, AirPrint, Mopria and HP's app. The toner is HP's TerraJet formulation, which HP presents as a lower-energy fuse — a claim about power draw during printing, not about print quality.
Specifications
Quality bars are generated automatically against 50 other printers.
Printing
Laser prints crisp text fast; inkjet handles photos and colour better.
Prints in colour, not just black and white.
Black-and-white pages per minute; higher is faster.
Colour pages per minute; higher is faster.
A higher dot density produces sharper prints.
Prints both sides of the page without manual flipping.
Refillable ink tanks cut the cost per page dramatically.
The maximum recommended pages per month.
Scanning & copying
Scans and copies as well as prints.
Feeds multi-page documents through the scanner unattended.
How many pages the document feeder holds at once.
Scans both sides of a page automatically.
Sends and receives faxes.
Paper handling
A larger tray needs refilling less often.
How many printed pages the output tray holds.
The largest paper format supported (e.g. Letter, Legal, A3).
Connectivity
Print wirelessly over the home network.
Connect devices directly without a router.
A wired network port for reliable office use.
A direct USB connection to a computer.
Print from iPhone, iPad and Mac without extra drivers.
Print and manage the printer from a phone app.
Design
An onboard touchscreen makes standalone tasks easier.
A lighter printer is easier to place and move.
How the VS Score works — and what it can’t tell you
Every measurable spec is scored against the average of all the printers we track: matching the class average scores 50, clearly beating it climbs towards 100, and each spec counts according to an editorial weight that reflects real-world impact — a battery-capacity gap moves the score far more than a colour-options list. The quality bars on the spec cards above show where this model sits inside the full range for its class, and the overall VS Score rolls every weighted result into one number.
Unknown values are never estimated. A spec this product doesn’t report simply drops out of its scoring — it isn’t penalised with a guess — but a thinner spec sheet does mean a score built on fewer data points, which is why completeness is disclosed under About this data.
Most importantly: a spec-sheet lead is not the same as a better product. Megapixels, gigahertz and benchmark points describe capacity, not experience — image processing, software optimisation, thermals, haptics and ergonomics decide how a device actually feels, and no table captures reliability or long-term support quality. Treat the VS Score as a structured summary of what can be measured, not a substitute for your own priorities.
About this data
- Specifications are compiled from each manufacturer’s official spec sheet, cross-checked against trusted specification databases, and normalised into one schema so identical things are compared identically.
- Specifications last verified August 21, 2026.
- Data completeness: 23 of the 24 specs in this category are verified (96%). Anything we could not verify is shown as Unknown — never estimated — and is excluded from the score.
- Prices and availability come from live retailer feeds via our shopping partners and refresh throughout the day; a missing price means no partner currently lists the product, not that it is discontinued.
- Want the full picture? Our editorial guidelines explain how we research products, weight the scores and stay independent.
- Spotted an error in a spec? Tell us and we will correct the sheet.
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The bottom line
The HP Color LaserJet Pro MFP 3301fdw earns a VS Score of 67, comfortably above average among the 51 printers we compare here.
- Who it’s for
- Small teams printing colour documents daily who want laser speed and a fax line in one desk-sized box — 26 ppm in either colour, a 40,000-page duty cycle and Gigabit Ethernet.
- Who should look elsewhere
- Anyone planning to run third-party toner: HP's own datasheet declares this a dynamic-security printer. Also wrong for photo output, where 600 dpi laser is a text-and-charts resolution.
- The trade-off that matters
- Fast, compact colour laser pages, at the cost of committing to Original HP toner for the life of the printer.
- The main alternative
- Brother MFC-L3780CDW — a faster 31 ppm colour laser MFP with the same 50-sheet ADF and fax, if HP's cartridge policy is a dealbreaker.
The VS Score is generated automatically from the weighted specifications above, measured against all other printers in our database. Treat it as a shortlisting guide — not a substitute for your own priorities.
