Which toner fits the HP LaserJet Pro 4303dw?

Two volume figures, and only one that counts

The 4303dw quotes a duty cycle of 50,000 pages a month and a recommended monthly volume of 750 to 4,000 pages. A ratio of twelve to one between two numbers that seem to say the same thing. They do not.

• the duty cycle is a mechanical limit: what the machine can take without breaking, occasionally. It is not a cruising speed;
• the recommended volume is the pace it is designed for, the one at which parts and consumables reach their stated life.

So it is the second one to read when choosing a toner. At 750 pages a month, a 230A black lasts about two and a half months; at 4,000, it lasts a fortnight. In the first case the 230A is enough; in the second, replacing four cartridges every three weeks makes no sense — the 230X is the answer.

The rule of thumb

Count the number of replacements you are willing to make in a year, not the price of the box. More than two replacements a year and the 230X already pays for itself — it costs less per page and spares you two thirds of the interventions. Below that, the 230A ties up less money, and that is a fair argument for a small office.

A complete machine, without fax

The 4303dw prints, copies and scans at 33 pages per minute in black and in colour alike, with automatic duplex and a touchscreen. It has no fax: that is what sets it apart from the MFP 4303fdw, whose toners are strictly identical. One fax fewer also means fewer incoming pages printed without being asked for — and so a little toner saved.