Which toner fits the HP LaserJet Pro M402n?

The "n" that costs reams

In the M402 series, the final letter decides the connectivity and the duplex. The M402n has networking but no automatic duplex: every page comes out on a separate sheet, unless you turn the stack over by hand.

The toner knows nothing of this — 3,100 pages remain 3,100 pages. The paper, though, doubles. A 26A therefore gets through more than six reams of 500 sheets on an M402n, against three on an M402dn set to duplex. Over the machine's life — a stated cycle of 80,000 pages — the difference runs to dozens of reams.

It is the only item on which the two variants genuinely differ in use, and it is the one nobody looks at when comparing their prices.

26A or 26X: where the threshold lies

HP recommends a volume of 750 to 4,000 pages a month. At the ceiling, the 26A lasts twenty-three days and the 26X a little over two months. Both cartridges occupy the same slot and are fitted the same way; the capacity gap is close to three.

In practice, as soon as the machine goes beyond a thousand pages a month, the 26X is the answer: it divides by three the number of interventions on equipment shared by several workstations, which is the real cost of an empty cartridge.

What the machine displays

A backlit two-line LCD shows the toner level on the machine itself, without depending on any one workstation — a comfort entry-level LaserJet models, limited to an indicator light, do not offer. It prints at 38 pages per minute, holds 350 sheets across two trays (250 and 100) and connects over Ethernet or USB.