HP LaserJet MFP M234dw Cost Per Page: A $105 Cartridge Behind a Print-Copy-Scan Mono Laser
The HP LaserJet MFP M234dw is a mono laser printer that prints, copies, and scans, with automatic duplexing and Wi-Fi. It sells for $239, and running it in black costs $4.37 per 100 pages. That rate traces back to the HP-134X cartridge behind it, priced at $105 for 2,400 pages.
As a mono laser, the M234dw has no color running cost to track — just the one black rate above. It skips a touchscreen, and tops out at 30 ppm for print speed.
HP's own line undercuts it on price without changing that black rate: the LaserJet M209d costs $159 and the M209dw costs $199, both running at the same $4.37 per 100 pages. Neither model copies or scans, and the M209d also does without Wi-Fi and Ethernet, while the M209dw — the next cheapest to run in HP's mono laser lineup — includes both.
Brother's HL-L2460DW costs $160 and runs at $4.33 per 100 pages — essentially even with the M234dw's own rate — while keeping duplexing, Wi-Fi, and Ethernet like the HP. What it drops, like the M209 pair, is copy and scan; it only prints.
The mono laser segment's running-cost floor belongs to another HP: the LaserJet Pro 4006dw runs at $2.23 per 100 pages for $400 up front. It drops copy and scan for print-only duty and adds a touchscreen. It also prints far faster, at 47 ppm against the M234dw's 30.