The HP Color LaserJet CP1215 is an entry-level color laser printer geared toward small office and home office use. Its print quality is excellent, but its slow speed and lack of features make it a somewhat questionable choice over the competition.

The CP1215 has a very small footprint and is fairly lightweight, making it a good choice for small spaces and home use. Its design lacks an LCD screen, utilizing a series of buttons and indicator lights for all functions and troubleshooting. Lack of a screen is not a big concern for a personal printer such as this one, which is mainly intended to be connected directly to a single computer, but it limits the appeal of the unit for some uses. The printer lacks support for Macs, further limiting its appeal.

Networking is not included nor is it available as an add-on feature. This is not surprising given its target audience, but competing printers at this price point feature included or at least optional ethernet ports.

Print quality is excellent, with especially sharp text. Color printing is on the low side of average. Color is always a challenge for laser printers, but the color printing on the CP1215 is merely passable. Users who need to do a large amount of color printing will want to look elsewhere.

Printing speeds are rather slow, at 12 pages per minute black and 10 pages per minute color. While one would expect slower speeds in a budget printer, the CP1215 falls behind most of the competition at its price point in speed.

The printer ships with “starter” cartridges that contain half the capacity of the full toner cartridges. While this is a cost-saving measure to bring down the purchase price of the printer, it always feels somewhat deceptive on the part of any manufacturer. Expect to replace the starter toner cartridges relatively soon.

Overall, the HP Color LaserJet CP1215 provides good print quality in a small package at a very affordable price. Lack of Mac support, starter cartridges, slow speeds, and a general lack of features may encourage buyers to shop around for competing products.

The HP Color LaserJet CP1215 is an entry-level color laser printer geared toward small office and home office use. Its print quality is excellent, but its slow speed and lack of features make it a somewhat questionable choice over the competition.

The CP1215 has a very small footprint and is fairly lightweight, making it a good choice for small spaces and home use. Its design lacks an LCD screen, utilizing a series of buttons and indicator lights for all functions and troubleshooting. Lack of a screen is not a big concern for a personal printer such as this one, which is mainly intended to be connected directly to a single computer, but it limits the appeal of the unit for some uses. The printer lacks support for Macs, further limiting its appeal.

Networking is not included nor is it available as an add-on feature. This is not surprising given its target audience, but competing printers at this price point feature included or at least optional ethernet ports.

Print quality is excellent, with especially sharp text. Color printing is on the low side of average. Color is always a challenge for laser printers, but the color printing on the CP1215 is merely passable. Users who need to do a large amount of color printing will want to look elsewhere.

Printing speeds are rather slow, at 12 pages per minute black and 10 pages per minute color. While one would expect slower speeds in a budget printer, the CP1215 falls behind most of the competition at its price point in speed.

The printer ships with “starter” cartridges that contain half the capacity of the full toner cartridges. While this is a cost-saving measure to bring down the purchase price of the printer, it always feels somewhat deceptive on the part of any manufacturer. Expect to replace the starter toner cartridges relatively soon.

Overall, the HP Color LaserJet CP1215 provides good print quality in a small package at a very affordable price. Lack of Mac support, starter cartridges, slow speeds, and a general lack of features may encourage buyers to shop around for competing products.