Which ink/toner does the HP LaserJet Pro 400 Color M451dw use?

A full set of toner for the HP LaserJet Pro 400 Color M451dw lists at $365.00. The printer came out in 2011. Those two facts decide most of what there is to say about it, because the ink is now the expensive half of the arrangement by a wide margin.

The 305A family covers it. Our record has the CE410A black at 2200 pages for $80.00, which is 3.64 cents, and the CE411A cyan, CE413A magenta and CE412A yellow at 2600 pages for $95.00 each, or 3.65 cents apiece. Per cartridge those are almost the same number, which flatters the colours. A page with real colour on it pulls from all three at once, so budget nearer 10.96 cents for the colour alone, before the black underneath it.

Where this machine earns its keep is that HP appears to leave it alone. HP publishes no dynamic security notice for it, and HP has said its dynamic security is not enabled by firmware on printers manufactured before 1 December 2016. Compatible CE410A and CE411A toner is the normal choice here, which is exactly what a $365.00 OEM set argues for. Treat that as undocumented rather than promised: HP has said in its own support forum that it publishes no list of which LaserJets carry the feature, so we checked the position on 1 September 2026 rather than assuming it.

Laser faults are mechanical, not chemical. A colour that fades gradually usually means low toner, a mark repeating at the same interval down every page points at a drum or roller, and colour that lands slightly out of register calls for a calibration from the control panel before anything gets bought.

Shelf life of the family is the other thing to weigh. The CE410A through CE413A set has not been designed into anything newer than 2011 in our catalogue, which leaves the M451dw among the 46 printers we track running entirely on retired cartridge numbers. Being toner, the set stores well and can be bought ahead without the date trap HP builds into some of its ink, so the same signal reads milder here than it would on an inkjet. The distinction, and the index behind it, is laid out in the cartridge discontinuation guide toward the bottom of the page.