HP and Brother have been fighting over which of them can produce the best budget mono laser printer since the days of old. Ever since HP's LaserJet 1020 faced off against Brother's HL-2040, Brother has been the reigning champion. With the new LaserJet P1005, HP attempts to claim the crown from Brother's refreshed HL-2140. However, with the Brother unit managing faster print times and better consumable costs, HP's efforts are still insufficient.

Still, HP has made a good effort. Simplicity is the key in mono lasers, and the P1005 certainly succeeds with this. The printer's footprint is small even for a mono laser printer, and it is easy to fit in cramped spaces. However, there is a trade-off — whereas Brother's HL-2140 allows for 250 pages in a closable paper tray, the P1005 fits a relatively meagre 150 pages in a tray that must remain open during use.

Connection is limited to USB 2.0. We would have preferred an Ethernet connection for home and small office networking, and the printer's initial price point certainly justifies its inclusion. Nevertheless, given that the P1005 is pitted squarely against the HL-2140, we're not surprised that Ethernet connectivity is reserved for a more expensive model.

Toner replacement is simple, following the same method as Canon's Laser Shot LBP 3100B — lift up the paper output tray and insert toner. The P1005 will run at an average 6c per page, slightly more expensive than the 4.8c per page accomplished by the HL-2140 but still cost effective.

Speed is this printer's biggest problem. The P1005 only manages 15 pages per minute at its fastest. There is no draft 300dpi mode as found in most laser printers. The speed is adequate for 600dpi printing, but the unit simply doesn't cater for those situations where speed takes priority over quality. Thankfully, printing at 1200dpi doesn't slow it too much more; it averages12ppm at this setting. These speeds, although unrivalled by inkjet printers at the same price point, are easily surpassed by Brother's printers.

The P1005 does provide excellent quality text. Text is clean with no abnormalities, although it is comparatively bolder than the HL-2140 — this makes text slightly fuzzier in dense documents. We prefer the Brother's print quality, but both are more than adequate for standard use.