How loud is an HP printer?
6.0 to 7.0 B(A) of sound power, and 47.2 to 61 dB(A) of sound pressure on the sheets that give a second figure.
Sound power counts all the acoustic energy a printer sends out. Sound pressure is what arrives at one listening spot, and HP never says where that spot was. Neither converts into the other, because pressure depends on the room and the distance. An HP figure in B(A) therefore compares only with another figure in B(A), and within HP that comparison is fair: same line on the sheet, same unit, same document server.
B(A) is power, dB(A) is pressure
A bel is ten decibels, so 6.0 B(A) means 60 dB of sound power.
The sheets label them "Acoustic power emissions" and "Acoustic pressure emissions". When the Envy Photo 7975 sheet gives "6.2 B(A)" and "52 dB(A)", it is describing one machine in two ways. Pressure falls with distance and power does not, which makes power the steadier basis for ranking HP models; pressure sits closer to what you hear at a desk, provided HP used a similar distance every time. The physics is set out in sound power vs sound pressure.
Which HP inkjet printer is the quietest?
The Envy 6555 and Envy 6155, both 6.0 B(A), measured "color printing at 3 ppm", the slowest condition on any HP sheet.
| Sound power | Inkjet series | Test speed HP names |
|---|
| 6.0 B(A) | Envy 6555, Envy 6155 | Colour at 3 ppm |
| 6.2 B(A) | Envy Photo 7975 | None given |
| 6.3 B(A) | DeskJet 2955 | None given |
| 6.5 B(A) | Smart Tank 6001 and 6003; Smart Tank 7603 | 9 ppm; 10 ppm |
| 6.6 B(A) | OfficeJet Pro 8125, 8135 and 8139 | 16 ppm |
| 6.8 B(A) | OfficeJet Pro 9125e, now sold as the 9125 | 20 ppm |
| 7.0 B(A) | OfficeJet Pro 9135 | 21 ppm |
Where a speed is named, the order tracks it. Each step up the table is a printer tested at a faster pace, which suggests that some of the gap belongs to the test and not only to the machine.
Which HP laser printer is the quietest?
The LaserJet M110w carries the lowest laser figure, 6.0 B(A), but Amazon showed it without a price. Of the lasers on Amazon, the Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4301fdw leads at 6.1 B(A).
Most laser sheets give sound power alone; the few with pressure appear in the pressure table further down. Test speeds, where named, are A4 pages per minute.
| Sound power | Laser model | Test speed |
|---|
| 6.0 B(A) | LaserJet M110w | None named |
| 6.1 B(A) | Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4301fdw | 33 ppm |
| 6.2 B(A) | Color LaserJet Pro 3201dw; Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw | 25 ppm; 34 ppm |
| 6.3 B(A) | Color LaserJet Pro MFP 3301sdw and 3301fdw | 25 ppm |
| 6.5 B(A) | LaserJet Pro 3001dw | 33 ppm |
| 6.6 B(A) | LaserJet Pro 4001dw; LaserJet MFP M234sdw | None named; 27 ppm |
| 6.7 B(A) | LaserJet Pro MFP 4101fdw, LaserJet M209dw | None named |
HP's colour lasers list less power than its mono ones
Four current colour laser series sit at 6.1 to 6.3 B(A). The mono lasers from the 3001dw upward sit at 6.5 to 6.7.
The 4201dw shows it most clearly. It prints 35 ppm in letter, was tested at 34 ppm in A4, and lists 6.2 B(A); the mono 4001dw prints 42 ppm and lists 6.6 B(A). HP offers no explanation, and neither sheet names a standard behind its number.
Only one mono laser falls below the colour range: the M110w, a small 21 ppm printer without automatic duplex.
Of the 23 models, 15 give pressure as well as power, from 47.2 dBA on the Smart Tank 6001 in colour up to 61 dB(A) on the OfficeJet Pro 9125e and 9135.
| Sound pressure | Model | Condition |
|---|
| 47.2 dBA | Smart Tank 6001, colour (50.8 in mono) | 9 ppm |
| 49 dB(A) | Envy 6555 and 6155 | Colour at 3 ppm |
| 50 dB(A) | Color LaserJet Pro MFP 4301fdw | HP's 4301 to 4303 series sheet |
| 51 dB(A) | Color LaserJet Pro 3201dw and 4201dw | While printing |
| 52 dB(A) | Envy Photo 7975 | None given |
| 55 dB(A) | DeskJet 2955 | None given |
| 58.8 dB(A) | Smart Tank 6003 | 9 ppm |
| 59.4 dB(A) | Smart Tank 7603 | 10 ppm |
| 60 dB(A) | OfficeJet Pro 8125, 8135 and 8139 | 16 ppm |
| 61 dB(A) | OfficeJet Pro 9125e; 9135 | 20 ppm; 21 ppm |
No sheet states the microphone distance, so these work HP against HP. The M110w and M234sdw have pressure figures too, 48 and 51 dB(A), but only on HP's 220 to 240 volt sheets, and they stay out of the table.
The Smart Tank 6001 and 6003 both list 6.5 B(A) "printing at 9ppm". The 6001 sheet then gives 50.8 and 47.2 dBA; the 6003 sheet gives 58.8 dB(A).
HP does not explain it.
Equal sound power at the same printing speed ought to produce similar pressure at the same distance, so a gap of 8 to 11.6 decibels points to a different microphone position or method rather than a quieter machine. The 6001 sheet is odd in other ways as well: it spells "Colour" and splits mono from colour, which no other HP inkjet sheet here does, even though its box contents name the US model 2H0B9A. The older 6001 datasheet linked from HP's US store page no longer comes back from HP's server. Rank the 6001 on its 6.5 B(A), level with the 6003.
The Color LaserJet Pro 4201dw and MFP 4301fdw sheets list "quiet mode" among their print features, in a row that reads "Automatic duplex, collation, watermarks, printable forms, quiet mode". It is treated as a driver feature. How much slower the printer runs with it on, or how much quieter it gets, goes unstated.
None of the inkjet datasheets mention a quiet mode at all.
Two home printers on HP's US store had no linked datasheet on November 7, 2026, the Envy Photo 7275 and the DeskJet 4355, and without a sheet neither can be ranked. HP also sells the LaserJet MFP M140w, but the only datasheet found was for the M140we, the HP+ version, so the M140w is left out as well.
One name has changed. The hp.com page now reads "HP OfficeJet Pro 9125e is Now the HP OfficeJet Pro 9125", while Amazon still lists the 9125e. Wide-format and enterprise models are outside the scope of this page.
