Excel freeze when changing cell color and HP LaserJet CM1415fn is default printer

We are using a HP LaserJet CM1415fn connected via Ethernet. The computer is running Windows 7 x64, with the latest printer drivers available from the HP website as of today.

When this printer is the default printer, there is a freeze occurring in Excel when we try to change the colour of a cell, exactly as described here:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/office/forum/office_2010-excel/changing-font-color-causes-excel-to-freeze/5ca40602-38b1-4579-8785-ce6439d386f0

and here:

http://answers.microsoft.com/en-us/office/forum/office_2007-excel/excel-not-responding-when-changing-font-color/7fa56364-737d-e011-9b4b-68b599b31bf5?msgId=68de9330-b566-43e1-b475-c2581ada7760

Both posts suggest that setting the default printer to something else solves the issue, and that the problem lies in the printer driver, and indeed, setting the default printer to something other than our HP printer makes this problem immediately disappear.

Could you please provide an updated driver or some workaround other than setting the default printer to something else?