There is a lot of competition in the world of affordable printers. There are so many models from so many well-known brands, and very few of them are more well-known than HP.
In this category of printers under $200, HP has a lot of models and few of them provide as good value as the Envy Photo 6255. While you can’t expect some crazy printing quality, Envy 6255 is quite a decent printer with a good design and good printing costs.
Let’s jump into the review and see if the HP Envy Photo 6255 All-on-One is the right printer for you.
Overview
With a sleek design, a 2.2″ touchscreen, and options to print, scan, and copy, the Envy 6255 is recommended for people who need a wireless printer for occasional use and don’t necessarily need the best printing quality.
Printing costs are quite low, but the trick is that you need to sign up for HP’s Instant Ink, and not everyone will be a fan of that. While that may be a downside to some people, the upside is that it has an option to be connected to Alexa for hands-free printing.
HP Envy Photo 6255 Features
This All-in-One printer is a pretty versatile one considering its features. It has printing, scanning, and copying features, and the one feature that we were excited to see, the auto duplex feature.
The 2.2″ mono touchscreen is a nice feature, but we would like to see it in color. However, it lets you adjust the printing, scanning, and copying settings without using your phone. Easy to use and with a fairly quick response time, the screen also lets you see some instructional videos to assist you if you get stuck in changing the ink for example.
It’s also cloud printing ready, and you will be able to set that up in just a couple of minutes. It also has a scan to email feature which lets you scan a document and send it to an e-mail address instantly. For people who scan documents a lot, this feature can be a big time-saver.
Moving on to connectivity; the HP Envy 6255 has a Wi-Fi connectivity option, and it works seamlessly. The set-up is painless, and when you connect it to your iPhone or other devices you want to print from, you will be good to go.
The support for Mopria and AirPrint is also there, and, while all of that is great, the Bluetooth and Ethernet connectivity are missing, which may present an issue for some people. But, the option to connect it to Alexa is there, and you will be able to control the printer by voice.
The scanning feature is not the best, it’s rather modest because it lacks the Automatic Document Feeder and the Duplex Scanning feature is also missing. So, if you are looking for an all-in-one printer with a fantastic scanner, you may want to look somewhere else, but on the flip-side, the scanning process on the Envy photo 6255 is very easy, and you will be able to do it without issues.
- Inkjet Printing Technology
- 2.2″ Monochrome Touchscreen
- Wi-Fi Connectivity
- Printing, Scanning and Copying Features
- Cloud Printing Ready
- Apple’s AirPrint and Mopria Print Supported
Build Quality and Size
The HP Envy Photo 6255 build quality is just what you would expect from an affordable printer. Made from plastic, some parts give off a sturdy impression, but the printer as a whole definitely could’ve been better.
This is a rather compact printer that can easily fit in your home office, and with its weight of around 14 lbs, it won’t be hard to move it around until you find the ideal spot for it.
Design
While it only comes in one colorway, it suits the design of the Envy Photo 6255 very well. The design of this printer is very sleek, with rounded edges and a combination of matte and glossy finishes.
The power button is found on the left side of the screen (which is directly in the middle) and it glows when the printer is turned on. This printer will fit well in any small or home office, especially if you put it on a dark wood desk.
Print Quality
HP Envy Photos 6255’s print quality has a mixture of both great and bad things. The color accuracy is surprisingly good, and that will suit many people. In this category, very few printers have a better color accuracy than the 6255. The documents came out pretty well, with crisp text.
However, on the downside, you can notice some banding in the photo’s darker areas. But, for most people who are not photographers for example, and need an affordable AIO printer with decent print quality, the HP Envy Photo 6255 is a great option.
Print Speed
Since this is a photo printer, you would expect that the Envy 6255 just rolls out photos with blazing speed. But, that is not exactly the case.
There are several printers that can print faster, and if that is an issue for you then the Envy 6255 is not recommended. With its document printing averaging around 8-9 ppm and photo printing taking slightly over a minute, this printer can fall into the group of printers with average to below-average printing speeds.
Cost Per Print
This is a tricky one. If you choose to subscribe to HP’s Instant Ink program, the cost per print of this printer will be quite low. If you plan to use this printer occasionally then the subscription might not be a bad idea.
There is also one more catch. If you plan to only print documents in black and white, that doesn’t mean that the printer won’t use color ink cartridges for other tasks, so when it’s time to replace the cartridges, very likely you will need to replace them all.
Conclusion
With its sleek design, a couple of awesome features, and great color accuracy, HP Envy Photo 6255 will be a great option for many people who are looking for an affordable printer for occasional printing.
While it’s not the best option for professionals, and while it does have its downsides, HP Envy Photo 6255 will be a great printer for most people.
