The HP DeskJet 4255e/4252e is a budget all-in-one inkjet printer. It replaces the HP DeskJet 4155e, and like its predecessor, it's an HP+ model that comes with three months of free ink via HP Instant Ink, HP's ink replenishment service. It uses HP 67 ink cartridges and is compatible with the high-yield 67XL versions as well. Connectivity options include USB and Wi-Fi, and there's support for Apple AirPrint and Mopria Print Service. It has an ADF-equipped scanner with no fax functionality and only supports manual duplex printing.
This printer is part of the HP DeskJet 4200e series of all-in-ones. All of the variants in this series are identical in performance, but the model number changes slightly depending on the region and retailer. See more details in the Differences Between Variants section.
Our Verdict
The HP DeskJet 4255e is subpar for home use. Its page yield is low, resulting in a high cost per print. Moreover, if you print frequently, you can expect to buy and change cartridges regularly, resulting in high operating costs. As for print quality, color documents appear decent, but black and white documents are mediocre; text looks sharp enough, but images or visual elements, such as graphs, appear fuzzy. Photos also don't look great, as a narrow color gamut and poor color accuracy give them an overly cool appearance. Scan quality is similarly unimpressive, as the image processing removes fine details; however, it does have an ADF, which makes scanning longer documents more convenient. As a positive, there are plenty of wired and wireless connectivity options, making it easy for the whole family to access this printer.
- Prints decent looking color documents.
- ADF-equipped scanner.
- Wired and wireless connectivity options.
- Low page yield, high cost-per-print.
- Narrow color range, poor color accuracy.
- Printing pattern is visible.
- Manual duplex printing only.
- High levels of expected maintenance.
- Sub-par build quality.
Can clog if it's left unused.
Produces mediocre scans.
The HP DeskJet 4255e is bad for small office use. While this printer comes with an ADF for scanning multipage documents, it's slow, and the scan quality isn't great. Print speeds are also slow, with output rates of just eight black and five color pages per minute. Print quality is decent for color documents, but black & white documents appear mediocre as any charts or graphs come out fuzzy. Moreover, you can expect to frequently change the ink cartridges or add paper to the paper tray if you print regularly, as cartridges have low page yields and the paper tray only holds 60 sheets. The low page yield also makes running costs add up quickly. As a positive, there are wired and wireless connectivity options, which makes printing convenient.
- Prints decent looking color documents.
- ADF-equipped scanner.
- Wired and wireless connectivity options.
- Low page yield, high cost-per-print.
- Slow printing speed.
- Printing pattern is visible.
- Manual duplex printing only.
- High levels of expected maintenance.
- Sub-par build quality.
Produces mediocre scans.
If you want a low-maintenance printer, the HP DeskJet 4255e isn't a good fit. It's an inkjet printer, so letting it sit unused for long stretches can clog the printheads. On the plus side, the printheads are built into the cartridges, which makes serious clogs easier to fix by swapping them out. Even so, the cartridges have very low page yields, so you'll need to replace them frequently if you print regularly. High-yield cartridges are available, which can deliver approximately twice as many prints per cartridge. The printer is also pretty slow, topping out at around eight black-and-white pages per minute.
- Wired and wireless connectivity options.
Printheads are included in the cartridges.
- Low page yield, high cost-per-print.
- Slow printing speed.
- High levels of expected maintenance.
Can clog if it's left unused.
The HP 4255e produces disappointing photos. This printer has a narrow color gamut and poor color accuracy; in practice, skin tones appear unnatural, and colors are noticeably different from the originals, giving photos a poor appearance overall. There's a wide range of photo printing sizes, but know that photos print with larger borders. Finally, the cost per print is very high with this printer.
- Narrow color range, poor color accuracy.
The HP DeskJet 4255e produces very poor page yields. A standard black cartridge prints approximately 90 pages before needing replacement. The tri-color cartridge lasts for approximately 50 pages, and you must replace the entire cartridge even if only one color runs out. HP does offer high-yield cartridges, which should roughly double those page counts based on its estimates.
- Low page yield, high cost-per-print.
The HP DeskJet 4255e is slow, printing around eight black and white or three color pages per minute. The first page is printed in under 15 seconds, which is a decent result. If you're only printing a page here and there, it should still be a satisfyingly quick process.
- Slow printing speed.
The HP DeskJet 4255e turns out mediocre black-and-white documents. You can read the text clearly enough, but the overall quality looks fuzzy. The printhead's movement shows up on the page, which makes bars and graphics quite unclear. Switching to high-quality mode helps reduce some of these issues. You can also use the high-quality grayscale setting if you run out of black ink.
- Prints decent looking color documents.
- Printing pattern is visible.
The HP DeskJet 4255e has an okay scanner. It features an automatic document feeder, enabling you to scan up to three pages per minute. However, the scan quality is unremarkable. The image processing removes almost all fine details and background elements, resulting in scans appearing noticeably different from their source materials. A high-quality mode somewhat alleviates this issue, but it still produces a faint result.
- ADF-equipped scanner.
Produces mediocre scans.
Performance Usages
Changelog
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Updated Jan 09, 2026:
We've updated text throughout the review after converting to Test Bench 1.3.
- Updated Jan 05, 2026: We've updated the review to Test Bench 1.3, which adds a number of test boxes including Risk of Clogging and Ease of Unclogging. We also updated the Usage and Performance boxes at the top of the review to better integrate the new aspects covered. See the changelog.
- Updated Jul 25, 2024: Added mention of the HP OfficeJet 8015e as an alternative with better print quality in the Black & White Documents section.
- Updated Jul 04, 2024: Added mention of the Canon PIXMA TS3720/TS3722 as an alternative with better color accuracy in the Color Accuracy section.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the HP DeskJet 4255e. The HP DeskJet 4200e printer series comprises several variants, as shown in the table below. All variants have the same features and advertised performance; the model number changes depending on the region, retailer, and color of the printer.
| Model | Region/Retailer | Product Number |
|---|---|---|
| DeskJet 4210e | Asia and Europe | 588S0B (white) |
| DeskJet 4220e | Asia and Europe | 588K6A (white, Asia); 588K4B (grey, Europe) |
| DeskJet 4222e | Europe | 60K29B (light blue) |
| Deskjet 4223e | Hong Kong | 60K40A (light blue) |
| DeskJet 4230e | Europe | 60K30B (dark blue) |
| DeskJet 4252e | Asia & North America | 60K44A (white) |
| DeskJet 4255e | North America | 588S6A (white) |
| DeskJet 4258e | North America - Sam's Club | 60K45A (grey) |
| DeskJet 4275e | Taiwan | 6W7F8A (grey) |
See our unit's label.
Popular Printer Comparisons
The HP DeskJet 4255e/4252e is a poor offering, even in the budget all-in-one inkjet printer category. With its low page yield, high cost per print, slow printing speeds, and generally mediocre print quality, there are better options. In this regard, the HP is only suitable if you want to spend as little as possible to print once in a blue moon.
See our recommendations for the best inkjet printers, the best home printers, and the best printers under $100.
While both the Brother MFC-J1010DW and HP DeskJet 4255e are budget all-in-one inkjet printers, the Brother is much better in almost every way. Its four-cartridge system yields many more prints, prints much nicer-looking documents and photos, and has much more robust build quality. The only advantage the HP offers is its ADF-equipped scanner; this is convenient for scanning multi-page documents, as you can load up to 35 pages at a time. Just know the scan quality of the Brother is superior.
The HP DeskJet 4255e and the Canon PIXMA TS3720 are similar budget all-in-one inkjet printers. While neither printer performs particularly well overall, the Canon is the better choice for photo printing. Photos look better with the Canon, with vibrant colors that, although visibly different than the original, still look pleasant and are fairly accurate. By contrast, if you scan a lot, then the ADF-equipped scanner on the HP gives it an advantage. Scans don't look great on either printer, though, as the image processing on both removes almost all fine details and background elements.
The HP ENVY 6055e is slightly better overall than the HP 4255e. It prints faster, supports automatic duplex and borderless printing, produces better photos, and has a somewhat lower cost per print. The DeskJet 4255e has an automatic document feeder, which the ENVY 6055e lacks, but it's slow, as it only scans three pages per minute.
The HP Deskjet 4255e is the newer version of the HP DeskJet 4155e. They're almost identical printers, although the new version performs slightly worse overall as its cartridges yield fewer prints. Moreover, HP has removed the ability to produce text-searchable PDFs from scanned documents on the newer version, which is a shame. Both printers come with a free ink supply through HP+, HP's ink subscription service.
Test Results
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