HP ENVY 6055e Printer Review

The HP ENVY 6055e has an all-plastic build that feels relatively sturdy. The power cable is removable, making it easy to replace if needed. The input tray has width sliders that you can adjust to accommodate different paper sizes, and the output tray has an extender that tucks into the tray when not in use. You can easily access paper jams by pulling down the cover at the rear. The dampening mechanism isn't very good, so the scanner bed can slam down at the end if you don't guide it down slowly.

This printer requires a fair amount of maintenance. Like most inkjet printers, the printheads can clog if you don't print anything for an extended period. Also, the ink cartridges run out quickly, so you'll have to replace them regularly. Changing the ink cartridges is easy; you only need to lift the scanner bed and make sure the printer is on. Lifting the scanner also gives you access to the sheet rollers. The only issue is that the bottom tray roller is under the printer and hard to reach. The input tray holds 100 sheets of paper, so depending on much you print, you may have to refill it often.

You can see the user manual here.

This printer doesn't have a display. Instead, it uses LED-lit icons to indicate the Wi-Fi connection status and the number of copies when copying a document. It also has touch-sensitive buttons for Monochrome copy, Color copy, Information, Cancel, and Resume. On the right side of the panel, there's a status light that tells you when the paper is low, the paper tray is open, or when the scanner bay is open. Lastly, there's an indicator light above the output tray that changes color depending on the printer's status.

This printer has a terrible page yield. Neither the black nor the color cartridge lasts long, so you need to replace them often. Since there's just one color cartridge, you have to replace the entire cartridge if one color runs out, which may feel wasteful if you regularly use one color more than others. Fortunately, you can get high-yield cartridges (HP 67XL) that'll last longer. Note that this is an HP+ printer that accepts original HP cartridges only. While the printer accepts third-party remanufactured HP cartridges, using them may void the warranty.

There's only a flatbed scanner, so you need to scan multi-page documents manually, which can be extremely time-consuming. Also, the lid's hinges don't extend, making it hard to close the lid over thicker items like textbooks. It has an optical character recognition (OCR) feature that lets you scan documents into PDFs for quick keyword searches or editing; you simply need to save the scanned documents as searchable PDF files. If you want a similar printer with an automatic document feeder, check out the HP ENVY 6455e.

The scan quality is mediocre. The text looks clear; however, the colors look slightly faded, and finer details like the lines in the graph and the SAMPLE text in the background aren't visible at all.

• 1x HP 67 Black starter cartridge
• 1X HP 67 Tri-Color starter cartridge
• Power cord
• Setup Guide

The print quality for black-and-white documents is mediocre. Although the text looks clear, and fine details are present, there are a lot of vertical lines in colored areas. The printer won't print if the color cartridge is empty; however, you can work around this issue by removing the color cartridge.

The print quality for color documents is decent. The text looks sharp, and except for some fine lines in the graph and the SAMPLE text in the background, most elements are clearly visible. The use of halftones (dots) is very noticeable, though, especially in the blues.

The cost-per-print is high. Although the cartridges are relatively cheap, they don't last very long, so you have to replace them often, making the cost per print very high. It's an HP+-enabled printer with six months of free ink through HP's ink subscription service, which sends you ink whenever your printer detects that the cartridges are running low.

The HP ENVY 6055's printing speed is mediocre. It doesn't take too long to warm up and get a single page out, but it's very slow to print multi-page black and color documents.

This printer has a poor color gamut. It has trouble reproducing bright, saturated colors and darker shades. It causes a noticeable loss of finer details in the picture, with some areas looking like a single color with no texture, like the parrot's red feathers. There's also some banding in the greens and yellows. If you want a similar printer with a wider color range, check out the Epson Expression Home XP-4200.

The color accuracy is bad. Even people using the printer for casual purposes might notice that it reproduces photos with slightly different colors than expected, particularly natural scenes or portraits of people.

This printer is excellent at reproducing small details. You can easily see the Tokyo Tower's general structure; however, some finer elements, like the metal bars at the top, are absent.

This printer supports Bluetooth, but it's for setup purposes only.

The HP Smart mobile companion app is outstanding. You can use it to print documents and pictures, use the flatbed or your smartphone camera to scan, and even send mobile faxes. You can perform maintenance tasks like printhead cleaning and alignment, as well as update the printer's firmware or manage your HP Ink subscription.

Note: The Private Pickup feature on the app isn't available for the HP ENVY 6055e.

You need to install drivers to use the printer on Windows. On macOS, you can print without installing any drivers, but you do if you want to scan, or you can install the HP Smart app, which will allow full functionality. Chrome OS doesn't need any drivers; the HP Smart app on the Google Play Store gives you the same functions as any Android device.

You can find the drivers here.