The HP ENVY Inspire 7255e is an all-in-one inkjet printer designed for home use. It has a dedicated photo tray that accepts the most common photo sizes, and the main tray supports custom paper sizes, including 4" x 12" for panoramic photos. It's very similar to the HP ENVY Inspire 7955e, but it doesn't have an automatic document feeder, and it can't print pages longer than A4. The new HP ENVY Inspire lineup replaces the ENVY Photo lineup, and this specific model succeeds the HP ENVY Photo 6255, despite how different the two models look.
Our Verdict
The HP 7255e is okay for family use. It doesn't print many pages before its cartridges run out of ink, but you only need to buy them every few months if you print just a few pages a week. It prints great-looking photos; some colors look a bit inaccurate, like blue and violet hues, but they aren't bad enough to ruin your pictures.
-
Nice-looking photos.
-
High-yield cartridges available.
-
Flatbed scanner to digitize notes and photos.
-
Low page yield.
-
Disappointing color accuracy.
-
Slow printing speed.
-
No automatic document feeder.
The HP 7255e is bad for small or home office use since it doesn't yield many pages. While the cartridges are relatively inexpensive, you need to replace them often, so running costs rack up quickly. Also, it doesn't have an automatic document feeder, which may pose a problem for your work if you often scan many sheets in a row. Also, it doesn't print very quickly, so you'll have to wait a while for long reports to print out.
-
High-yield cartridges available.
-
Low page yield.
-
Slow printing speed.
-
No automatic document feeder.
The HP 7255e is okay for students. It doesn't yield many pages before its cartridges run out, so you need to replace them often. They're relatively inexpensive, so it may not get too expensive if you only print a dozen or so pages a week. It doesn't print very quickly, though, so you may have to wait a few minutes to print out large assignments. If you only print out one page every few hours, it takes about 16 seconds to get your page out, which is a bit slower than other similar models.
-
Flatbed scanner to digitize notes and photos.
-
Good range of wireless connectivity options.
-
Low page yield.
-
Slow printing speed.
-
No automatic document feeder.
The HP 7255e is disappointing for black and white printing, especially if you print in high volumes. It can't print many pages before the black cartridge runs out of ink, which isn't ideal if you're printing hundreds of pages a week. While the cartridge is relatively cheap, you'll quickly end up paying the price of the printer in ink since you'll have to replace the cartridge often. On the bright side, there's a high-yield black cartridge available that will last you a bit longer.
-
High-yield cartridges available.
-
Low page yield.
-
Slow printing speed.
-
No automatic document feeder.
The HP 7255e is decent for photo printing. Pictures look nice, though small objects are lacking in detail. While blues and some other hues look off from their original colors, they aren't bad enough to make your photos look terrible. It accepts many different photo sizes, and it can also print on double-sided photo sheets if you want to make postcards or write memos behind your image. Unfortunately, its cartridges run out of ink fairly quickly, so you may need to change them frequently if you print lots of photos.
-
Nice-looking photos.
-
Can print on double-sided photo sheets.
-
Prints wide range of colors.
-
Low page yield.
-
Disappointing color accuracy.
-
No automatic document feeder.
-
Low page yield.
-
No automatic document feeder.
-
Low page yield.
-
No automatic document feeder.
-
Low page yield.
-
No automatic document feeder.
-
Low page yield.
-
No automatic document feeder.
-
Low page yield.
-
No automatic document feeder.
- 6.9 Family
- 6.2 Small/Home Office
- 7.2 Student
- 6.7 Black & White
- 7.1 Photo
Performance Usages
- 5.6 Color Quality
- 8.5 Document Quality
- 6.1 Scanner
- 7.0 Speed
- 6.9 Recurring Costs
- Updated Nov 03, 2023: Added mention of the Canon PIXMA TR7820/TS7720 as an alternative with better color accuracy in the Color Accuracy section.
- Updated Oct 25, 2023: Added mention of the HP Smart Tank 5101 as an alternative with a better page yield in the Cartridge section.
- Updated Sep 08, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.2.
- Updated Aug 25, 2022: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
- Updated May 11, 2022: Review published.
- Updated May 06, 2022: Early access published.
- Updated May 02, 2022: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Apr 28, 2022: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated Apr 21, 2022: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
The HP ENVY Inspire 7255e only comes in a white and sandstone color scheme. You can see our unit's label here.
Compared To Other Printers
The HP ENVY Inspire 7255e is part of HP's ENVY Inspire lineup, which replaces the ENVY Photo lineup. This model is an updated version of the HP ENVY Photo 6255. Overall, it's a decent photo printer. However, other similarly-priced models (like the HP OfficeJet Pro 8025e and the Canon PIXMA TR8620) offer more, like more accurate colors, an automatic document feeder, and faster printing speeds.
Check out our recommendations for the best home printers, the best all-in-one printers, and the best photo printers.
The HP ENVY Inspire 7955e and the HP ENVY Inspire 7255e are nearly identical, but the 7955e has an automatic document feeder and it supports A4-size sheets. Otherwise, aside from some slight variations in page yield, they perform the same, so you'll be happy with either one depending on your needs.
The HP ENVY 6455e and the HP ENVY Inspire 7255e are both all-in-ones designed for home use. The 7255e is better overall, as it produces higher-quality documents and photos and yields more prints, so you don't need to replace the ink cartridges as often. However, it doesn't have an ADF to process multi-page documents, which the 6455e has.
The Canon PIXMA TR8620 is overall better than the HP ENVY Inspire 7255e, especially for photos. The Canon yields about 100 or so more pages than the HP for both black and color, so you won't need to replace the cartridges as often. While its three individual color cartridges are more expensive than the HP's one color cartridge, the Canon's last longer, so you won't spend as much money on ink in the long run. It also prints nicer-looking photos with more range and accuracy.
The HP ENVY Inspire 7255e and the Canon PIXMA TS6420a are both all-in-one printers designed for home use, but the Canon is better overall. It yields more color pages, which gives it a lower cost-per-print, even though its cartridge cost is nearly identical. It prints nicer-looking photos with better color accuracy and can print on thicker media, including magnetic photo paper. However, the HP yields a few more black pages, and it's also a bit faster at printing documents, so it's a better choice if your focus isn't photo prints.
The Canon PIXMA TS8320 and the HP ENVY Inspire 7255e are both all-in-one inkjets designed for home use, but the Canon is better overall. The Canon's cartridges yield a lot more pages than the HP's, so you don't need to replace them as often; it is a bit more expensive to replace them all at once since there's five color cartridges. That said, the dedicated photo black cartridge and the photo blue cartridge does make it a better choice for photos.
The HP ENVY Inspire 7255e is an updated version of the HP ENVY Photo 6255, though they look very different. Overall, the 7255e is better for photos. Its printed pictures look much more detailed and contain less banding. Also, its input tray holds slightly more pages, meaning you won't need to refill it as often, but otherwise, their page yields are very similar.
Test Results
The HP 7255e printer feels decently well-built. Its power cord is detachable, so it's easy to replace if it gets damaged or you want to change it for a longer one. There's a dampener that holds open the entire scanner very well, so you don't need to hold it with one hand when changing the cartridges. Also, you don't need to guide it closed since it doesn't slam down at the end, either. Its scanner has a thick plastic backing that helps prevent the scanner from creating shadows from the lid's ridges; however, it prevents you from scanning anything thicker than a single sheet, which is already difficult to do since the hinges can't extend. Its input tray is similar to the HP ENVY Inspire 7955e's, but it doesn't open up at the end, making it harder to place papers into the tray. Also, while there's a dedicated photo tray, it's built into the already narrow input tray, so it's hard to put your photo sheets inside correctly.
Since it's an inkjet printer, the HP 7255e needs some maintenance to keep it running smoothly. There are a few maintenance tasks that you can run when you're having print issues, like printhead cleaning, printhead alignment, and smear cleaning. For certain tasks, like changing the cartridges and removing paper jams, there are how-to videos in the menu to guide you. Speaking of the cartridges, you can easily access them by opening the front panel and lifting the entire scanner, and the printer doesn't even need to be on to replace the ink. Unfortunately, you'll have to replace the cartridges pretty often since it doesn't yield many pages before the ink runs out. The sheet rollers aren't very easy to access; the simplest way is to open the front panel, lift the entire scanner, then remove the panel at the back of cartridge bay. The input tray holds a little over 100 plain sheets, and its dedicated photo tray holds 15 sheets, so you may have to refill them often if you're planning on printing large quantities.
The HP 7255e printer has a good display screen, and it's very similar to many other similar printers, like the HP OfficeJet Pro 8025e. Like the HP ENVY Inspire 7955e, its screen really isn't bright, so it's a bit hard to see if there's a light shining directly on it; fortunately, it's big enough that you can easily navigate the menu with your finger, and there are touch buttons for Home, Back, and Help. It's best positioned at a height where you can see the screen at eye level, as it's hard to see the icons if you're looking down at it. Unfortunately, the settings menu is very slow and lags when you scroll through it.
The HP 7255e doesn't yield many pages before the ink runs out, so you need to replace the cartridges pretty often. On the bright side, it's compatible with HP 64XL High Yield black and tri-color cartridges that will last you a bit longer. If you want a printer that yields more prints, check out the HP Smart Tank 5101.
The HP ENVY Inspire 7255e has a flatbed scanner only, which is fine if you have simple scanning needs, like digitizing old photos and documents. Using the HP Smart app, you can save your documents as searchable PDFs, which lets you search, copy, and edit text. Unfortunately, the scanner lid's hinges can't raise at all, so you can't scan anything much thicker than a single sheet of paper. On top of that, its scanner has a thick plastic backing that gets in the way of thicker items. However, if you're only scanning one sheet, this backing helps keep the sheet smooth against the glass and prevents shadows from the lid's ridges from getting scanned. If you scan multi-page documents often and need an automatic document feeder, check out the similar HP ENVY Inspire 7955e.
The HP 7255e defaults at a 300DPI scan resolution, which is more than enough for most documents and photos. However, if you need to resize or touch up your scans, you can increase the resolution up to 1200DPI.
- Reference guides
- HP Advanced Glossy and Matte Photo Inbox pouch
- 3x sheets of 5" x 5" HP Advanced Photo Paper, Glossy
- 3x sheets of 4" x 6" HP Matte Photo Paper (double-sided)
- HP 64 Instant Ink Ready Setup Cartridges
- 1x black
- 1x tri-color
- Power cord
Printing with the HP ENVY Inspire 7255e is reasonably cost-effective thanks to its cheap cartridge costs; however, it quickly gets expensive if you print a lot since you can only print a few hundred pages before the ink runs out. The printer is HP+ enabled and comes with a free six-month subscription to the HP Instant Ink service. This subscription sends you ink whenever the printer detects that ink cartridges are running low.
The HP ENVY 7255e prints fairly slowly, regardless of what you print. It's similar to the speed of other home printers, like the HP ENVY Inspire 7955e and the HP OfficeJet Pro 8025e. It also takes time to print a single page after over an hour of inactivity.
Unlike the HP ENVY Inspire 7955e, you can't print legal-size sheets on the HP ENVY Inspire 7255e. The main input tray supports custom sizes between 3.85" to 8.5" in width and 5" to 12.2" in length. The dedicated photo tray only accepts 4" x 6", 5" x 5", and 5" x 7".
The HP ENVY Inspire 7255e's color gamut isn't bad, and its gradients look a lot smoother than they do on the HP ENVY Inspire 7955e. The colors blend into each other properly, without one color overwhelming the other. It's good at printing very saturated blues, yellows, and oranges, but it struggles with greens, reds, and pinks. While it struggles with printing some dark colors, it's very good at printing a wide range of light colors.
The HP 7255e printer has disappointing color accuracy. Most colors look off from their originals, with blue and purple hues being the worst. The inaccuracy isn't enough to make your casual photos look bad. If you want a similar printer with better color accuracy, check out the Canon PIXMA TR7820/TS7720.
The HP ENVY Inspire 7255e supports Bluetooth for setup purposes only; it means you can't use Bluetooth to print.
You can use the HP Smart app to print photos on both sides of a double-sided photo sheet (if you want to make postcards or write a memo), as well as apply filters and use templates. You can also create and print cards, calendars, and other crafts. Of course, you can also use the app to manage your ink, mobile fax, and run maintenance tasks. You can also use the app to access other accounts to print documents from, including Dropbox, Google Photos, Evernote, and Facebook on iOS. On Android, only Facebook is available.
