Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W vs HP ENVY 6555e

Which Printer Is Better?

Products

Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W
HP ENVY 6555e

Tested using Methodology v1.3

Updated Jan 08, 2026 07:55 PM

SEE PRICE
Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.3

Updated Dec 12, 2025 09:00 PM

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Amazon.com
  1. Recommended in 7 articles:
  2. All-In-One
  3. Cheap And Budget
  4. Inkjet
  5. 4

Our Verdict

Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W

HP ENVY 6555e

The Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W is better than the HP ENVY 6555e mainly due to its significantly lower recurring costs. It yields considerably more prints, and because it uses separate cartridges for cyan, magenta, and yellow, you won't have to discard usable ink if one color runs out like you would on the HP, which uses a tri-color cartridge. That said, if you care more about features like an automatic feeder and automatic duplex printing, then the HP would be a better choice. Print quality is about the same for documents; the Brother produces more detailed photos with better accuracy, though some may find the photos overly dark compared to photos printed on the HP.

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Variants

  • MFC-J1205W (White)
  • MFC-J1205W XL (White)
  • MFC-J1215W (White)
  • ENVY 6555e (Portobello)
  • ENVY 6520e (Portobello)
  • ENVY 6552e (White)

Check Price

White
MFC-J1205W
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
White
ENVY 6552e
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
White
MFC-J1205W XL
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Portobello
ENVY 6555e
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
White
MFC-J1215W
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Portobello
ENVY 6520e
Amazon.com

Main Differences for
Home

Threshold 

0.10

Home 
 

7.7
6.7

Cartridge 
 

8.1
3.7

Full Comparison

Design

Build Quality 
 

8.0
7.0

Build Quality Close Up 
 

Compare High-Res
Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W Build Quality Close Up
Compare High-Res
HP ENVY 6555e Build Quality Close Up

Type  

All-In-One
All-In-One
Show Text 

Dimensions 
 

8.3
8.2

ISO View Picture 
 

Compare High-Res
Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W ISO View Picture
Compare High-Res
HP ENVY 6555e ISO View Picture

Height  

6.3" (16.0 cm)
6.6" (16.8 cm)

Width  

17.1" (43.5 cm)
17.0" (43.1 cm)

Depth  

14.0" (35.5 cm)
14.2" (36.1 cm)

In Use Picture 
 

Compare High-Res
Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W In Use Picture
Compare High-Res
HP ENVY 6555e In Use Picture

Max Height 
 

6.3" (16.0 cm)
7.3" (18.5 cm)

Max Width 
 

17.1" (43.5 cm)
17.0" (43.1 cm)

Max Depth 
 

18.7" (47.5 cm)
20.6" (52.3 cm)

Weight 
 

12.8 lbs (5.8 kg)
13.5 lbs (6.1 kg)

Display Screen 
 

0.0
8.5

Display Screen Picture 
 

Compare High-Res
Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W Display Screen Picture
Compare High-Res
HP ENVY 6555e Display Screen Picture

Display Screen  

No
Yes

Display Screen Size 
 

N/A
2.5" (6.3 cm)

Touchscreen  

No
Yes
Show Text 

Cartridge 
 

8.1
3.7

Cartridge Picture In The Printer 
 

Compare High-Res
Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W Cartridge Picture In The Printer
Compare High-Res
HP ENVY 6555e Cartridge Picture In The Printer

SuperTank 
 

No
No

Photo Cartridge 
 

No
No

Color  

Yes
Yes

Number Of Color Cartridges 
 

3
1

Black Cartridge Model 
 

LC404 BK
HP 68 Black

Tested Black Page Yield 
 

62 prints
7.23 prints

Estimated Black Page Yield 
 

1,178 prints
137 prints

Color Cartridge Model 
 

LC404 C/M/Y
HP 68 Tri-Color

Tested Color Page Yield 
 

36 prints
3.84 prints

Estimated Color Page Yield 
 

766 prints
81 prints

Third-Party Cartridge 
 

No Cartridges
Not Found At Time Of The Review

Ink Type 
 

Dye And Pigment
Dye And Pigment

High Yield Cartridge 
 

No
Yes
Show Text 

Expected Maintenance 
 

6.0
6.5

Ink Related Maintenance 
 

Expected
Expected

Drum Unit 
 

No Drum Unit
No Drum Unit
Show Text 

Risk Of Clogging 
 

4.0
4.0

Print Technology 
 

Inkjet
Inkjet
Show Text 

Ease Of Unclogging 
 

Printhead Location 
 

In The Printer
In The Cartridge

Printhead Serviceability 
 

Not User Replaceable
User Replaceable

High Flushing Volume 
 

Yes
No
Show Text 

In The Box  

In the Box Picture 
 

Compare High-Res
Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W In the Box Picture
Compare High-Res
HP ENVY 6555e In the Box Picture
Show Text 

Battery 
 

Advertised Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Tested Charging Time 
 

N/A
N/A
Efficiency

Cost-Per-Print 
 

9.6
4.8

Printer Total Cost 
 

See details
See details

Black Cartridge Price 
 

24.99 US$
22.99 US$

Color Cartridge Price 
 

40.99 US$
22.99 US$

Black-Only Printing Cost 
 

0.021 US$/print
0.168 US$/print

Color Printing Cost 
 

0.054 US$/print
0.284 US$/print

Photo Printing Cost 
 

0.142 US$/print
0.766 US$/print

Ink Subscription 
 

No
Optional
Show Text 

Printing Speed 
 

5.7
4.7

Printing Speed Video  

Black Only Text Document 
 

9 PPM
8 PPM

Color Document 
 

6 PPM
4 PPM

Photo Printing Time 
 

70.0 s
77.0 s

Single Page Out Time (Black Only) 
 

10.4 s
23.0 s

Duplex Printing 
 

Manual
Automatic

Input Tray Capacity 
 

150 pages
100 pages
Show Text 
Document

Black & White Documents 
 

9.0
8.5

B&W Document Picture 
 

Compare High-Res
Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W B&W Document Picture
Compare High-Res
HP ENVY 6555e B&W Document Picture

Color Ink Needed For Black & White 
 

Yes
No
Show Text 

Color Documents 
 

8.0
8.5

Color Document Picture 
 

Compare High-Res
Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W Color Document Picture
Compare High-Res
HP ENVY 6555e Color Document Picture
Show Text 

Document Printing Sizes 
 

Letter (8.5" x 11")  

Yes
Yes

Legal (8.5" x 14")  

Yes
No

Tabloid (11" x 17")  

No
No

A6 (105mm x 148mm)  

Yes
Yes

A5 (148mm x 210mm)  

Yes
Yes

A4 (210mm x 297mm)  

Yes
Yes

Max Paper Weight 
 

300 g/m²
300 g/m²
Show Text 
Scanner

Scanner Features 
 

6.2
7.1

Scanner Flatbed Picture 
 

Compare High-Res
Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W Scanner Flatbed Picture
Compare High-Res
HP ENVY 6555e Scanner Flatbed Picture

Scanner 
 

Flatbed
ADF + Flatbed

ADF Capacity 
 

N/A
35 pages

Scan Speed 
 

2 PPM
3 PPM

Duplex Scanning 
 

No
No

Max Flatbed Scan Size 
 

8.5" x 11"
8.5" x 11"

Max ADF Scan Size 
 

No ADF
8.5" x 14"

Flatbed Hinge Adjustability 
 

0.43" (11 mm)
0.15" (4 mm)

Fax 
 

No
No

Copy 
 

Yes
Yes

OCR Included 
 

Software
Software
Show Text 

Scan Quality 
 

8.0
8.5

Scan Quality Photo 
 

Compare High-Res
Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W Scan Quality Photo
Compare High-Res
HP ENVY 6555e Scan Quality Photo

Max Scan Resolution 
 

1,200 DPI
1,200 DPI

Max Scan Color Depth 
 

24Bit
24Bit
Show Text 
Photo

Color Gamut 
 

6.5
7.0

Parrots Picture 
 

Compare High-Res
Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W Parrots Picture
Compare High-Res
HP ENVY 6555e Parrots Picture

Color Range Picture 
 

Compare High-Res
Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W Color Range Picture
Compare High-Res
HP ENVY 6555e Color Range Picture
Show Text 

Color Accuracy 
 

6.6
5.2

Friends Picture 
 

Compare High-Res
Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W Friends Picture
Compare High-Res
HP ENVY 6555e Friends Picture

Color dE Picture 
 

Compare High-Res
Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W Color dE Picture
Compare High-Res
HP ENVY 6555e Color dE Picture

Color dE Graph 
 

Compare High-Res
Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W Color dE Graph
Compare High-Res
HP ENVY 6555e Color dE Graph

Average Color dE 
 

6.98
9.62
Show Text 

Small Details 
 

9.0
8.5

Small Details Photo 
 

Compare High-Res
Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W Small Details Photo
Compare High-Res
HP ENVY 6555e Small Details Photo

Max Print Resolution (DPI) 
 

1200 x 6000
4800 x 1200
Show Text 

Photo Printing Sizes 
 

8.0
9.5

Glossy Paper (4" x 6")  

Yes
Yes

Glossy Paper (5" x 7")  

Yes
Yes

Glossy Paper (8" x 10")  

No
Yes

Glossy Paper (8.5" x 11")  

Yes
Yes

Glossy Paper (13" x 19")  

No
No

Borderless Printing 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 
Mobile App And Connectivity

Connectivity 
 

7.0
7.0

Inputs Picture 
 

Compare High-Res
Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W Inputs Picture
Compare High-Res
HP ENVY 6555e Inputs Picture

Wireless 
 

Yes
Yes

Wi-Fi via Router 
 

Yes
Yes

Wi-Fi Direct 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth 
 

No
No

Ethernet 
 

No
No

USB Input To Computer 
 

Yes
Yes

External Storage Support 
 

No
No

Apple AirPrint 
 

Yes
Yes

Mopria Print Service 
 

Yes
Yes
Show Text 

Mobile App 
 

9.5
10

App Printscreen 
 

Compare High-Res
Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W App Printscreen
Compare High-Res
HP ENVY 6555e App Printscreen

Mobile App  

Yes
Yes

App Name  

Brother Mobile Connect
HP Smart

iOS  

Yes
Yes

Android  

Yes
Yes

Photo (JPEG, PNG) 
 

Android and iOS
Android and iOS

PDF 
 

Android and iOS
Android and iOS

Microsoft Office Files 
 

Android and iOS
iOS Only

Text Files (TXT) 
 

Android and iOS
iOS Only

Webpages (HTML) 
 

No
iOS Only
Show Text 

OS Compatibility 
 

Windows  

Fully
Fully

macOS  

Fully
Fully

Chrome OS  

Fully
Fully
Show Text 

Check Price

White
MFC-J1205W
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
White
ENVY 6552e
SEE PRICE
Walmart.com
White
MFC-J1205W XL
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Portobello
ENVY 6555e
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
White
MFC-J1215W
SEE PRICE
Amazon.com
Portobello
ENVY 6520e
Amazon.com

Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W

HP ENVY 6555e

Comments

  1. Comparison

Brother MFC-J1205W/MFC-J1215W vs HP ENVY 6555e: Main Discussion

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