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 v1.2

Updated Sep 04, 2025 07:17 PM

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Amazon.com

Tested using Methodology v1.2

Updated Nov 20, 2024 08:13 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
Family

Threshold 

0.10

Family 

7.9
6.8

Cost-Per-Print 
 

9.5
4.9

Full Comparison

Design

Build Quality 
 

8.0
7.0

Build Quality Close Up  

Type  

All-In-One
All in One
Show Text 

Dimensions 
 

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  

Height When In Use 
 

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

Width When In Use 
 

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

Depth When In Use 
 

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

Weight 
 

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

Expected Maintenance 
 

6.0
6.5

Ink Related Maintenance 
 

Expected
Expected

Drum Unit 
 

No Drum Unit
No Drum Unit
Show Text 

Display Screen 
 

0.0
8.5

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
2.8

Cartridge Picture In The Printer  

Technology  

Inkjet
Inkjet

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 

Scanner Features 
 

6.2
7.1

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  

Max Scan Resolution 
 

1,200 DPI
1,200 DPI

Max Scan Color Depth 
 

24Bit
24Bit
Show Text 

In The Box  

In the Box Picture  

Show Text 

Battery 
 

Advertised Battery Life 
 

N/A
N/A

Tested Charging Time 
 

N/A
N/A
Document

Black & White Documents 
 

9.0
8.5

B&W Document Picture  

Color Ink Needed For Black & White 
 

Yes
No
Show Text 

Color Documents 
 

8.0
8.5

Color Document Picture  

Show Text 

Cost-Per-Print 
 

9.5
4.9

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 
 

5.6
5.8

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 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 
Photo

Color Gamut 
 

6.5
7.0

Parrots Picture  

Color Range Picture  

Show Text 

Color Accuracy 
 

6.6
5.2

Friends Picture  

Color dE Picture  

Color dE Graph  

Average Color dE 
 

6.98
9.62
Show Text 

Small Details 
 

9.0
8.5

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  

Ethernet 
 

No
No

USB Input To Computer 
 

Yes
Yes

Bluetooth 
 

No
No

Wireless 
 

Yes
Yes

Wi-Fi via Router 
 

Yes
Yes

Wi-Fi Direct 
 

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  

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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