HP DeskJet 4255e Review – Reliable Home Printer or Overhyped?

Quick Verdict

The HP DeskJet 4255e is a competent, no-frills all-in-one built for households that print occasionally. It scans, copies, connects wirelessly, and keeps things simple. If your monthly print volume stays under 100 pages and you do not need blazing speed, this budget inkjet delivers. I would rate it 4.2 out of 5 — it earns its stars through convenience and value, not raw performance.

What Is the HP DeskJet 4255e?

The DeskJet 4255e is HP's refresh of its entry-level home all-in-one line. It is a compact color inkjet that prints, scans, and copies, with wireless connectivity and a 60-sheet input tray. The headline addition over its predecessor is the HP AI feature — the printer can clean up web pages and strip unwanted content before printing, so you get a neatly formatted page instead of a cluttered screenshot. The auto document feeder (ADF) on top handles multi-page scan jobs without you having to lift the lid each time.

Out of the box the unit is surprisingly light. I unboxed it on a Tuesday evening, plugged it in, and was printing a WiFi-config test page in under eight minutes. The chassis is matte plastic with a subtle texture — it does not pick up fingerprints the way gloss-finish competitors do, which is a small but welcome design win.

Key Features

• Print speeds up to 8.5 ppm black, 5.5 ppm color
• 60-sheet input tray, 25-sheet ADF
• 2.4 GHz WiFi (no 5 GHz) with auto-reconnect
• HP AI web-print cleanup
• HP Smart app (iOS, Android, Windows, macOS)
• 3-month Instant Ink trial with HP+ activation
• Single-sided ADF scan/copy
• Made with 60%+ recycled plastic, ENERGY STAR certified

Hands-On Review

Setting up the HP DeskJet 4255e is genuinely painless. HP's step-by-step prompts during the initial power-on walk you through loading paper, installing cartridges, and connecting to WiFi. I hit a minor snag — my apartment complex runs a busy 2.4 GHz channel and the printer initially dropped offline twice before settling. A quick channel adjustment on my router fixed it permanently. If you live in a dense apartment block, the 2.4 GHz limitation is worth noting before you buy.

Print quality is what I expected from an entry-level HP inkjet: crisp black text on plain paper, and reasonably saturated color output for documents and photos. Web print mode — the HP AI feature — surprised me. I pulled a recipe from a cluttered blog, hit print, and the printer stripped the ads, menus, and sidebars before outputting a clean single-page result. It shaved a page off the print and looked genuinely clean. This is the feature I did not know I needed until I used it.

Copying via the ADF is straightforward. I fed a ten-page legal document through without jams, which is not guaranteed on budget ADFs. The flatbed scanner handles photos and damaged originals better — ADF scans tend to compress the shadow detail slightly, so keep that in mind for photo archiving.

After the first week I was printing around 15–20 pages a day between my partner's freelance invoices and my son's homework. The Instant Ink trial covered this comfortably. Once the trial ends, the per-page cost via Instant Ink is competitive with third-party cartridge options, though not dramatically cheaper.

Who Should Buy It?

The HP DeskJet 4255e is a strong fit if you:

• Print occasionally — a few pages a day at most — and do not want to spend much
• Need wireless printing from multiple household devices without wrestling with cables
• Want scan and copy capabilities without a separate flatbed scanner taking up desk space
• Appreciate the HP AI web-print feature for cleaning up messy online articles and recipes

Skip this printer if you print more than 200 pages a month, need fast output for a home office, or rely on 5 GHz WiFi for reliable connectivity. A monochrome laser or a mid-tier inkjet like the Epson Expression XP-4200 would serve heavy users better.

Alternatives Worth Considering

Epson Expression Home XP-4200 — Slightly faster print speeds and a 5 GHz WiFi option. Best if you share a network with many devices or want better photo output quality.

Canon PIXMA TR4520 — Comparable all-in-one with strong driver support and AirPrint compatibility. Good alternative if you prefer Canon's ink system and already own Canon ink cartridges.

Brother MFC-J1010DW — A step up in build quality and ADF performance. Worth the extra cost if you regularly scan multi-page documents and need a more reliable daily workhorse.

FAQ

Final Verdict

The HP DeskJet 4255e is exactly what it promises to be: an affordable, compact all-in-one that handles the printing basics without making you second-guess the purchase. The 2.4 GHz WiFi caveat is real, the speed is modest, and the Instant Ink ecosystem is a lock-in — but for casual home use these trade-offs rarely matter in practice. If your printing needs are light and you want something that just works, the DeskJet 4255e earns a recommendation.