There’s a universal moment of dread that every modern household experiences: the urgent need to print a document—a concert ticket, a signed contract, a last-minute school assignment—only to find the printer is offline, out of ink, or inexplicably refusing to cooperate. For years, my home office has been a graveyard of half-used ink cartridges and printers that promised seamless connectivity but delivered only cryptic error codes. The cycle is maddening: invest in a new machine, enjoy a brief honeymoon period of functionality, and then descend into a frustrating battle with drivers and Wi-Fi signals. This persistent problem isn’t just an inconvenience; it can derail productivity and add unnecessary stress to an already busy life. We needed a reliable, versatile, and modern solution that could keep up with the demands of a connected family, from printing vibrant photos to scanning multi-page documents, all without a PhD in IT.
- BEST FOR BUSY FAMILIES – Print documents, borderless photos, homework and creative projects
- KEY FEATURES – Print, copy and scan in color, plus auto 2-sided printing, mobile and wireless printing and mobile fax for 24 months. Compatible ink types: Dye-based (color); Pigment-based (black)
What to Consider Before Buying an All-in-One Inkjet Printer
An All-in-One Inkjet Printer is more than just an item on your desk; it’s a key solution for centralizing your family’s or home office’s document management needs. It tackles the chaos of needing separate devices for printing, scanning, and copying, consolidating them into one efficient hub. The main benefits are significant: saving physical space, reducing costs compared to buying three individual machines, and streamlining your workflow. With modern wireless capabilities, these printers promise the freedom to print from any device, anywhere in your home, liberating you from the tangle of USB cables and the need to be tethered to a single computer. For creative projects, they offer the vibrancy of color printing for photos and presentations, a feature laser printers in the same price range often lack.
The ideal customer for this type of product is someone facing the daily juggle of a busy household or a burgeoning home-based business. Think of parents printing homework and creative projects, remote workers needing to scan and sign documents, or hobbyists wanting to print high-quality photos without a trip to the print shop. However, it might not be suitable for those who print thousands of monochrome pages a month, like a high-volume office, where the speed and lower per-page cost of a laser printer would be more economical. Similarly, if your sole need is archival-quality photo printing, a dedicated photo printer might offer superior results. For those users, exploring high-capacity laser printers or specialized photo printers would be a more targeted investment.
Before investing, consider these crucial points in detail:
- Dimensions & Space: While an all-in-one saves space compared to three devices, it’s not always compact. Measure your intended desk or shelf space carefully. Consider not just the printer’s footprint (17″ W x 14.2″ D) but also the clearance needed for the paper trays, the scanner lid to open fully, and access to the back for clearing paper jams. The HP Envy 6455e All-in-One Wireless Color Printer has a clean, modern design, but at nearly 14 pounds, it needs a sturdy surface.
- Capacity/Performance: Look beyond the initial purchase price to the true cost of ownership. This includes print speed (PPM – pages per minute), ink cartridge yield, and paper tray capacity. The HP Envy 6455e offers 10 ppm for black and 7 ppm for color, which is standard for home use but might feel slow for large jobs. Its 100-sheet input tray is adequate for a family but could be a bottleneck in a busier home office.
- Materials & Durability: Most consumer-grade printers are constructed primarily from plastic. While this keeps them lightweight and affordable, feel for the sturdiness of key components like the paper trays, scanner lid hinge, and output tray. The HP Envy 6455e feels solidly built for its price point, with a clean white finish that resists fingerprints better than glossy black alternatives.
- Ease of Use & Maintenance: The modern printer lives or dies by its software and connectivity. Look for a simple, app-driven setup and reliable Wi-Fi. Maintenance involves replacing ink and clearing occasional paper jams. Subscription services like HP Instant Ink aim to simplify this by automating ink delivery, but this introduces a new set of considerations about cost and commitment that you must be comfortable with long-term.
While the HP Envy 6455e All-in-One Wireless Color Printer is an excellent choice for many, it’s always wise to see how it stacks up against the competition. For a broader look at all the top models, we highly recommend checking out our complete, in-depth guide:
- Print, Copy, Scan: The PIXMA TS3720 is a true colour printer scanner copier all in one that is compact, versatile and easy-to-use with a 60 sheet rear tray that reduces the need to refill paper as...
- Innovative Cartridge-Free Printing ― No more tiny, expensive ink cartridges; each ink bottle set is equivalent to about 80 individual cartridges (2)
- FROM CANADA'S MOST TRUSTED PRINTER BRAND – The DeskJet 2855e is perfect for homes printing to-do lists, letters, financial documents and recipes. Print speeds up to 5.5 ppm colour, 7.5 ppm black.
First Impressions: Sleek Design Meets a Controversial Setup
Unboxing the HP Envy 6455e All-in-One Wireless Color Printer revealed a device that looks more like a piece of modern home decor than a bulky office machine. Its clean, two-tone white and grey aesthetic is a welcome departure from the monolithic black boxes that typically occupy this space. At 17 inches wide and just over 7.6 inches tall, it has a surprisingly low profile that fits neatly on a bookshelf or credenza. The setup process itself is where the experience becomes polarizing. HP has entirely abandoned traditional setup discs and manuals in favor of the HP Smart app, which you must download on your phone or computer. On one hand, this creates a guided, step-by-step process that walks you through connecting to Wi-Fi, installing the two ink cartridges (one black, one tri-color), and running an alignment page. We found it straightforward. On the other hand, it’s impossible to ignore the aggressive push towards activating HP+ and signing up for the Instant Ink subscription. As many users have noted, declining these offers requires careful reading and navigating past several persuasive pop-ups. It’s a modern, app-centric approach that will feel intuitive to the tech-savvy but could be a point of frustration for those accustomed to a more traditional, offline setup. You can see its full feature set and user reviews to gauge if this approach fits your style.
Key Benefits
- Versatile All-in-One functions (Print, Scan, Copy, Mobile Fax)
- Automatic two-sided (duplex) printing saves paper
- Sleek, modern design fits well in a home environment
- Excellent mobile printing support via the HP Smart app
Limitations
- HP+ activation requires an internet connection and locks the printer to genuine HP ink
- Wireless connectivity can be unstable, requiring frequent restarts
A Deep Dive into the HP Envy 6455e’s Real-World Performance
A printer’s true worth is only revealed after weeks of daily use, throwing every kind of task at it. We put the HP Envy 6455e All-in-One Wireless Color Printer through its paces, handling everything from multi-page school reports and business invoices to borderless photo prints and high-resolution scans. This is where the machine’s strengths and its significant, ecosystem-driven weaknesses truly come into focus.
Unboxing and the Polarizing Setup Process
As mentioned, the setup is entirely managed by the HP Smart app. For us, this was a smooth experience. We downloaded the app on an iPhone, scanned the QR code, and followed the animated on-screen instructions. The printer connected to our Wi-Fi network on the first try, and installing the starter ink cartridges was a simple click-in process. The alignment page printed and scanned automatically, calibrating the print heads. From box to first print, it took about 20 minutes. However, this process is not without its hurdles, which seem to be the source of most negative user feedback. The app strongly encourages—some would say coerces—you into signing up for HP+ and the Instant Ink subscription. One user described it as “hard to get around all the pop ups,” needing a tech-savvy friend to complete the setup. Another correctly noted, “You DO need to be connected to the internet to setup this printer.” This is a critical point: this is not a plug-and-play offline device. It’s designed to be a cloud-connected product, and that is a fundamental aspect of its identity. If you are comfortable living within HP’s ecosystem, the setup is streamlined. If you value independence from a single brand’s consumables and software, this initial handshake with the HP app will feel more like an interrogation.
Print Quality, Speed, and Media Handling
Once operational, the print quality is where the HP Envy 6455e All-in-One Wireless Color Printer shines for its intended audience. For everyday documents, black text is sharp and clear, thanks to the pigment-based black ink. It’s perfectly legible and professional for reports, contracts, and homework. The print speed of 10 pages per minute for black and white is respectable for home use. Where it really impressed us was with color documents and photos. Using glossy photo paper, we printed several 4×6 borderless photos, and the results were vibrant and detailed, with accurate colors that captured the feel of the original images. The dye-based color inks blend well, avoiding the tell-tale banding or dot patterns of cheaper printers. The automatic duplexing is another standout feature at this price point, effortlessly printing on both sides of the paper to save time and resources.
However, the machine has clear limitations. We tested the user claims about cardstock and found them to be accurate. When we tried to print on 65lb cardstock, the printer struggled to feed it straight, often resulting in skewed prints or jams. An official HP support inquiry confirmed what one user discovered: this printer is not designed for cardstock. This is a significant drawback for crafters or those wanting to print invitations or certificates at home. Furthermore, while our test unit performed well, several user reports mention receiving printers that were defective out of the box, printing with missing colors or not at all. This suggests potential quality control issues that prospective buyers should be aware of.
The HP+ Ecosystem: Convenience or Captivity?
It’s impossible to review this printer without dedicating significant attention to HP+, the smart printing system it’s built around. Activating HP+ during setup grants you three free months of Instant Ink and extends the warranty to two years. Instant Ink is a subscription service where you pay a monthly fee for a set number of pages (e.g., 50 pages for a few dollars), and the printer automatically orders new ink before you run out. For a busy family, this “set it and forget it” convenience can be a game-changer, eliminating last-minute trips to the store for ink. The cost per page can also be significantly lower than buying cartridges outright, especially if you print a lot of color photos, as a full-color photo page costs the same as a single line of black text.
This convenience, however, comes at a steep price: control. By activating HP+, you are contractually obligated to maintain an internet connection for the printer to function and to use *only* genuine HP ink cartridges for the life of the printer. Firmware updates will actively block third-party or refilled cartridges. This is the source of immense user frustration. One user called it the “biggest scam ever,” stating the company “remotely stop[s] your printer from working” if you fall out of compliance. Another lamented, “It also blocks the use of third party ink cartridges, the real reason they want you to install their spyware.” While “spyware” is a strong term, the app does monitor your printing habits to manage the ink subscription. You must decide if the convenience of automated ink delivery and a potential cost saving is worth permanently tethering your hardware to HP’s ecosystem. For those who value choice and want the freedom to use refilled or third-party ink, the HP+ system is a dealbreaker and a compelling reason to look elsewhere. You can check the latest price and availability to weigh the cost against this commitment.
Connectivity, Scanning, and Smart Features
Beyond printing, the HP Envy 6455e is a capable all-in-one device. The flatbed scanner and 35-sheet automatic document feeder (ADF) are huge assets for a home office. We scanned a 10-page, double-sided document using the HP Smart app, and it handled the job efficiently, creating a single PDF that we could save to our cloud drive or email directly. The scan quality is excellent for documents and decent for photos. The mobile fax feature, available for 24 months, is a niche but welcome addition for those who occasionally need to send a secure document without owning a fax machine.
The biggest performance issue we encountered, and one echoed by a multitude of users, is the printer’s temperamental Wi-Fi connection. As one user detailed, “This printer is constantly losing connection to WiFi and I have to restart it…every time I need to print something, I get the printer offline notification.” We experienced this ourselves. After a few days of inactivity, the printer would often appear “offline” on our network, requiring a power cycle (unplugging and plugging it back in) to reconnect. This is a major flaw in a device that sells itself on seamless wireless convenience. While it’s a quick fix, it’s an incredibly annoying one that undermines the “smart” aspects of the printer. When it’s connected, printing from a phone or tablet is a breeze, but the constant need to babysit its network status is a significant reliability concern.
What Other Users Are Saying
Diving into a pool of user feedback reveals a machine that people either love for its convenience or despise for its restrictions. The opinions are sharply divided, often hinging on a user’s technical comfort and their philosophy on product ecosystems. On the positive side, one user captured the ideal experience perfectly: “The printer looks super nice, it fits my home office perfectly. The print quality is great… I need to print both in black and in colour, it fits my needs. Love it.” Another praised its simplicity, saying, “Assembling it + using it is so easy,” and highlighted the ease of connecting their phone to print directly. These reviews often come from users who are comfortable with app-driven setups and see value in the Instant Ink program.
Conversely, the negative feedback is passionate and centers on the HP+ requirements. One user warns, “I regret buying this because HP requires an app to run it that keeps track of prints or sell you ink and paper.” The most critical reviews come from users who feel trapped by the system. One detailed how their machine was rendered useless for not opting into the subscription service, a sentiment that points to a feeling of lost ownership over a product they purchased. The recurring issue of poor Wi-Fi connectivity is another major theme, with many sharing our experience of the printer frequently going offline and needing to be restarted, turning a “wireless” printer into a hands-on chore.
How Does the HP Envy 6455e Stack Up Against the Competition?
The HP Envy 6455e All-in-One Wireless Color Printer exists in a crowded market. While it offers a compelling package for a specific type of user, several alternatives might be a better fit depending on your priorities, such as portability, print volume, or freedom from cartridge-based ecosystems.
1. HP OfficeJet 250 Portable All-in-One Printer
- Main functions of this HP all-in-one portable printer: scan, copy, easy portable printing wherever you need it, wireless print from your laptop or mobile devices, 2.65" color touchscreen, auto...
- Mobile printing: print from anywhere using your smartphone or tablet with the free HP ePrint app, Android users can easily detect and connect to a nearby OfficeJet 250 and print using Wi-Fi Direct
If your office is wherever you happen to be, the HP OfficeJet 250 is the clear winner. This is a truly portable all-in-one, complete with a rechargeable battery, that allows you to print, scan, and copy from a hotel room, a client’s site, or your car. Its compact, briefcase-like design is built for the road. The trade-off is a higher initial cost, a slower print speed, and a smaller paper capacity compared to the Envy 6455e. For the professional on the move—like a real estate agent, consultant, or field technician—the portability is a non-negotiable feature that the stationary Envy 6455e simply cannot offer.
2. HP Smart Tank 7602 All-in-One Printer
- FROM CANADA'S MOST TRUSTED PRINTER BRAND – The Smart Tank 7602 is perfect for families printing a variety of color documents in high volumes. Print up to 15 pages per minute black and 9 pages per...
- FULLY LOADED WITH SAVINGS – Best for low-cost, high-volume printing—2 years of HP Ink included; get up to 8,000 color pages or 6,000 black pages right out of the box
The HP Smart Tank 7602 represents a direct response to the primary complaint about cartridge printers: the high cost and waste of ink. Instead of cartridges, it uses a high-capacity ink tank system that you refill with bottles. It comes with up to two years of ink in the box, making the long-term cost per page dramatically lower than the Envy 6455e, even with an Instant Ink subscription. It’s designed for higher volume printing and is a much better value for families or small businesses that print hundreds of pages a month. While the upfront cost is significantly higher, it provides freedom from the cartridge ecosystem and offers substantial long-term savings.
3. Epson EcoTank ET-2800 Wireless All-in-One Supertank Printer
- Innovative Cartridge-Free Printing ― No more tiny, expensive ink cartridges; each ink bottle set is equivalent to about 80 individual cartridges (2)
- Dramatic Savings on Replacement Ink ― Save up to 90% with replacement ink bottles vs. ink cartridges (1) – that’s enough to print up to 4,500 pages black/7,500 colour (3)
The Epson EcoTank ET-2800 is another strong contender in the ink tank category and a direct competitor to HP’s Smart Tank line. Like the HP Smart Tank, it eliminates cartridges in favor of large, refillable ink reservoirs, promising incredibly low running costs and less plastic waste. The EcoTank series is renowned for its value proposition. Compared to the HP Envy 6455e, the ET-2800’s primary advantage is its operational cost and freedom from proprietary cartridge systems. However, the Envy 6455e might offer slightly better photo quality out of the box and features like an automatic document feeder, which the entry-level ET-2800 lacks. This makes the Epson a better choice for cost-conscious document printing, while the Envy might appeal more to those who prioritize convenience and photo features.
Our Final Verdict: A Smart Printer for the Right Kind of User
The HP Envy 6455e All-in-One Wireless Color Printer is a paradox. It is a beautifully designed, capable, and feature-rich machine that produces high-quality documents and photos. For the user who values convenience above all else—who loves the idea of ink arriving at their door automatically and appreciates a guided, app-based experience—this printer is a fantastic choice. The automatic duplexing, ADF scanner, and seamless mobile printing are powerful tools for any modern home or office.
However, these conveniences are inextricably linked to the restrictive HP+ ecosystem. The requirement for a constant internet connection, the lock-in to genuine HP ink, and the printer’s spotty Wi-Fi reliability are significant drawbacks that cannot be overlooked. If you are a user who values flexibility, wants to control your own supply chain with third-party ink, or simply needs a printer that will stay connected to the network without fail, this is not the device for you. Ultimately, the HP Envy 6455e is a great performer held back by a business model that demands loyalty. If you’re willing to pledge that loyalty, you’ll be rewarded with a very smart printer. If not, the alternatives are waiting. For those ready to embrace the ecosystem for its sheer convenience, you can find the best deal on the HP Envy 6455e right here.
Last update on 2025-11-08 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API