HP Envy 6055e Review (2026): Honest Pros, Cons & Who It's Really For

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Quick Verdict

The HP Envy 6055e is a compact three-in-one inkjet that does something surprisingly rare at its price: automatic two-sided printing. It is quiet, genuinely small at just over five inches tall, and owners rate it well — 4.2 out of 5 across more than 5,500 Best Buy reviews, with ease of setup the most-praised feature.

But HP has discontinued it. You can still find new-in-box units on the secondhand market, and there are a lot of them in homes. Two things matter if you own one or are thinking about buying one used: it is expensive to feed, and HP's own recommended replacement switches to a different ink family. We cover both below.

At a Glance

• Functions: Print, copy, scan (no fax)
• Print speed: Up to 10 ppm black, 7 ppm color (ISO)
• Duplex printing: Yes, automatic — including two-sided photos
• Document feeder: None. Flatbed scanner only
• Display: No screen. Backlit touch-sensitive buttons that light up only when relevant
• Connectivity: Wi-Fi (HP specs it as dual-band 802.11ac), Bluetooth 4.2 for setup, USB 2.0. No Ethernet
• Paper handling: 100-sheet input, 25-sheet output
• Recommended monthly volume: 100–400 pages
• Ink: HP 67, 67XL and 67XXL black
• Size and weight: 17.0" x 14.2" x 5.2", 11.5 lbs
• Status: Discontinued by HP. Typically $40–$70 new old stock, $30–$90 used

Who This Printer Is For

• Anyone who prints two-sided regularly. This is the 6055e's real advantage. Automatic duplex is uncommon under $100, and HP's own DeskJet 4000-series alternatives don't have it.
• Households printing 100–400 pages a month. That's HP's recommended range and it's honest — this is a light-duty machine.
• People short on space. At 5.2 inches tall with a flat lid, it fits on a shelf where most all-in-ones won't.
• Buyers who want it quiet. Low noise comes up repeatedly in owner reviews.
• Anyone who already owns one. If it works, the sensible move is to keep it running on affordable cartridges rather than replace it.

Who Should Skip It

• Anyone who scans or copies multi-page documents. There is no document feeder. Every page goes on the glass by hand. If that's your workflow, look at the DeskJet 4255e instead.
• Anyone who wants a screen. There isn't one. Status and most settings live in the HP Smart app.
• Anyone needing fax or a wired network connection. Neither is present.
• Buyers who want current hardware with a warranty. It's discontinued. A used unit comes with whatever the seller offers, which is usually nothing.
• Anyone paying near the old $130 retail price. Don't. At that money the current alternatives are better.

What People Love About It

• Ease of use is the single most-cited positive in owner reviews — mentioned over 1,700 times on Best Buy alone. Setup through the HP Smart app is repeatedly described as straightforward.
• Print quality for the price. Consumer Reports rates text "very good, though not quite as good as the best printers" and color graphics "very good for reports, newsletters and web pages."
• Automatic duplex at this price point, which the newer DeskJet 4255e does not offer.
• The size. Genuinely compact, and the flat lid means you can put things on top of it.
• Quiet operation, noted consistently by owners.

The Legitimate Complaints

• Wi-Fi is the number one complaint, with well over 200 mentions in Best Buy reviews and a long run of HP support threads about the 6055e refusing to connect or dropping off the network. The usual symptom is setup failing with "something unexpected happened." HP specs it as dual-band, but HP's own support agents routinely tell owners to force 2.4 GHz — which is a fair hint about how reliably 5 GHz works in practice.
• Running cost is the serious problem. Consumer Reports measured 15.1¢ per text page and 61.8¢ per graphics page, estimating about $134 a year in ink and calling that "very high for an inkjet." Independent testing at TechGearLab scored operating cost 2.2 out of 10. This is entirely down to how little ink HP's standard cartridges hold — see the next section.
• Tri-color cartridge waste. One combined color cartridge means when a single color runs out, you replace all three.
• No display. The button-only panel is a real limitation. TechGearLab scored ease of use 5.3 out of 10 for exactly this reason, notably lower than general owner ratings.
• Slow on anything but plain text. Ten plain black pages take about 45 seconds; ten mixed-media pages took 4 minutes 37 seconds in testing, and a single full-page photo took 5 minutes 40 seconds.

How It Compares

The upgrade path nobody mentions

HP's own recommended replacement for the 6055e is the Envy 6155e (now sold as the Envy 6155). It's a better machine — it adds a 2.4-inch color touchscreen and improves output quality — but it does not use HP 67 ink. It moves to HP 68 and 68e. HP's own team has confirmed this directly: the 6155e takes HP 68 cartridges only.

That matters if you have a drawer of 67XL cartridges. If you want to stay on HP 67, the sideways move is the DeskJet 4255e — but read the trade carefully: you gain a 35-sheet document feeder and you lose automatic duplex. Within HP's budget line the choice is binary. DeskJet gives you the feeder, Envy gives you two-sided printing, and nothing at this price gives you both.

Ink and Supplies

The 6055e uses the HP 67 family. The yields are the whole story here:

A 120-page black cartridge is very small. That single fact is why independent testing puts this printer's running cost near the bottom of its class. Genuine HP 67XL black runs about $36 at retail; the tri-color is about the same. A full genuine XL pair is roughly $70 — which is more than a used 6055e costs.

Two notes worth knowing. HP lists 67XXL as supported on this printer, but only in black — there is no HP original 67XXL tri-color, whatever some listings imply. And HP no longer merchandises 67XXL through its main US ink store, so original XXL is hard to find.

About HP+ and third-party cartridges

The "e" in 6055e means the printer was sold with HP+ offered at setup. Enrollment is optional, and the decision is the single most consequential thing about owning this machine:

• If you enrolled in HP+, HP's terms require Original HP ink for the life of the printer — and that requirement does not expire when the free Instant Ink months end. Compatible and remanufactured cartridges will not work.
• If you declined HP+, the printer behaves as a standard Envy and compatible HP 67 cartridges work normally.
• Can HP+ be turned off afterwards? Honestly, HP's own channels contradict each other. One HP support agent has publicly described a deactivation path in the HP app; HP's forum experts say activation is permanent. HP publishes no clear consumer-facing document either way. Treat it as one-way unless HP support confirms otherwise for your specific unit.
• Separately, HP lists the 6055e as a Dynamic Security printer. That is a different mechanism from HP+ and applies whether or not you enrolled: cartridges using non-HP chips may stop working after a firmware update. If you plan to run compatible ink, it is worth declining automatic firmware updates.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the HP Envy 6055e print double-sided automatically?
Yes. Automatic duplex is built in, including for photos. This is its main advantage over HP's DeskJet models at similar prices.

Does it have a document feeder?
No. It has a flatbed scanner only. For multi-page scanning, look at the DeskJet 4255e with its 35-sheet feeder.

What ink does the Envy 6055e use?
HP 67, 67XL, and 67XXL black. The XL cartridges are the only sensible choice — the standard black holds roughly 120 pages.

Can I use compatible cartridges in it?
Yes, provided the printer was not enrolled in HP+ at setup. If it was, it will only accept Original HP ink.

Is the Envy 6055e discontinued?
Yes. HP's product page carries a discontinued notice and points buyers to the Envy 6155e, which uses HP 68 ink rather than HP 67.

Is it worth buying used?
At $30–$70, if you want auto duplex in a small footprint and you'll run compatible ink, it's reasonable. At anything near its old $130 price, no.

Bottom Line

The Envy 6055e is a likeable little printer with one standout feature and one serious weakness. The auto duplex is genuinely useful and rare at this price. The cost per page, on genuine cartridges, is bad enough that independent testers put it near the bottom of the class.

That makes it a good machine to own and a poor machine to feed at retail prices. If you have one, running compatible HP 67XL is the difference between a printer that's cheap to keep and one that quietly costs you $130 a year. If you're shopping new, HP's own successor moves you off HP 67 entirely — worth knowing before you commit.

Where to Buy

The 6055e is discontinued, so availability is old stock and the secondhand market. You can check what's currently listed for the HP Envy 6055e on Amazon, or look at the current HP Envy 6155e if you'd rather buy new — just remember it takes HP 68 ink.

Shop Compatible Ink at Castle Ink

Keep your 6055e running for a fraction of genuine prices:

• HP 67XL Ink Cartridges – Black & Tri-Color 2-Pack Compatible — $59.95
• Remanufactured HP 67XL (3YM57AN) Black High Yield — $18.99
• Remanufactured HP 67XL (3YM58AN) Tri-Color High Yield — $19.99

Please check the HP+ note above first — if your printer was enrolled in HP+ at setup, it will only accept Original HP cartridges.

See Also

• Best Printers: Top Picks for Every Use Case and Budget
• PrinterIQ Finder — find your next printer in about 60 seconds
• HP DeskJet 2855e Review (2026)
• Find Ink by Printer Model
• How we rank and recommend printers

By William Elward, Founder of Castle Ink — 20+ years helping people solve printer and ink problems. Last updated August 23, 2026.