The HP DeskJet 2755e is a bit of a mixed bag, but still one of the best budget printers you can find out there. On one side, you’ll find many retailers online swearing by it as a top pick, however, on the other side a deeper dive into reviews will show that people really struggle with this All-In-One printer.
It does score highly on some metrics that matter in budget printing, particularly excelling at basic photo printing, but its fairly expensive operating costs and general design errors make it hard to recommend.
Elsewhere, its low initial purchase price coupled with a high-resolution flatbed scanner does make it stand out from the pack, and if you only print occasionally, this DeskJet 2755e may not be a bad option.
Design and Features
The HP DeskJet 2755e measures a compact 6.7 x 11.97 x 6.06 inches, which is on the smaller side of desktop printers. You should have no trouble fitting this small printer on your hone desk alongside your home computer. It weighs 7.55 pounds too, meaning it’s light enough to be moved around the house if needed, but it’s slightly heavier than some other compact printers we’ve reviewed, like the HP Deskjet 3755 (5.13 pounds).
However, when you compare this printer with most normal-sized printers that weigh in at anywhere from 15 to 40 lbs, the HP DeskJet 2755e becomes a featherweight by a huge margin. So, if you need a printer for the small home office, one that you can move between rooms a lot, maybe you’re sharing it between several students in a dorm, then this is easily a great choice.
The HP DeskJet 2755e’s input tray can hold up to 60 pages at a time, and it also comes with a fold-out tray that can hold up to 25 printed pages. This is handy, especially when you need to print off a long report or essay in one go. Just remember it can’t automatically print double-sided sheets, so you will have to manually flip over each page once you’re prompted to continue the print job.
There’s a small LCD screen next to the usual physical buttons, very small that you can’t see it while seated, and there’s no way to tilt it to make it more visible. Nevertheless, it has good viewing angles from the side and is easy to read when standing and looking directly down at it.
Performance and running costs
As ever with low-cost printers, the Deskjet isn’t the fastest printer around. The HP DeskJet 2755e struggles to print black-text documents and color prints. On the other hand, while it isn’t very fast at printing photos, the speeds are reasonable, especially at this price point. It can print double-sided sheets, but it lacks the duplex feature to automatically print on both sides. The printer will prompt you to flip over the sheet once the first side is printed.
Apart from printing, the HP DeskJet 2755e has a flatbed scanner with high resolution and good color depth – 1,200 dpi and 24-bit respectively, but the lid’s hinges can’t extend to scan thick items. You don’t get an automatic document feeder here, and it can’t automatically load double-sided scans. When scanning long, double-sided documents you’ll have to endure the entire process of laying individual documents on the flatbed.
The DeskJet 2755e can print, copy and scan, and in addition to the ubiquitous USB connection, it supports HP Smart App, Wi-Fi networks, and Wi-Fi Direct. That latter option means you can print wireless from devices such as smartphones and tablets even if you don’t have a wireless router.
One thing you don’t get with this DeskJet is much ink: it ships with starter cartridges, so you’ll need to replace those after a few printing cycles. It has disappointing cost-per-print. While the cartridges are relatively cheap, with the very low page yield (Black only printing – $0.154/print; color printing – $0.270/print; photo printing $0.739/print) you’ll to replace the cartridges often.
This printer is an HP+ enabled printer with a six-month subscription to HP instant, which sends you ink whenever your Deskjet detects that the cartridges are running low. The HP 67 cartridges cost around $15.99 and $16.99 for black and color, respectively.
Just keep in mind that even if you mostly print only in black, most inkjet printers continue using the color cartridge for servicing tasks, so you’ll need to replace it finally.
HP DeskJet 2755e Review: Verdict
The HP DeskJet 2755e is much of a conundrum. On the one hand, it performs pretty well as an all-in-one budget printer for the small-home office and even surprises us with its decent connectivity options. It connects to phones and tablets and has a reasonably good scanner and copier too.
On the other hand, its running cost is high, and with very low page yield printing in black or color isn’t cost-effective. Its printing speeds are very slow and it can’t automatically print double-sided sheets, so you’ll need to manually turn over each page when prompted.
It makes up for those drawbacks with a nice built-in scanner and it connects with all your mobile devices, so it should suit your general needs well. That said, the HP DeskJet 2755e stands out as an attractive option for buyers on a budget who don’t need to print too much often.
Our Pick
HP DeskJet 2755e Wireless Color All-in-One Printer with bonus 6 months Instant Ink with HP+ (26K67A)
5 used from $57.31
