REASONS TO BUY
Decent print options
LCD touchscreen
Decent resolution
REASONS TO AVOID
High operating costs
Over-saturated colors
Blue cast in black and white
HP Envy Photo 7155 All in One Review
This mediocre machine struggles with printing consistency and has a high operating cost
Credit: Jason Peters
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Our Verdict
While this machine offers users an easy set-up with its intuitive app and LCD touchscreen, it lacks in follow through. The prints have color casts tinting the entire image, the colors are oversaturated and the resolution falls off as the size of the print increases. To make matters worse, this model's estimated cost per print is among the highest in the class.
Our Analysis and Test Results
While this machine is marketed as a photo printer, as its name suggests, it is more of an all-in-one office printer. The machine has a scanning bed, fax and, yes, it also prints photos. However, it does not print photos well. To its credit, this model is easy to set-up and operate. Yet, the cost of that operation is quite high and the outcomes are poor.
Performance Comparison
Credit: Laura Casner
Likes
The HP ENVY has decent resolution, particularly in the smaller print sizes. It accommodates a variety of photo formats such as 4' x 6", 5" x 7", maxing out in the 8" x 10" dimensions. It will also print on a variety of paper types ranging from plain printer paper to matte and glossy photo paper.
The HP Envy uses thermal DOD technology.
Credit: Laura Casner
Additionally, we always like a printer that has an on-machine LCD touchscreen as it is easy to operate and confirms that the printer is communicating with the computer.
Dislikes
There's a lot to dislike about this machine. First off, it was hard to set-up despite the aid of the LCD screen. We also noticed a decrease in the quality of the prints as the print size increased. Specifically, colors were off, resolution tapered, tonal transitions became stepped.
While the upfront cost of this machine isn't outrageous, it's not what we'd call economical considering the questionable quality of the prints it rolls out. Moreover, the long-run operating costs of the machine — expressed in cost per 4" x 6" color print — are quite high at 94 cents per photo.
Value
Put simply, we did not find the HP Envy to be a very good value. Its cost to performance ratio is way out of balance. Add to this assessment the high long-term operating cost and we have little doubt that one can find a better performing machine at or below the cost of this printer.
Conclusion
By our reckoning, the HP ENVY is an office printer masquerading as a photo printer. The range of features — such as a fax and scanning bed — as well as the poor photo outcomes support this assessment. In an attempt to tackle all these applications, the photo outcomes were less than successful. Further hurting our assessment of the ENVY is its high operating cost.
—
Nick Miley, Jason Peters and Austin Palmer
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