HP 4506 e-All-in-One Ink
ENVY 4506 e-All-in-One Ink Cartridges

HP 4506 e-All-in-One Printer Review

The HP ENVY 4506 e-All-in-One inkjet printer is a network-ready solution for printing, scanning, and copying at home. It is built for light-duty use, but still includes some great features like mobile printing at a very low price. ISO speeds can reach up to 5.2 pages per minute in color, and the simple HP 4506 printer ink system only requires two cartridges.

The 4506 comes with wireless networking support right out of the box, as well as a USB port for direct printing. Tablet and smartphone users can take advantage of the ePrint platform for mobile printing, and AirPrint support provides printing solutions for Apple devices with virtually no setup.

The design of the 4506 is definitely geared toward photo output, with borderless printing available at several popular sizes, all the way up to 8.5x11 inches. Unlike some popular models, however, the ENVY 4506 ink supplies do not include discrete colors, so wasted printer ink is much more common.

Copies can be reduced and enlarged from 25 to 400% in size, and the maximum scan resolution is 1200 dpi, which also caters to high-quality photo scanning. Automatic duplex printing is included, which can help conserve paper by printing on both sides, but the 100-sheet paper tray might be a little small for some users.

Besides the two-cartridge design of the inkjet system, the other downside is the small capacity of the HP 4506 ink cartridges. High-capacity "XL" versions of ENVY 4506 ink cartridges are available to solve this problem however, and users can also find remanufactured HP 4506 ink supplies to help control costs.

The single most appealing factor of the 4506 is undoubtedly its low price, but that doesn't mean it cuts a lot of corners. The unit still offers a great feature set, including mobile printing options that will make life easier for those with multiple devices to support.