HP OfficeJet 250: Specs, Features, Pros & Cons
This review measures the HP OfficeJet 250 against the full 24-spec sheet we track for printers, comparing it like for like with the 50 other models in our database. It earns a VS Score of 39 out of 100 — the weighted result of every verified specification measured against the class average.
On the spec sheet it is strongest in design and weakest in paper handling. Its clearest single advantage over the class average: a much lighter build — 2.96 kg vs 9.07 kg (avg). None of our retail partners currently lists the HP OfficeJet 250, so availability may be limited; a missing price never affects the VS Score.
Category strengths
Where the HP OfficeJet 250 beats the average
- Has automatic document feeder ?
- Has touchscreen display ?
- A much lighter build ?2.96 kg vs 9.07 kg (avg)
- Has color printing ?
- Has all-in-one ?
- A higher print resolution ?4,800 dpi vs 4,041.94 dpi (avg)
- Has Wi-Fi Direct ?
- Has Apple AirPrint ?
- Has Wi-Fi ?
Where the HP OfficeJet 250 trails the average
- A lower print speed (black) ?10 ppm vs 17.21 ppm (avg)
- A much lower input tray capacity ?50 sheets vs 182.02 sheets (avg)
- No automatic duplex printing ?
- A lower print speed (color) ?7 ppm vs 12.51 ppm (avg)
- A much lower ADF capacity ?10 sheets vs 34.48 sheets (avg)
- A much lower monthly duty cycle ?500 pages vs 19,346.15 pages (avg)
- No ethernet ?
- No supertank / refillable ink ?
- No duplex scanning ?
- No fax ?
Editor’s note
The OfficeJet 250 answers a question no other machine in our catalogue addresses: what if the printer has to come with you? This is a genuinely portable all-in-one – 15 inches wide, about three kilograms, with an internal rechargeable battery – that prints, scans and copies from a van, a job site, a client's kitchen table or the back seat of a car. Nearly a decade after launch, it still has no meaningful successor, which is why HP keeps selling it.
Judged as a mobile tool, it is quietly excellent. Ten ISO pages a minute in black on mains power, a 10-page document feeder for multi-page contracts – unique in the portable class – a 2.65-inch touchscreen, and Wi-Fi with Wi-Fi Direct so a phone can print to it in a field. HP quotes fast battery charging, and the 4800-dpi-class output is proper OfficeJet quality, not receipt-printer quality.
Judged as a desk printer, it should be nobody's choice, and the spec sheet says so plainly: a 50-sheet tray, no duplex, no Ethernet, and a 500-page monthly duty cycle – that last figure being the honest statement of intent. Ink comes in small HP 62-series cartridges with modest yields, so per-page costs are high; this is a machine for documents that matter, not volume.
It is also long-lived hardware at a price that never seems to fall much – portability holds its value when there is no competition.
Buy the OfficeJet 250 if contracts get signed away from the office: field services, real estate, mobile notaries, delivery paperwork. For literally any stationary use, every other printer we cover does more for less.
Specifications
Quality bars are generated automatically against 50 other printers.
Printing
Laser prints crisp text fast; inkjet handles photos and colour better.
Prints in colour, not just black and white.
Black-and-white pages per minute; higher is faster.
Colour pages per minute; higher is faster.
A higher dot density produces sharper prints.
Prints both sides of the page without manual flipping.
Refillable ink tanks cut the cost per page dramatically.
The maximum recommended pages per month.
Scanning & copying
Scans and copies as well as prints.
Feeds multi-page documents through the scanner unattended.
How many pages the document feeder holds at once.
Scans both sides of a page automatically.
Sends and receives faxes.
Paper handling
A larger tray needs refilling less often.
How many printed pages the output tray holds.
The largest paper format supported (e.g. Letter, Legal, A3).
Connectivity
Print wirelessly over the home network.
Connect devices directly without a router.
A wired network port for reliable office use.
A direct USB connection to a computer.
Print from iPhone, iPad and Mac without extra drivers.
Print and manage the printer from a phone app.
Design
An onboard touchscreen makes standalone tasks easier.
A lighter printer is easier to place and move.
How the VS Score works — and what it can’t tell you
Every measurable spec is scored against the average of all the printers we track: matching the class average scores 50, clearly beating it climbs towards 100, and each spec counts according to an editorial weight that reflects real-world impact — a battery-capacity gap moves the score far more than a colour-options list. The quality bars on the spec cards above show where this model sits inside the full range for its class, and the overall VS Score rolls every weighted result into one number.
Unknown values are never estimated. A spec this product doesn’t report simply drops out of its scoring — it isn’t penalised with a guess — but a thinner spec sheet does mean a score built on fewer data points, which is why completeness is disclosed under About this data.
Most importantly: a spec-sheet lead is not the same as a better product. Megapixels, gigahertz and benchmark points describe capacity, not experience — image processing, software optimisation, thermals, haptics and ergonomics decide how a device actually feels, and no table captures reliability or long-term support quality. Treat the VS Score as a structured summary of what can be measured, not a substitute for your own priorities.
About this data
- Specifications are compiled from each manufacturer’s official spec sheet, cross-checked against trusted specification databases, and normalised into one schema so identical things are compared identically.
- Specifications last verified August 19, 2026.
- Data completeness: 23 of the 24 specs in this category are verified (96%). Anything we could not verify is shown as Unknown — never estimated — and is excluded from the score.
- Prices and availability come from live retailer feeds via our shopping partners and refresh throughout the day; a missing price means no partner currently lists the product, not that it is discontinued.
- Want the full picture? Our editorial guidelines explain how we research products, weight the scores and stay independent.
- Spotted an error in a spec? Tell us and we will correct the sheet.
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The bottom line
The HP OfficeJet 250 earns a VS Score of 39, trailing most of the 51 printers we compare here, at least on the spec sheet.
- Who it’s for
- Work that signs paperwork away from a desk: field services, real estate, mobile notaries. Battery power, a 10-page ADF and real print quality, anywhere.
- Who should look elsewhere
- Any stationary use whatsoever – a 500-page monthly duty cycle, 50-sheet tray and small-cartridge ink costs make that explicit.
- The trade-off that matters
- You pay a persistent portability premium for capabilities no other machine offers; parked on a desk, every dollar of it is wasted.
- The main alternative
- There is no true rival; if portability is optional, the Brother MFC-J5010DW does desk duty better for similar money.
The VS Score is generated automatically from the weighted specifications above, measured against all other printers in our database. Treat it as a shortlisting guide — not a substitute for your own priorities.
