The OfficeJet Pro 8135e is the home-office document pick, praised by RTINGS and Laptop Mag for very good text quality and a smooth, app-driven setup. It is a fast, user-friendly four-function AIO with a 225-sheet tray and a 35-sheet ADF. The downsides are slow measured text speed, expensive color pages, and HP's push toward the Instant Ink subscription, which is why RTINGS still ranks the Brother MFC-J4335DW ahead overall.
Full review
Text and Print Quality
The OfficeJet Pro 8135e is at its best with text, the bread and butter of a home office. RTINGS rated its text quality very good, though not quite as good as the best printers, which edges out the document-focused Brother MFC-J4335DW on outright sharpness. Laptop Mag's verdict, a speedy, user-friendly all-in-one perfect for the home office, captures the appeal: this is a printer built for business documents, reports, and spreadsheets rather than glossy photos.
Color output is competent for reports, newsletters, and web pages, but RTINGS flagged that color graphics cost 34.7 cents per page, a steep figure that adds up for anyone printing color regularly. Photo quality is adequate rather than impressive; buyers who care about photos should look at the Canon PIXMA TR8620a. For crisp black text, though, the 8135e is one of the stronger picks here.
Speed and Performance
HP rates the 8135e at up to 20 ppm black and 10 ppm color, and Laptop Mag's speedy verdict reflects how it feels in everyday use. RTINGS' lab testing was more measured, clocking 5 text pages in 31 seconds, which it characterized as slow, so the headline ppm number outpaces sustained real-world throughput. The first page out can lag while the printer wakes and aligns.
Where the 8135e shines is workflow smoothness rather than raw speed. The HP Smart app makes setup and everyday tasks easy, and the AI-enabled firmware adapts to usage patterns. RTINGS still concluded the Brother MFC-J4335DW is faster overall, so the 8135e is the easier-to-live-with option rather than the quickest.
Features and Paper Handling
The 8135e is a full four-function AIO with print, copy, scan, and fax, a 35-sheet automatic document feeder, and automatic duplex printing. Its 225-sheet input tray is well-suited to home-office volume, larger than the Brother MFC-J4335DW's 150 sheets, though the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-3820's 250-sheet tray edges it for the highest-volume needs.
Connectivity is comprehensive, with dual-band Wi-Fi, Ethernet, and USB, plus the security features HP builds into its business line. The touchscreen and HP Smart app make navigation and mobile printing straightforward. For a home office that wants a polished, well-connected document printer, the feature set is a strong match.
Running Cost and Ink Model
Running cost is the 8135e's weak spot relative to the Brother MFC-J4335DW. It uses four standard cartridges rather than a tank system, and RTINGS measured text at 7.5 cents per page and color graphics at 34.7 cents per page, both higher than the Brother's INKvestment economics. Over a high-volume printer's life, that gap is the main reason RTINGS ranks the Brother ahead.
HP also steers buyers toward HP+ activation and the Instant Ink subscription, which can lower per-page costs for steady printers but locks you into a recurring relationship and HP cartridges. For light, irregular printing the subscription math rarely pays off, so the 8135e is most cost-effective for a home office with predictable, moderate volume.
Where It Falls Short
The 8135e's drawbacks are measured text speed slower than its rating suggests, expensive color pages, and HP's nudge toward Instant Ink and HP+ activation. RTINGS' direct comparison concluded the Brother MFC-J4335DW beats it on speed, page yield, build, and running cost, which is why it sits second here despite its excellent text quality.
It is also not a photo printer; the Canon PIXMA TR8620a is the better choice there. And while the 225-sheet tray is generous, the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-3820 offers more capacity for a busier office. The 8135e is a polished, easy home-office document printer that gives up some value and versatility to the alternatives.
Who It's Best For
Choose the OfficeJet Pro 8135e if your priority is crisp text documents, a smooth app-driven setup, and a polished home-office printer with strong connectivity and security. Its very good text quality and user-friendly HP Smart experience, praised by RTINGS and Laptop Mag, make it an excellent fit for document-heavy home offices that value ease of use.
Look elsewhere if running cost is paramount, where the Brother MFC-J4335DW wins decisively, if you print photos, where the Canon PIXMA TR8620a leads, or if you need maximum paper capacity, where the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-3820 fits. The 8135e is the easy, text-strong home-office pick rather than the value champion.
Strengths
- +Very good text quality, among the best for home-office documents
- +Fast, user-friendly setup and everyday use via the HP Smart app
- +Full four-function AIO with a 35-sheet ADF and auto duplex
- +225-sheet input tray suited to home-office volume
- +AI-enabled with dual-band Wi-Fi and strong security features
Watch-outs
- −RTINGS measured slow text printing, 5 pages in 31 seconds
- −Color graphics cost a steep 34.7 cents per page
- −HP+ activation and Instant Ink subscription nudge you toward recurring costs
- −RTINGS rates the Brother MFC-J4335DW ahead on speed, yield, and build
How it compares
The home-office document pick. Its text quality edges the Brother MFC-J4335DW, but RTINGS rates the Brother MFC-J4335DW ahead overall on speed, yield, and running cost. The larger paper tray beats the Brother MFC-J4335DW but trails the Epson WorkForce Pro WF-3820, and its color pages cost more to print than the Brother's INKvestment system.
Who this is for
At a glance: home-office users who prioritize crisp text documents and an easy, app-driven setup.
Why you’d buy the HP OfficeJet Pro 8135e
- Very good text quality, among the best for home-office documents.
- Fast, user-friendly setup and everyday use via the HP Smart app.
- Full four-function AIO with a 35-sheet ADF and auto duplex.
Why you’d skip it
- RTINGS measured slow text printing, 5 pages in 31 seconds.
- Color graphics cost a steep 34.7 cents per page.
- HP+ activation and Instant Ink subscription nudge you toward recurring costs.
Rating sources
“a fast, user-friendly printer for home office tasks like printing text documents and spreadsheets”
“A speedy, user-friendly all-in-one printer that's perfect for the home office”
“home office printing on a budget”
Our 4.4 score is the average of these published ratings. Ratings marked * were derived from the reviewer’s written analysis or video transcript — the publisher didn’t print an explicit numeric score, so we inferred one from their own words. Click through to verify. More about methodology.
