5 Best Ink Tank Printers from HP
Printers are essential to any computer setup, whether in the home or the office. Gone are the days of businesses having a centralized print room or home users visiting a print shop to get a copy of an important document.

Printers are now available in various options, from basic single-sided printing and more advanced duplex printers, to all-in-one models that include scanning and copying functions.

Printers are also available with different print technology. For example, here at HP, we offer laser printers that use toner cartridges, inkjet printers that use replaceable ink cartridges, and our smart tank printers.

Let's look closer at ink tank printer technology and how an all-in-one ink tank printer could be the perfect choice for you.

What is an HP Smart Tank printer?

HP Smart Tank printers use thermal inkjet technology for printing. Their difference from Inkjet printers is that they store their ink in refillable tanks within the printer rather than in replaceable sealed cartridges.

Using an HP Smart Tank printer is no different from using an inkjet printer; the HP Smart Tank printer range includes the same functionality choices as their HP Inkjet cousins, including duplex options and all-in-one models.

HP Smart Tank printers use the same software options for their control, including the HP Smart application. This app makes printing documents and photos to your HP Smart Tank printer effortless. In addition, it includes a helpful preview option and supporting printer management via your computer or mobile device.

You can find more detailed information on the official HP Smart website.

Benefits of an HP Smart Tank printer

HP Smart Tank printers have various features, and different models offer different benefits. However, each printer in the Smart Tank family provides the following standard benefits for users.

Sustainability

Smart Tank printers are a more sustainable alternative to inkjet technology, as refilling ink reduces waste compared to disposing of a cartridge that includes the print head technology and ink container.

Smart Tank printers also allow users to replace individual ink colors rather than replacing a single cartridge that contains the yellow, magenta, and cyan ink together. This feature can be important when you extensively use one color more than the others and risk disposing of a non-empty cartridge because just one ink has run out.

Like many HP products, we include recycled materials when manufacturing our Smart Tank printers as part of our sustainability drive.

Print speed

Smart Tank printers can print pages quickly and efficiently, whether monochrome or full color, text or images, single or double-sided. Typical speeds range from 9 pages per minute (ppm) for color documents and up to 15 ppm for black-and-white prints.

Print quality

Smart Tank printers offer users total control over print quality by balancing speed against quality. At the top end of the scale, the printer will produce high-resolution, full-color photographic quality prints when combined with the correct HP printer paper.

Affordability

While the initial purchase price of a Smart Tank printer is more expensive than the equivalent inkjet product, it may, for some users, be cheaper over the printer's life due to the lower cost of ink refills compared to replacement inkjet cartridges.

HP Smart Tank printers come with a complete set of ink bottles, each containing sufficient ink for printing between 4,000 and 8,000 pages. This supply will keep the average home user going for over a year.

Secure printing

Having an HP Smart Tank printer in your home or office allows you total control over the security of your printing. Incorporating the latest networking and protection features means printing is secure from when you press the print button on your device to when the printed page emerges from the printer.

HP printers have great print management features to control access and extra security layers when printing sensitive documents.

Usability

HP Smart Tank printers include the great useability features of all our printers. You can manage print, copy, and scanning functions from the printer's control screen or the HP Smart app running on your desktop, laptop, or smartphone device.

All printing functions are fully controllable at the touch of a button, and thanks to wireless technology, you can locate your printer anywhere.

Applications for HP Smart Tank printers

Everyday home users

Most of us need to print things, and having a printer in the home makes this effortless. Families with school-aged children will appreciate how often they need to print, copy and scan. HP Smart Tank printers are ideal for home users who occasionally need to print and want a printer they can rely on to work when such a need arises.

Home workers

If you work from home, you'll want an affordable, compact, quiet, and dependable printer that will meet your printing needs without getting in the way or being distracted. HP Smart Tank printers are perfect for this application and will provide reliable, worry-free service.

Small businesses

The rise of paperless systems and electronic communications doesn't completely eliminate the need for physical copies of important documents. Also, many businesses create printed materials as part of their sales activities, including flyers, brochures, and direct mailing materials.

HP Smart Tank printers are adaptable with their ability to instantly flip between printing fast-draft black-and-white documents to photo-quality high-definition and full-colour materials for customers.

How to refill an HP Smart Tank printer

Refilling the ink in your HP Smart Tank printer is quick and straightforward. In addition, your printer will let you know when one or more of the tanks is getting low, so you won't run out of ink in the middle of printing a page.

Open the panel on the printer to reveal the ink tank filler caps. Your printer's instruction manual will show you if you need help determining which panel this is.

Just open the filler cap for the low ink tank, take the corresponding ink bottle, open its lid, and insert it top downwards into the tank opening. Then, let the ink flow from the bottle into the tank. You mustn't squeeze, tap, shake, or force the bottle to prevent spillage.

Once you've filled the ink tank, remove the bottle and replace the tank cap and the bottle lid. If the bottle still contains ink, store it safely, ready for you to refill that colour ink next time. Once you've refilled all low ink tanks, close the printer panel, and you're ready to resume printing.

Remember to keep a bottle of each ink colour handy for when you next need a refill. You can buy new ink bottles directly from the HP Shop, so you know you're using genuine, high-quality ink. 

Best HP Smart Tank printers

Reliable home and office printing

Reliable home and office printing

The HP Smart Tank 670 All-in-One is a great mid-range option for home working or small businesses if you're looking for reliable duplex printing, and it’s combined with single-side scanning and copying. The simple setup from mobile devices or the integral smart-guided buttons makes it quick and easy to use.

With its 150-sheet input tray, this all-in-one printer can produce double-sided prints in regular use, operating at speeds up to 12 ppm for monochrome and 7 ppm for color prints. However, in its draft printing mode, you can increase these speeds to 22 ppm for monochrome and 21 ppm for color.

Reliable small business printing

Reliable small business printing

The HP Smart Tank 615 Wireless All-in-One is a superb multifunction printer for small businesses with automatic duplex printing and multi-page copy and scan features. This model is perfect for small offices, engineered for high-volume printing and hands-free copying and scanning.

This all-in-one model comes with a 100-sheet input tray and 35-page auto-feeder and can operate at speeds up to 11 ppm for monochrome and 5 ppm for color prints. You can increase these speeds using the draft printing mode to 22 ppm for monochrome and 16 ppm for color.

Economical all-in-one home printer

Economical all-in-one home printer
The HP Smart Tank 580 All-in-One Printer is an economical option if you're looking for low-volume home printing, scanning, and copying. The mobile-guided, seamless setup makes it quick and simple to get going with connectivity via USB cable, self-healing WiFi, or Bluetooth options. These features make it ideal if you want an ink tank printer for home use.

With its 100-sheet input tray, this single-side all-in-one printer can operate at speeds up to 12 ppm for monochrome and 5 ppm for color prints. Draft printing will increase these speeds to 22 ppm for monochrome and 16 ppm for color.

Stylish all-in-one home printer

Stylish all-in-one home printer

The HP Smart Tank 515 Wireless All-in-One is a stylish option if you're looking for single-side home printing, scanning, and copying. The easy setup from mobile devices makes it quick and straightforward to get going with connectivity via USB cable, self-healing dual-band WiFi, or Bluetooth options. 

With its 100-sheet input tray, this single-side all-in-one printer can produce dark, crisp text and vibrant color graphics while operating at speeds up to 11 ppm for monochrome and 5 ppm for color prints. The draft print mode increases these speeds to 22 ppm for monochrome and 16 ppm for color. In addition, a 35-page auto-feeder makes scanning and copying tasks more straightforward.

High-volume business printing

High-volume business printing
The HP Smart Tank 790 All-in-One is an ideal productivity tool for businesses with automatic two-sided printing and multi-page scanning functions. This model is perfect for low-cost, high-volume printing tasks, while the modern touch interface, smart-guided lighting, and tank lights make it easy to use.

This all-in-one model comes with a 250-sheet input tray and 35-page auto-feeder, and for high-quality prints can operate at speeds up to 15 ppm for monochrome and 9 ppm for color prints.

If you need test prints in a hurry, then the draft mode will increase these speeds to 23 ppm for monochrome and 22 ppm for color.

Summary

A wide choice of printers is available, so picking the right one can be challenging. HP Smart Tank printers offer users an outstanding balance of quality, efficiency, sustainability, and affordability. Their key benefit is the ability to top up their ink from a convenient bottle stored at the back of a cupboard until needed.

Smart Tank printers offer a terrific way to reduce plastic waste. They are perfect for those situations where you often use one color more than the others, meaning you only need to top up yellow, magenta, or cyan ink when required.


About the Author: Stephen Mash is a contributing writer for HP Tech Takes. Stephen is a UK-based freelance technology writer with a cybersecurity and risk management background.