Since HP has been manufacturing printers for decades, every new model benefits from their expertise and attention to detail. We got to play around with the HP Smart Tank 515 printer after HP recently debuted the Smart Tank line. To fully comprehend it, we worked with it for a number of days. Were we impressed? Yes, at different levels. In this review, let’s learn more about the printer.
Summary of Contents
HP Smart Tank 515 printer design and setup
It comes out of the box looking exactly like any other printer from the HP brand, only bigger. It is dressed in black and grey. Don’t be fooled by the size, though; this printer is not at all heavy. Actually, it is an all-in-one device rather than just a printer. On top of it is a scan bed that can accommodate one A4 sheet for colour or monochrome scanning. From the console located on the top front of the printer, you can directly issue the print command. The single colour LED display and power button are both present here.
It is very simple to set up the HP Smart Tank 515 printer and load the ink (just follow the simple manual as we did). You get two sets of ink loads because this printer is a smart tank printer. One comes in the shape of bottles (CMYK), which you must empty into the front ink tanks, and the other is fed into the printer through the middle panel on the front. For HP Deskjet printers, these are the standard ink cartridges that you receive. The surprising part is that these cartridges also receive their colour from the ink tanks. Thus, the name “Smart Tank.” The power and USB ports are in the back, however we decided against the USB setup.
The HP Smart Tank 515 printer’s wireless setup, which is incredibly simple, is what we chose. Simply visit the HP website, download the HP smart software, and then adhere to the on-screen directions. We finished in three to four steps and were moving.
Performance
A performer, the HP Smart Tank 515 printer. It produced excellent prints for us right away. We gave it some extremely avant-garde images to print, and it did it with incredible accuracy. It is a highly developed piece of equipment. So we moved right away to test it further. We achieved a draught setting of 18 pages per minute (PPM). This decreased to 12 in colour mode. Black prints came in at 8 PPM in regular mode, while colour prints came in at 3.5 PPM. They were all using A4-sized sheets.
The HP Smart Tank 515 printer does require more time even on its top setting. In just over a minute, we had a printout. This is pricey when compared to an Alaser printer, but quite equivalent to a Deskjet. We did not mind the wait because of the kind of sharpness and colour accuracy it had. The colours are vivid and the blacks are deep. To be completely honest, we were very impressed.
In terms of scan rates, we could scan A4 sheets at a rate of 2 PPM. The resolution of the scans can reach 1200 dpi (dots per inch). The HP Smart Tank 515 printer did not let us down either in this area. The scans were exact, and you could even save them directly to a PDF. Mobile devices can also be used by users to print directly (Android and iOS). Downloading the HP Smart Print software on a smartphone allows users to send prints from their device directly to a printer (wirelessly). Keep in mind that for the prints to work, you must be connected to the same Wi-Fi network.
Verdict
Overall, one of the best ink tank printers available is the HP Smart Tank 515. Tanks allow you to grow enormous, eliminating the need for replenishment. Also environmentally friendly. When it is in ready mode, it only draws 3.12 watts of electricity, and when it is in sleep mode, it only 0.75 watts. Up to 100 A4 sheets can fit in the paper tray, and the printer can print on a variety of papers and smaller sizes, such an envelope. The HP Smart Tank 515 printer has a price of Rs 14,999, which may seem on the high side of things, but with cheap prints you wind up saving on the costs associated with routine cartridge changes. Did we also mention that the prints are amazing?
Pros:
decent prints
modern technology
Simple to set up
Cons:
Longest mode of printing