PRINTING. The HP Smart Tank Plus 551 prints using inkjet technology, which sprays liquid ink onto the paper from a moving head. Its text printing is Good, though not as good as most inkjets. Text printing was reasonably fast, 9.7 pages per minute, costing 0.3 cents per page. It prints color graphics well enough for most purposes, such as school reports, at 1.8 pages per minute, costing 1.8 cents per page. It prints photos on glossy paper that are fine for casual users, but not as good as most inkjet printers. The capacity of the main paper tray is 100 sheets, a typical size.
SCANNING and COPYING. Scanning performance was Very Good, fine for general-purpose scanning. It can scan or copy an area up to 11.7 x 8.5 inches (letter size). Copying performance was Good, but had a few noticeable flaws.
CONTROLS and DISPLAY. The printer has a 2.1-inch monochrome display screen.
CONNECTIVITY and NETWORKING. You can connect directly to a PC with a USB cable, or to your network router wirelessly with WiFi. There's a WiFi Auto-connect feature that makes it easy to link to your wireless router. Apple AirPrint is built in, to print wirelessly from Apple devices via your local network. You can also install HP Smart Tank's app on your smart phone or tablet, as another option for printing over your WiFi network. You can also print an email remotely by forwarding it directly to this printer.
COST OF OWNERSHIP AND INK. When this section was last updated, the printer's purchase price was about $400, very expensive for an all-in-one inkjet printer. Printing uses up ink. Over time, as you print, the costs add up. This printer uses 4 tanks. When the ink runs low, you refill the tanks. The inks are sold in bottles. The HP Smart Tank ink bottles used in testing were the 32 BK, 31 C, 31 M and 31 Y. At the time, their prices were $17 for black and $15 (each) for the other three. We estimate the ink bottles to last an extraordinarily long time — over 5 years — following a typical printing schedule. After 2 years of typical use, we estimate the total equivalent cost to be $408, typical for an inkjet. The estimated yearly cost is $4, low for this printer type. So the 3-, 4- and 5-year estimates are $413, $417 and $421 respectively.
PRINTER FIRMWARE. Firmware is software that exists inside the printer. All models are evaluated using the latest firmware version available at the time of testing. The firmware version of the HP Smart Tank Plus 551 was 1.1927B.00.
SOFTWARE. The collection of software accompanying the printer may include: the printer driver, printer applications, electronic user manual, (and for all-in-ones:) scanning, faxing, and OCR apps. These get installed on your personal computer. All models are evaluated with a Windows 10 PC using the latest version of printer driver and printer support apps available at the time of testing. The software version was 28.117.2.7676.
ABOUT THE INK BOTTLES, SOFTWARE AND FIRMWARE. Our test results are valid only for the HP Smart Tank-brand ink bottles, and the software and firmware versions indicated. If your printer's software or firmware differ from the ones shown you either have an older or a newer version of these. Manufacturers may periodically upgrade the printer's firmware to enhance operation, fix bugs, or add features. Firmware updates are downloadable directly to your printer via a wired or wireless network (if internet capable). You can check your printer's firmware version, or upgrade to the latest firmware by either (1) running the HP Smart Tank printer-update app installed on the PC, or (2) accessing the "Settings" section of the printer menu and navigating to the firmware update option. Consult the user manual or HP Smart Tank's website for further guidance. Try searching online.
