HP Makes the Case for Refillable Ink-Tank Printers

It was only a few years ago that refillable ink-tank inkjet printers and All-in-Ones first came on the scene. The first refillable inkjet printers were actually unauthorized, dodgy solutions that enabled users to refill ink cartridges with third-party ink. The advantage of this solution was clear: less expensive ink. But these unauthorized third-party solutions were difficult to install, unreliable, and often messy and ineffective.

Since that time, however, vendors such as HP Inc. have developed easy-to-refill inkjet printers with ink tanks that can be easily refilled by users.

In a blog post, HP notes that many users have opted for third-party knock-off ink cartridges to try to save money – but that those solutions typically result in inferior print quality and sometimes even damage to the printer.

HP has since developed the HP ink tank printer. With HP’s ink-tank printers – the Smart Tank Plus 651 Wireless All-in-One and HP Smart Tank Plus 551 Wireless All-in-One, – instead of replacing ink cartridges, the user simply refills the ink tank (as shown in the photo above).

There are several advantages to this, including the ability to replenish ink in advance of it running low, so that large print jobs won’t be interrupted by streaky or off-color prints mid-job. There’s also less waste, since users don’t have to purchase new cartridges or recycle empty cartridges.

HP Smart Tank printers include four bottles of ink (cyan, magenta, yellow, and black), and each of these bottles can print thousands of pages. Ink doesn’t dry up in tanks because the ink tanks seal after they’re refilled, and the refill bottles can  resealed.

 HP also recently released refillable laser printers, the HP Neverstop printers, which also have a compartment or tank, but it’s refilled with toner not ink, and uses laser printing, not inkjet printing.

Refillable Inkjet-Printer Benefits

HP says that among the benefits of refillable ink-tank inkjet printers are the following:

• There’s no need keep extra cartridges in stock, or go to the store to find an exact cartridge match. Because the ink tanks indicate current ink levels, users can also keep track of remaining ink.
• Since users aren’t replacing entire cartridges and will instead rely on larger ink bottles, there are fewer plastic products to buy, consume, and recycle. With no “empties” to dispose of, there’s less waste for landfills.
• Ink can be more affordable compared to cartridges, and users can save money and time spent driving to the store or having cartridges shipped. Each HP Smart Tank printer includes enough ink to print up to 6,000 black or 8,000 color pages.
• Since users are using  Original HP ink refills, there’s no guessing about print quality, and no need to use off-brand ink methods or generic options, which can ruin printers or void warranties.

Visit HP here for more information on its Smart Tank Plus refillable ink-tank inkjets. 

More Resources

• January 2020: HP Launches New ‘Smart Tank’ Refillable Inkjets for U.S. Market
• June 2018: HP Introduces Latest Refillable Ink-Tank Printers in India
• April 2018: New HP Refillable Ink-Tank All-in-Ones, the Smart Tank 315 and Smart Tank Wireless 415
• May 2017: HP Brings High-Capacity Ink-Tank All-in-Ones to South Africa