The HP Smart Tank 210 stands out as a compelling option for individuals or small businesses aiming to minimize printing expenses. This ink-tank device, while basic in its offerings and somewhat slow in operation, delivers surprisingly strong print quality for both documents and images. Its primary appeal lies in its exceptionally low running costs, thanks to the included high-capacity ink bottles that can produce thousands of pages, presenting a far more economical solution compared to traditional cartridge printers. This review delves into its design, setup process, and performance, evaluating whether its long-term savings outweigh its initial limitations.
Despite lacking advanced functionalities like scanning or automatic duplex printing, the HP Smart Tank 210 shines in its core purpose: delivering affordable, consistent prints. The printer's quiet operation makes it suitable for various environments, from a home office to a living room. Its ability to generate crisp black text and vibrant color graphics, along with acceptable photo quality, positions it as a valuable asset for users who prioritize cost efficiency and volume printing over speed and multifaceted features. The initial setup, though slightly cumbersome with manual print head installation and an app-driven Wi-Fi connection, is a one-time effort that paves the way for substantial savings.
Design Simplicity and Setup Challenges
The HP Smart Tank 210 embraces a minimalist aesthetic, featuring a compact, off-white exterior complemented by dark grey accents, presenting a neat and unobtrusive profile. Its physical design is straightforward, incorporating a simple extendable paper input tray at the back and a basic fold-out output tray at the front. Without scanning or copying capabilities, the top panel is largely unadorned, save for a few control buttons and a small LCD screen that provides essential feedback. A distinctive design element is the transparent window on the front, allowing users to monitor ink levels in the black, cyan, magenta, and yellow tanks. The initial filling of these tanks from the provided bottles marks the first step in preparing the printer for use. However, a notable oversight is the lack of keyed bottle nozzles, which means users must carefully match colors to avoid cross-contamination, a risk that could lead to widespread printing errors given the tanks' large capacities.
Setting up the HP Smart Tank 210 involves a few manual steps that can be somewhat intricate. Unlike some competitors, this model requires users to physically install the print heads, a process that can feel awkward due to limited access. Once the print heads are in place, connecting the printer to a Wi-Fi network necessitates the use of the HP mobile application. This app guides users through the wireless setup, though it has been noted for frequently prompting consent for user data sharing. While the setup process is a one-time affair, its fiddly nature contrasts with the more seamless experiences offered by other modern printers. Despite these initial hurdles, the printer's fundamental design prioritizes cost-effective operation over complex features, making it a suitable choice for users who value long-term savings in ink over a swift or advanced setup experience. The absence of a multi-year warranty, however, raises questions about its long-term reliability for a product designed for extended use.
Performance: Quality Over Speed
The HP Smart Tank 210 prioritizes print quality and cost-effectiveness above raw speed, making it an ideal choice for users whose printing demands are more focused on volume and clarity than on rapid output. For black text documents, the printer delivers a respectable performance, achieving an initial page print time of 13 seconds and processing five pages in approximately 36 seconds, translating to an average of 8.3 pages per minute (ppm). This speed can slightly increase for longer text-only jobs, particularly when utilizing the Draft quality setting, reaching about 10.3 ppm for 20 pages. However, the pace significantly slows when printing in color. A single page combining black text and color graphics takes around 29 seconds for the first copy, and a set of five copies requires a full two minutes. Extended color printing tasks, such as a 20-page document, move at a leisurely 1.8 ppm, which is notably slow compared to many contemporary printers.
Despite its slower operational speeds, the HP Smart Tank 210 excels in print quality, defying its budget-friendly positioning. It produces dark, sharp black text that is perfectly suitable for professional documents and formal correspondence. Even in Draft mode, the text remains highly legible. Color reproduction on standard paper is impressive, with graphics appearing vibrant, albeit occasionally a little undersaturated. The most pleasant surprise comes with photo printing, where the 210, despite not being a dedicated photo printer, delivers images that are more than adequate for personal use, such as family albums or creative projects. The only minor drawback is a slight tendency for skin tones to appear paler than natural in certain photographs. A significant advantage of its deliberate speed is the printer's exceptionally quiet operation, allowing it to blend seamlessly into quiet home or office environments. Furthermore, the printer supports borderless printing up to A4 size and offers a maximum DPI setting of 4,800x1,200 for high-resolution output, though this comes at the cost of considerable time, with a single borderless A4 print taking over 14 minutes.
