HP Smart Tank 5101 Buying Guide in 2026: Is It Right for You? HP Smart Tank 5101 cuts running costs with refillable tanks, solid text quality, and simple wireless setup for high volume home printing. Final verdict for HP Smart Tank 5101 If your priority is spending the least on ink for schoolwork or everyday documents, the HP Smart Tank 5101 is compelling. It ships with enough ink for thousands of pages and produces crisp black text. You trade speed, color vibrancy, and office conveniences. There is no ADF, no auto duplex, and photo output looks dull. Best for budget heavy text printing. Pros Extremely low black cost per page Included ink yields thousands of pages Sharp text for everyday documents and homework Reliable wireless with self healing Wi Fi stability Spill free, color coded bottle refills reduce mess Cons Very slow color and mixed documents No automatic duplex, manual two sided printing No ADF or Ethernet for offices Narrow color gamut, dull photo output Printheads prone to clogging with infrequent use Action Check current price. Compare alternatives. HP Smart Tank 5101 deals As of October 3, HP Smart Tank 5101 was listed at $189.99 at Micro Center, $259.99 at Best Buy and Staples, and around $305 at Klarna. HP Smart Tank 5101 specs Printer type: Refillable ink tank thermal inkjet Functions: Print, copy, scan Display: 1.2 inch icon LCD (non touch) Cartridges or tank: Black 135 ml up to 6,000 pages, color set up to 8,000 pages Resolution: 1200 × 1200 black and up to 4800 × 1200 color Connectivity: Wi Fi 2.4 GHz, Wi Fi Direct, USB 2.0 Rated speed: 12 ppm black, 5 ppm color Dimensions: 17.11 × 14.23 × 6.19 in Weight: 11.09 lb Pricing and availability Street pricing varies widely, reflecting retailer promotions. In early October, we observed a low of $189.99 and a common tag of $259.99 at major stores. Expect the model to fluctuate within the $189 to $269 range over the season. This variability makes quick price checks worthwhile before purchasing. The standard limited hardware warranty is one year or 30,000 pages, whichever occurs first. Optional HP Care Pack plans extend coverage to two or three years with advance exchange service. Return windows depend on the store, typically two to 30 days, so confirm the policy if you may need to return it. Availability is broad for the United States, with identical performance across the 5000 series color variants. Packaging may differ slightly by retailer, but core specifications remain the same. Given periodic stock swings, consider buying when it dips closer to the low end of the range. Setting up Out of the box, you install the printheads, fill the tanks using keyed bottles, and let the printer prime. The HP Smart app then walks you through Wi Fi setup, alignment, and a quick test page. Plan about 20 to 30 minutes for a careful first time setup with cleanup supplies handy. Pairing through the HP Smart app is straightforward. The printer broadcasts Wi Fi Direct for initial discovery, then joins your 2.4 GHz network. After connection, the app enables mobile printing, scanning, and basic maintenance routines like head cleaning and alignment. Smart Tank models do not require HP Plus and are not eligible for Instant Ink subscriptions. All core features work without creating a subscription account. Keep the app installed for firmware updates, troubleshooting flows, and on demand maintenance to keep print quality stable over time. Design and ease of use The compact chassis houses front facing tanks and a left side USB 2.0 port for host connection to a computer. There is no Ethernet, USB host, or SD card slot. A single 100 sheet rear feeding tray handles plain paper and compatible photo media. The output tray is a simple pull out plastic arm. You access the ink tanks by opening the front panel and seating each keyed bottle onto its valve. Refills are mostly spill controlled, though wiping drips is still wise. Internal access is limited, and the scanner unit does not lift for roller access, so keeping paper clean reduces the chance of scuff marks. Everyday use centers on the HP Smart app and the small icon LCD. Presets for plain paper, photo paper, and borderless prints cover typical home needs. Without an ADF, copying multi page packets means lifting the lid and working one page at a time on the flatbed. Screen and controls A basic 1.2 inch monochrome icon LCD provides status, Wi Fi indicators, and simple prompts. Navigation relies on physical buttons, so expect a few extra taps for tasks that would be one touch on a touch panel. The icons are clear enough at a glance, but text entries and network passwords are best done in the app. Menu structure is shallow and predictable, covering maintenance, wireless settings, and quick copy. There is no tilt hinge, and the display is fixed in place. For long sessions, you will likely keep a phone nearby to trigger jobs, adjust quality, and run head cleaning, which the app handles more comfortably. A small cluster of buttons handles power, cancel, resume, and information. The layout favors simplicity over flexibility. Families will appreciate the low learning curve, while advanced users may miss shortcuts and custom presets typically mapped on larger touch panels. Paper handling A single rear tray holds up to 100 sheets of plain paper and supports photo sizes from 4 × 6 to letter borderless. The output tray holds about 30 sheets, so longer jobs may need occasional stacking. There is no built in duplexer, so two sided jobs require manual reinsertion using on screen or driver prompts. Supported media include plain, photo, brochure, and lightweight card stock within the specified weight range. Envelopes feed from the same tray, with up to 10 at a time. Keeping paper fresh, flat, and clean helps minimize roller marks, which can appear as faint vertical lines on heavy color coverage. There is no automatic document feeder. All scanning and copying happens on the flatbed at letter size. For multi page packets, plan to scan with the app and combine pages digitally. This approach works, but offices that process forms regularly will want a model with an ADF for faster throughput. Print speeds Rated at 12 pages per minute for black and 5 for color, the Smart Tank 5101 sits in the entry level speed tier. In practice, startup routines and drying times add overhead that slows real workflows, especially when switching media or quality modes for photos. Independent tests typically find about 10 ppm for black text and around 3 ppm for color. Mixed business documents land below the average for this class, so long study packets and color handouts take patience. Photo printing is slow, with a 4 × 6 typically taking under a minute per print. Manual duplexing further reduces throughput since you must flip and refeed pages. Expect the second side to print at similar speed once queued, but total job time depends on how quickly you handle the reinsertion. For frequent double sided jobs, an automatic duplex model saves meaningful time. Results Text simplex: 10 ppm (rated 12 ppm) Print quality Text quality is the highlight. Characters look dark and clean, with good edge definition even at smaller sizes. Simple charts and borders render crisply on plain paper. Duplex jobs may look slightly lighter due to ink absorption and paper path differences, so pick heavier stock for two sided handouts. Color accuracy is the main weakness. The printer’s gamut is narrow, so vivid hues look muted and gradients can appear grainy. For school projects and casual color prints, results are acceptable. For marketing materials and color critical work, you will want a model with stronger color reproduction. Photo output carries good detail but limited punch. Skin tones, bright fabrics, and sunsets do not match the saturation of photo focused printers. Using quality photo paper helps with sharpness and gloss uniformity, yet overall vibrancy remains a notch below dedicated photo models in this price range. Ink costs and plans The financial case is straightforward. The in box bottles cover up to 6,000 black pages and up to 8,000 combined color pages under standard test conditions. Replacement bottles are inexpensive compared with cartridges, keeping running costs predictable for families and students printing frequently. Black ink is exceptionally cheap per page because the 135 ml bottle covers a very large yield for a modest price. Color costs stay low for school charts and light graphics. Heavy photo workloads consume more color ink and raise effective costs, so consider whether photos are a core need before buying. This model is not eligible for Instant Ink, and it does not require HP Plus. You pay only for bottles when needed. Printing a few dozen pages each week keeps the heads healthy and prevents wasteful cleaning cycles, which can otherwise eat into the low running cost advantage. Calculated CPP Black: $0.0040 per page Comparisons HP Smart Tank 5101 versus Brother MFC J4335DW Speed: Loses CPP: Wins Features: Brother adds ADF and auto duplex HP Smart Tank 5101 versus Canon G3270 Speed: Similar for text CPP: Roughly similar Features: Canon often shows better color vibrancy FAQs Does HP Smart Tank 5101 require HP Plus? No. Smart Tank models work without HP Plus and do not need a subscription to unlock features. What operating systems are supported? Works with Windows, macOS, and ChromeOS using the HP Smart app and system drivers. What is the real world duplex speed? There is no automatic duplex. You must flip pages manually, so total time depends on handling rather than engine speed. Is Instant Ink worth it for home use? This model is not Instant Ink eligible, so bottle refills are the only cost to consider.