We’ve all been there. It’s 10 PM, the big project is due tomorrow, and your printer flashes that dreaded, blinking low-ink warning. A frantic search reveals you’re out of the cyan cartridge, and the nearest store closed hours ago. For years, this cycle of expensive, tiny ink cartridges that run out at the worst possible moment has been the accepted frustration of home printing. It felt like a subscription service we never signed up for, where the cost of refills quickly eclipsed the price of the printer itself. This recurring problem isn’t just an inconvenience; it’s a budget-breaking, productivity-killing nightmare. We knew there had to be a better way, which led us on a search for a more sustainable, cost-effective solution. This is where the world of ink tank printers, specifically the HP Smart Tank 6001 Wireless All-in-One Printer, enters the picture, promising to sever the toxic relationship between you and your empty ink cartridges forever.
- FROM CANADA'S MOST TRUSTED PRINTER BRAND – The Smart Tank 6001 is perfect for families printing a variety of color documents in high volumes. Print up to 12 pages per minute black and 7 pages per...
- FULLY LOADED WITH SAVINGS – Best for low-cost, high-volume printing—2 years of HP Ink included; get up to 8,000 color pages or 6,000 black pages right out of the box
What to Consider Before Buying an Ink Tank Printer
An Inkjet Printer, particularly a modern ink tank model, is more than just an item; it’s a key solution for any home, home office, or small business looking to escape the high cost-per-page of traditional cartridge-based systems. The primary benefit is staggering long-term savings. Instead of replacing small, pricey cartridges, you refill built-in tanks from large, affordable bottles of ink, drastically reducing printing costs. This technology also benefits the environment by significantly cutting down on plastic waste from discarded cartridges. These printers are workhorses designed for high-volume tasks, from printing a child’s 50-page school report in full color to running off hundreds of flyers for a local event, all without causing a panic attack about ink consumption.
The ideal customer for this type of product is someone facing consistent printing needs. This includes students, families with school-aged children, freelancers, and small business owners who print documents, photos, and marketing materials regularly. If you find yourself buying ink cartridges several times a year, the higher upfront investment in a tank printer will pay for itself rapidly. However, it might not be suitable for those who print only a handful of pages per month. For such light users, the ink in the tanks could potentially dry or clog over long periods of inactivity, making a basic laser or a cheaper cartridge inkjet a more practical, albeit less economical per page, choice.
Before investing, consider these crucial points in detail:
- Dimensions & Space: All-in-one printers can be bulky. The HP Smart Tank 6001 measures 42.8 x 19.7 x 36.4 cm, which is relatively compact for its capabilities. Always measure your intended desk or shelf space to ensure a comfortable fit, leaving enough room for ventilation and for accessing the paper trays and scanner lid without obstruction.
- Capacity/Performance: Look beyond the initial price and evaluate the page yield and print speed. The HP Smart Tank 6001 boasts an incredible yield of up to 6,000 black and 8,000 color pages from the included ink. Its speeds of 12 ppm for black and 7 ppm for color are solid for home use. Consider if these metrics align with your workflow—do you need faster speeds for business, or is this capacity perfect for your family’s needs?
- Materials & Durability: While most consumer printers are made of plastic, the build quality matters. The HP Smart Tank 6001 feels sturdy and incorporates over 25% recycled plastics, a nice touch for sustainability. Pay attention to the feel of the paper trays and access doors, as these are the most handled parts. User feedback often highlights flimsy components on other models, but we found this unit to be well-constructed for its price point.
- Ease of Use & Maintenance: An ink tank printer’s main appeal is simplicity. The refill system should be foolproof and mess-free, a feature HP has perfected with its spill-free bottles. Also, consider the software experience. A robust mobile app, like the HP Smart App, is crucial for modern wireless printing, scanning, and troubleshooting from any device.
Making the right choice in this category can transform your printing habits and budget. For a deeper dive into how the HP Smart Tank 6001 Wireless All-in-One Printer stacks up against the best in the market, it’s wise to consult a comprehensive comparison.
- Print, Copy, Scan: The PIXMA TS3720 is a true colour printer scanner copier all in one that is compact, versatile and easy-to-use with a 60 sheet rear tray that reduces the need to refill paper as...
- Innovative Cartridge-Free Printing ― No more tiny, expensive ink cartridges; each ink bottle set is equivalent to about 80 individual cartridges (2)
- FROM CANADA'S MOST TRUSTED PRINTER BRAND – The DeskJet 2855e is perfect for homes printing to-do lists, letters, financial documents and recipes. Print speeds up to 5.5 ppm colour, 7.5 ppm black.
First Impressions and Key Features
Unboxing the HP Smart Tank 6001 Wireless All-in-One Printer felt refreshingly straightforward. The packaging is efficient, and the printer itself is protected without excessive waste. Our first impression of the unit is its clean, modern aesthetic—a matte grey and white finish that blends nicely into a home office environment. Despite being an all-in-one with print, scan, and copy functions, its footprint is surprisingly manageable. Pulling it from the box, we noted its solid feel; it doesn’t have the creaky, flimsy plastic parts that plague some of its competitors.
The real ‘wow’ moment, however, comes from the ink. Included in the box are four large bottles: HP 32XL Black and HP 31 Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow. The claim of “up to two years of ink” feels tangible when you see the size of these bottles compared to a standard cartridge. Setup is guided entirely by the HP Smart App, which you download to your phone. It provides step-by-step animated instructions for everything from removing the packaging tape to filling the ink tanks and aligning the printheads. This app-centric approach makes a potentially intimidating process accessible even for the least tech-savvy user. It’s clear from the start that this printer is designed for a wireless, mobile-first world, and you can see its full feature set and user reviews online.
What We Like
- Incredible ink value with up to 2 years of ink included
- Brilliant, spill-free ink refill system
- Excellent print quality for both documents and photos
- Seamless mobile printing and scanning via HP Smart App
- Automatic two-sided (duplex) printing saves paper
- Made with over 25% recycled plastics
What We Didn’t Like
- Wireless connectivity can be inconsistent for some users
- Reports of long-term hardware reliability issues
In-Depth Performance Analysis: Putting the Smart Tank 6001 to the Test
A printer’s true worth is revealed over weeks of continuous use, not just in its first few prints. We put the HP Smart Tank 6001 Wireless All-in-One Printer through its paces, using it as our primary device for everything from black-and-white reports and school assignments to full-color photo prints and ad-hoc copies. This extended testing allowed us to move beyond the spec sheet and understand its real-world performance, usability, and long-term value proposition.
The Ink Tank Revolution: A Flawless Setup and Refill Experience
The most daunting part of owning an ink tank printer for the first time is the initial ink fill. Visions of spilled ink staining desks and hands are common, but HP has engineered this fear out of existence. The setup, guided by the HP Smart App, is meticulous and clear. Once you reach the ink-filling stage, the brilliance of the bottle design becomes apparent. Each bottle has a unique nozzle that corresponds to its color tank, preventing you from accidentally putting magenta in the yellow tank. The bottles create a vacuum seal when placed on the port; you simply flip it upside down, and the ink drains in without a single squeeze or drip. We filled all four tanks in under five minutes with absolutely no mess. Several users confirmed our experience, with one noting, “I was impressed by how the ink gets introduced… no ink spilled anywhere.”
After filling, the printer initiates a priming process that takes several minutes, followed by printing an alignment page which you then scan on the flatbed. The entire process, from unboxing to first print, took us about 20 minutes of focused effort. It’s a bit more involved than plugging in a cartridge printer, but the app holds your hand the entire way. One user wisely advised, “You have to follow the HP instructions to the tee!” Those who do will be rewarded with a seamless experience. The front-facing transparent windows on the tanks are another fantastic design choice, letting you see the exact ink levels at a glance, removing all guesswork.
Print Quality and Speed: Near-Laser Text and Vibrant Photos
Ultimately, a printer is judged by its output. In this crucial area, the HP Smart Tank 6001 Wireless All-in-One Printer truly shines. For standard black-and-white documents, the text is razor-sharp and deeply black, with a quality that genuinely rivals an entry-level laser printer. We printed multi-page reports with mixed text and graphics, and the results were consistently professional. This finding was echoed by a user who switched from a laser printer and was thrilled, stating, “The quality is near laser, but it’s difficult to know the difference!”
Color printing is equally impressive. Leveraging its 4800 x 1200 optimized dpi resolution, the printer produces rich, vibrant images and photos. We printed several 4×6 and 8.5×11 photos on glossy photo paper, and the colors were accurate and saturated, with smooth gradients and fine detail. One creative user bought it specifically to print custom cards and was “printing quality cards that I make myself.” A word of caution, as noted in our testing and by another user: ink on glossy paper takes a few minutes to fully dry. Handling prints too soon can lead to smudges, so a little patience is required. The automatic duplexing is another standout feature, effortlessly printing on both sides of the paper, saving time and reducing paper consumption. The advertised speeds of 12 ppm (black) and 7 ppm (color) proved accurate for simple documents, though complex, high-resolution color prints will naturally take longer. For a household or small office, this level of performance is more than sufficient.
Connectivity and Software: The Power and Pitfalls of the HP Smart App
The HP Smart Tank 6001 Wireless All-in-One Printer is built around its wireless capabilities and the accompanying HP Smart App. For the most part, this integration is a massive success. Being able to print documents from a phone while in another room, scan a receipt directly to cloud storage, or check ink levels remotely is incredibly convenient. The “self-healing” dual-band Wi-Fi is designed to automatically detect and resolve connectivity issues. In our testing on a stable home network, it worked flawlessly. We successfully printed from multiple laptops, an Android phone, and an iPad without issue.
However, the user experience isn’t universally perfect. We delved into community feedback and found a recurring theme of Wi-Fi instability. Some users reported needing to manually reconnect the printer to their network after a power outage or even during normal use. One user noted, “If you are printing from WiFi you will need to stay within 10 feet of the printer for it to work which I think is a downside.” This suggests performance can be highly dependent on your router’s strength and location. Furthermore, the HP Smart App, while functional, does push users towards signing up for an account and can display prompts for other HP services, which some may find intrusive. For those with desktops lacking Wi-Fi, the lack of an included USB-B cable can also be an unexpected frustration, forcing an additional purchase for a wired connection.
Long-Term Value and Reliability: The Real Cost of Ownership
The single greatest reason to buy this printer is the long-term value. The promise of up to two years of ink is not a marketing gimmick; it’s a reality for most users. We found numerous testimonials backing this up, none more powerful than the user who wrote, “I have been waiting to write this review until I ran out of ink, I didnt know it would take me nearly 2 years… 3443 pages later, and it is still printing strong.” Another owned it for 13 months, printing “a lot, like seriously, a lot!!” before needing their first black ink refill. The cost per page is fractions of a cent, a staggering difference from cartridge printers. This printer doesn’t just save you money; it saves you the mental energy of ever having to worry about ink again. The long-term savings are a feature that really sets it apart.
However, the narrative must be balanced with concerns about hardware longevity. While our test unit performed perfectly, a vocal minority of users reported significant issues appearing just after the one-year limited warranty expired. The most common complaints were premature printhead failures and sudden, inexplicable color inaccuracy (e.g., “Green prints as pink”). One frustrated user stated, “Absolutely garbage printer, only 3 months old… now getting printhead failure messages.” While these appear to be outliers rather than the norm, it’s a critical consideration. The massive ink savings are only valuable if the hardware itself lasts. We recommend this printer with the caveat that, like many modern electronics, there is a small but non-zero risk of a critical component failing after the warranty period.
What Other Users Are Saying
Synthesizing feedback from a wide range of owners, a clear picture of the HP Smart Tank 6001 Wireless All-in-One Printer emerges. The overwhelming majority of praise is directed at the ink system. Users are consistently astounded by the ink’s longevity, with many calling it the “best investment” they’ve made for their home office or educational needs. One happy customer summed it up perfectly: “This was cheaper than ink for my 10 year old Cannon!” The ease of setup via the app and the high quality of both text and photo prints are also frequently highlighted as major strengths.
On the flip side, the negative feedback clusters around two main areas: connectivity and hardware reliability. A number of users expressed frustration with the Wi-Fi, finding it requires frequent reconnection or has a limited range. The most concerning feedback involves hardware failure. Several users reported critical issues like printhead errors or complete color distortion cropping up shortly after the one-year warranty expired. As one user lamented, “Used to love this printer but out of nowhere, my colors all of a sudden started printing totally inaccurate… of course the warranty expired.” These reports, while not representing the majority, suggest a potential longevity risk that prospective buyers should be aware of.
How the HP Smart Tank 6001 Compares to the Competition
No product exists in a vacuum. To truly understand the value of the HP Smart Tank 6001 Wireless All-in-One Printer, it’s essential to see how it measures up against key competitors in the market. Each alternative offers a slightly different feature set, catering to different user priorities.
1. Epson EcoTank ET-3850 Wireless All-in-One Printer
- Innovative Cartridge-Free Printing ― No more tiny, expensive ink cartridges; each ink bottle set is equivalent to about 80 individual cartridges (2)
- Dramatic Savings on Replacement Ink ― Save up to 90% with replacement ink bottles vs. ink cartridges (1) – that’s enough to print up to 7,500 pages black/6,000 color (3)
The Epson EcoTank ET-3850 is a formidable rival and a frequent comparison point. Its primary advantage over the HP 6001 is the inclusion of a 30-page Automatic Document Feeder (ADF). This is a game-changing feature for anyone who frequently needs to scan, copy, or fax multi-page documents. If your workflow involves digitizing stacks of paper, the ET-3850 is undoubtedly the more efficient choice. It also boasts slightly faster print speeds and Ethernet connectivity for a more stable wired network connection. However, the HP 6001 often comes in at a more accessible price point and some users prefer HP’s app interface and spill-free bottle design.
2. HP Smart Tank 5102 Wireless All-in-One Ink Tank Printer
- FROM CANADA'S MOST TRUSTED PRINTER BRAND – The Smart Tank 5102 is perfect for families printing a variety of color documents in high volumes. Print up to 12 pages per minute black and 5 pages per...
- FULLY LOADED WITH SAVINGS – Best for low-cost, high-volume printing—up to 2 years of Original HP Ink included; get up to 6,000 black or colour pages right out of the box
For those who like the Smart Tank concept but have a tighter budget, the HP Smart Tank 5102 is a compelling alternative. It’s essentially a slightly scaled-down version of the 6001. You still get the core benefits of the ink tank system and massive page yields with ink in the box. The main trade-offs are typically slower print speeds and the lack of automatic two-sided (duplex) printing. If you primarily print single-sided documents and are willing to sacrifice some speed to save on the initial purchase price, the 5102 offers much of the same long-term value in a more affordable package.
3. HP Envy Inspire 7955e All-in-One Printer
- HIGH-QUALITY PRINTING: The HP ENVY Inspire 7955e All-in-One Printer delivers exceptional print quality with up to 1200 x 1200 rendered dpi for black and up to 4800 x 1200 optimized dpi for color...
- PRODUCTIVITY AND CONVENIENCE: Designed for both work and play, this all-in-one printer features a built-in photo tray and automatic document feeder for seamless printing. With a duty cycle of up to...
The HP Envy Inspire 7955e represents a different approach to ink management. Instead of high-capacity tanks, it uses traditional cartridges but is designed to work with HP’s Instant Ink subscription service. With this model, you pay a monthly fee based on the number of pages you print, and new cartridges are automatically shipped to you before you run out. This is an excellent option for users who want the lowest possible upfront cost and prefer a completely hands-off, convenient approach to ink. However, over time, for anyone with moderate to high print volumes, the pay-per-page model of Instant Ink will be significantly more expensive than the bulk ink system of the Smart Tank 6001.
Final Verdict: Is the HP Smart Tank 6001 The Right Printer For You?
After extensive testing and analysis, our verdict on the HP Smart Tank 6001 Wireless All-in-One Printer is overwhelmingly positive, with a few important caveats. This printer is a game-changer for anyone tired of the endless expense and hassle of ink cartridges. The sheer value proposition of getting thousands of pages from the included ink is phenomenal, and the print quality for both crisp documents and vibrant photos is truly excellent for this class of device. Combined with modern features like automatic duplexing and a powerful mobile app, it’s a complete package for the modern family or home office.
The recommendation comes with the understanding of its two potential weaknesses: inconsistent Wi-Fi performance for some network setups and a risk of post-warranty hardware issues as reported by a minority of users. If your priority is breaking free from “cartridge anxiety” and achieving an incredibly low cost-per-page without sacrificing quality, this printer is one of the best choices you can make. It solves the biggest pain point of home printing with an elegant and effective solution. For those ready to say goodbye to ink cartridges forever, we can confidently recommend the HP Smart Tank 6001 Wireless All-in-One Printer, available to check for the latest price and availability.
Last update on 2025-11-07 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API