HP's Smart Tank Plus 551 Wireless All-in-One ($399.99) is a bulk-ink multifunction printer that, instead of cartridges, gets its ink from reservoirs you fill from bottles. Like the Editors' Choice Canon Pixma G6020 MegaTank All-in-One, it's designed for home-based offices, but it falls behind its competitor in capacity, volume ratings, and features. Even so, it prints well and very inexpensively, making it a decent alternative to our current favorite bulk-ink AIO. Smaller of Two The Plus 551 is one of two recently released Smart Tank Plus brand AIOs from HP, with the other being the recently reviewed Plus 651, which, among a few other notable features, comes with a 35-sheet automatic document feeder (ADF). The Plus 551, on the other hand, has only a single-sheet flatbed scanner capable of capturing just one page at a time. Neither, however, is capable of printing two-sided pages automatically, which the Canon G6020 can, but the WorkForce ST-2000 EcoTank All-in-One cannot. With th...
The HP Smart Tank Plus 551 bulk-ink AIO prints well and at very low running costs, though its lacks notable productivity and convenience features, compared with its competitors.
Very low running costs; Great print quality; Small footprint; Decent volume rating
Non-duplexing print engine; Ink bottles not keyed to corresponding onboard tanks; Lacks automatic document feeder