HP Smart Tank 5103 vs HP DeskJet 2855e
The HP Smart Tank 5103 is a ink tank using bottles; the HP DeskJet 2855e is a inkjet all-in-one using tricolor cartridge. A black page costs 0.40¢ on one and 15¢ on the other. Over 5,000 pages the HP Smart Tank 5103 works out about $719 cheaper to have owned, despite costing more to buy.
The HP DeskJet 2855e commits the printer to the manufacturer's own supplies for its life if you enrol at setup; the HP Smart Tank 5103 does not. What that means
- HP Smart Tank 5103~$297~$269 printer + ~$28 supplies
- HP DeskJet 2855e~$1,016~$84 printer + ~$932 supplies
purchase priceink or toner. An estimate: purchase price plus 5,000 pages at each printer’s computed cost per page, assuming 4 mono pages for every colour page. Printers whose consumable price we could not source are left out.
- HP Smart Tank 5103
- ~$269 to buy · ~$297 after 5,000 pages
- HP DeskJet 2855e
- ~$84 to buy · ~$1,016 after 5,000 pages
Estimates computed from published ISO page yields and consumable list prices.
| Spec | HPHP Smart Tank 5103 | HPHP DeskJet 2855e |
|---|---|---|
| Approx. price | ~$269 | ~$84 |
| Cost per mono page | 0.40¢ | 15¢ |
| Cost per colour page | 1.2¢ | 33¢ |
| Cost to own, 5,000 pages | ~$297 | ~$1,016 |
| Technology | Thermal inkjet | Thermal inkjet |
| Ink system | Bottles | Tricolor cartridge |
| Black consumable | HP 32XL black bottle · 6,000 pages | HP 67XL black cartridge · 240 pages |
| Colour consumable | HP 31 colour bottles · 8,000 pages | HP 67XL tri-colour cartridge · 200 pages |
| Third-party ink lock | No | Yes |
| Print speed, mono | 12 ISO ppm | 7.5 ISO ppm |
| Print speed, colour | 5 ISO ppm | 5.5 ISO ppm |
| Functions | Print · Copy · Scan | Print · Copy · Scan |
| Two-sided printing | Manual | Manual |
| Document feeder | None | None |
| Paper capacity | 100 sheets | 60 sheets |
| Max paper size | Legal | Letter |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi | Wi-Fi |
| Display | 1.2" icon LCD | Mono LCD |
| Weight | 11.1 lb | 8.4 lb |
Tinted rows are where these two differ.
Someone leaving cartridge printing behind who prints documents and family photos and does not need a feeder or a duplexer.
A household that prints a boarding pass and a form a month and genuinely will not print more.