HP Smart Tank 6003: Ink Cost Per Page and Its Place In HP's Tank Lineup
The HP Smart Tank 6003 is an ink tank printer that prints, copies and scans, with automatic duplexing and Wi-Fi. It sells for $370. Running costs come to $0.40 per 100 pages in black and $1.22 per 100 pages in color, with the black figure traced to a $24 bottle, HP-32XL-BK, rated for 6,000 pages.
Within HP's Smart Tank lineup, the 6003 sits between two siblings. The 5103 sells for $270 but drops the auto-duplex the 6003 has. The 7603, at $470, adds fax, Ethernet and a touchscreen; it prints at 15 ppm.
The Canon PIXMA G3270, the ink tank segment's running-cost floor, costs $249 and runs at $0.38 in black and $0.97 in color per 100 pages — essentially even with the 6003's black rate, but a real gap on color. It prints, copies and scans like the 6003 and has Wi-Fi, but no auto-duplex, at 11 ppm.
The Canon MAXIFY GX3020, from another brand, costs $432 and runs at $0.52 in black and $1.31 in color per 100 pages — notably higher on black cost per page, essentially even on color. It matches the 6003 on print, copy, scan and auto-duplex, and runs notably faster, at 18 ppm to the 6003's 12.
The 6003's $0.40 and $1.22 rates tie for 14th on black and 13th on color cost per page among the 30 ink tank printers InkTax tracks — a five-way tie that also includes the 5103 and 7603, plus two more machines. HP's own LaserJet Pro 4006dw, a print-only laser running on toner rather than ink, costs $400 and runs at $2.23 per 100 pages — far pricier per page, but far faster too, reaching 47 ppm where the 6003 tops out at 12, and adding Ethernet and a touchscreen the 6003 doesn't have.