HP 515 Vs 530 Smart Tank Printer Comparison Review

HP 515 Vs 530 Smart Tank Printer Specification Comparison

Introduction

Printers are one of the most important parts of an office, where the computer systems are regularly used. In printers, HP has been a renowned name since the ’80s. The brand has been popular for producing some great quality printers at affordable prices. There is no price segment in the market where HP has not offered a great printer. With the offerings in the ink tank and wireless printers, the brand has become a more dominant part of the printer industry.

Today, we will have a look at two such ink tank printers from HP that provide a lot of features at a great price. These printers perform exceptionally well and are great for an office or home. Let’s look at HP smart tank 515 and HP smart tank 530 AiO printers to compare their features.

HP 515 Vs 530 Smart Tank Printer Comparison Review

HP has categorized both the printers under the ‘smart tank’ printing devices. They are called in such a manner because of their efficient use of ink while printing. This new technology not only saves on the ink cost but also saves on the ink refill.

Both these printers have identical features, with some exceptions in the higher 530 Smart tank model. Apart from the most common features, both the printers have impressive built quality and print quality.

Let’s have a look at some Key Features and Pros & Cons of the HP 515 & 530 ink tank printers.

Features of HP 515 and 530 Smart Tank Printers

Design

HP 515 and 530 don’t have the usual HP printer look. HP has adopted a new style for their smart tank series printers. Both of the printers are made of high-quality durable plastic with a robust structure.

• The design of the HP 515 printer is minimal. The smaller footprint of the printer makes it apt for office use and home use.
• The design of the HP 530 is also similar except the paper tray placed on the top.
• Both the printers have an integrated ink tank and one can easily check on the ink levels.
• Both the printers come with a small display screen to make the communication with device easier. However, the screen on the HP 530 also provides the touch screen functionality.
• On the top lies the scanner tray for both models.
• HP 515 weighs around 5.15 kgs, while the HP 530 weights around 6.15 kgs.

Print & Scan Properties

We know HP printers to provide the best quality prints when compared to other models in the market. These models are no exception to that. However, some features are only available in the HP 530 models which makes it easier and faster to print on the HP 530.

• Both these printers can yield up to 6000 pages in black and around 8000 pages in colour, which is a great number for a printer in this range.
• HP 515 does not include the ADF (Automatic Document Feeder) function which is disappointing for a printer in this range. Whereas, HP 530 provides the ADF function.
• Both the printers have the same speed of printing is around 8.8 ppm for black and white prints and around 5 ppm for coloured prints.
• The scanner in HP 515 is flatbed whereas the HP 530 has a flatbed and ADF scanner tray, with a tray capacity of 35 pages. The maximum paper size that both the printers can print on is 300 GSM.
• Both these printers can print with a resolution of 1200×1200 dpi and produce a great picture quality. The scanner can work at a maximum size of 216 x 297 mm.
• The scan output file format for HP 515 is Jpg, Bmp, Tiff, Pdf, Rtf, Txt, Png and for HP 530 is Jpeg, Tiff, Pdf, Bmp, Png.

Regardless of the differences in printing and scanning features, both the machines provide a great print quality. Both the printers also support borderless printing and provide a great scan resolution.

Ink Cost

HP has offered both these printers under the name of Smart tank printer. This new series of printers provide a similar output of a normal ink tank printer but optimizes the ink consumption more efficiently.

The cost of printing a page in both the printers is the same. Both these printers can print at 10p for black prints and 21p for coloured prints. The original ink price is around Rs 2100, which is more or less affordable, looking at the yield it provides per refill. The ink tanks in both the printers are integrated into the machine and can be quickly refilled. The ink cost is fairly low in cases where the printer is used in an office environment for printing and scanning.

Mobile Integration

One of the great things about HP 515 and 530 is their integration with smartphones. From giving basic printing commands to checking ink levels, all can be done through smartphones. This feature really makes these printers truly next-generation printers.

Apart from HP Smart app, HP 515 and 530 printers support apps like Mopria and Easy print support. These are premium apps that support several other printers such as Canon, HP, Samsung, Xerox, etc.

Connectivity & OS Support

According to the connectivity option provided by both the printers are very similar.

Both the printers provide the basic connectivity options of a wired USB. Apart from that both the printers are WiFi-enabled and provide great wireless connectivity for printing. This feature is very useful when a printer is placed in an office. Anyone in the workgroup can print through the same printer, regardless of the location because of the WiFi printing feature.

Apart from these, HP 515 and 530 also has an additional connectivity option of Bluetooth LE. This makes wireless printing much easier. One can still print through the printer wirelessly, even if they do not have the WiFi connectivity option. This feature allows the user to connect a device with the printer without the use of wires. Another advantage of Bluetooth LE is that it can automatically wake up the printer from sleep mode if we want to perform any tasks while it is sleeping.

HP 515 and 530 printers support dual-band Wi-Fi option. This feature avoids delays in wireless transmission due to interference with home WiFi devices. It also ensures fast file transmission. Dual-band WiFi uses two frequencies 2.4 GHz (frequencies used in normal home Wi-Fis) and 5 GHz.

Considering OS support, both the printers can work on Windows and Mac operating system. Users can download drivers and other important software for both operating systems from the HP website.

HP 515 Vs 530: Things We Did Not Like

1. Cost: Both the printers have good functionality and good features to offer. However, when we look at the price tag of the HP 515 and HP 530, it seems to be a bit overpriced. This might be because of the cutting edge technology used in these printers.
2. ADF: HP 515 regardless of its high price miss important features such as automatic document feeder, which is a let down in my opinion.
3. Power Consumption: HP 515 consumes more power while printing mode and standby mode when compared to HP 530, which consumes the least power.
4. Automatic Duplexing: Both HP 515 and 530 does not have the automatic two-sided printing option, which is another let down for me. They should have added this feature for at least the HP 530. I believe that because Epson L4160 printer with similar price range offers auto duplex printing.

FAQ

1. What does dual-band Wi-Fi compatibility in a printer mean?

Dual-band connectivity in a printer basically means it can send and receive data in two different frequencies: 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz. For normal people, it means better permanence, stable connection between other devices and larger coverage area for wireless connection. This is possible due to the flexible frequency ranges available in dual-band devices. Printers with dual-band Wi-Fi can switch between two frequencies whenever there is a performance issue so that it can maintain a stable connection. This is well suited for office use since there are chances of signal interferences with other wireless devices in that area.

2. What does Bluetooth LE compatibility in a printer mean?

Bluetooth LE or BLE or Bluetooth Smart is a feature that will allow printers to receive Bluetooth commands even while it is on the sleep/low power mode. For us, it just means that if the printer is on the sleep mode we can turn ON the printer and send print files without even physically touching the printer. This is possible due to the mechanism, that allows this function, can work at a very low power that will allow the printer to go on sleep mode and at the same time receive commands from the users.

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Verdict

Finally, both these printers from HP are a great offering in the market. You might select the HP 530 for office, as it provides a great range of connectivity. With so many connectivity options, it is idle for both office and home use. HP 515 would be much better for Home use and will provide a great value for budget printing. We would like to see an upgraded version of both where the features have been upgraded per the price. If you are new to buying a printer, then you can buy these offerings from HP for complete peace of mind.