HP Smart Tank 520

HP Smart Tank 520 All-in-One Colour Ink Tank Printer

The HP Smart Tank 520 is a USB-connected A4 colour ink tank multifunction printer designed for home users and small offices seeking low per-page printing costs without recurring cartridge expenses. It handles print, scan, and copy using HP Thermal Inkjet technology and includes enough ink in the box to yield up to 12,000 black or 6,000 colour pages before any replacement is needed. However, unlike other Smart Tank models, the 520 has no Wi-Fi — it connects via USB only, making it suited to a fixed single-workstation setup.

Technical Specifications

Printing

• Print Technology: HP Thermal Inkjet
• Print Resolution: Black (best): Up to 1,200 × 1,200 rendered DPI; Colour (best): Up to 4,800 × 1,200 optimised DPI
• ISO Print Speed: Black: Up to 12 ppm; Colour: Up to 5 ppm
• Draft Print Speed: Black: Up to 22 ppm; Colour: Up to 16 ppm
• First Page Out (Ready): Black: As fast as 14 sec; Colour: As fast as 21 sec
• Duplex Printing: Manual (driver support provided — no automatic duplex)
• Borderless Printing: Yes (up to A4, 210 × 297 mm)
• Print Languages: HP PCL 3 GUI; HP PCLm (HP Apps/UPD)
• Print Margins: 3 mm (top, bottom, left, right)
• Maximum Print Area: 216 × 355 mm
• Monthly Duty Cycle: Up to 3,000 pages
• Recommended Monthly Volume: 400–800 pages

Scanning

• Scanner Type: Flatbed CIS
• Optical Scan Resolution: Up to 1,200 DPI
• Hardware Scan Resolution: Up to 1,200 × 1,200 DPI
• Maximum Scan Area (Flatbed): 216 × 297 mm (A4)
• Scan File Formats: JPEG, PDF
• Bit Depth: 24-bit colour / 256 greyscale levels
• Scan Input Modes: HP Software; Copy; TWAIN 2.4
• Digital Sending: Scan to file; HP Smart Tasks

Copying

• Copy Speed: Black: Up to 10 cpm; Colour: Up to 2 cpm
• Copy Resolution: Up to 600 DPI
• Maximum Copies (Standalone): Up to 99
• Copy Settings: Number of copies, black, colour, ID copy

Paper Handling

• Number of Trays: 1
• Input Capacity: Up to 100 sheets (plain paper); 10 envelopes; 10 label sheets; 30 cards
• Output Capacity: Up to 30 sheets; 10 envelopes; 10 label sheets; 30 cards
• Supported Media Types: Plain paper, HP photo papers, matte/glossy brochure and presentation papers, photo inkjet papers, envelopes, cards, labels
• Supported Media Sizes: A4, B5, A6, DL envelope, Legal; custom: 88.9 × 127 mm to 215.9 × 355.6 mm
• Media Weight: Plain paper: 60–90 g/m²; Envelopes: 75–90 g/m²; Cards: up to 200 g/m²; Photo paper: up to 300 g/m²

Ink & Yield

• Ink System: 4 bottles (1 black, 3 colour: cyan, magenta, yellow)
• In-Box Ink: 2× HP GT53XL Black (135 ml each); 1× HP GT52 Cyan (70 ml); 1× HP GT52 Magenta (70 ml); 1× HP GT52 Yellow (70 ml)
• In-Box Yield: Up to 12,000 black pages or 6,000 colour pages
• Replacement — Black XL: HP GT53XL (1VV21AA), 135 ml
• Replacement — Black Standard: HP GT53 (1VV22AA), 90 ml
• Replacement — Cyan: HP GT52 (M0H54AA), 70 ml
• Replacement — Magenta: HP GT52 (M0H55AA), 70 ml
• Replacement — Yellow: HP GT52 (M0H56AA), 70 ml
• In-Box Printheads: HP Black Printhead + HP Tri-colour Printhead

Connectivity

• USB: 1× Hi-Speed USB 2.0
• Wireless: None — USB connection only
• Mobile Printing: Not supported on this model
• Note: Users requiring wireless or mobile printing should consider the HP Smart Tank 580 or higher within the Smart Tank range.

Memory & Processor

• Processor Speed: 980 MHz
• RAM: 64 MB integrated DDR1

Control Panel

• Buttons: Power On/Off, Cancel, Resume, Colour Copy, Black Copy, ID Copy

Operating System Compatibility

• Windows: Windows 7 SP1, Windows 10, Windows 11 (32/64-bit)
• Minimum Requirements: 2 GB available hard disk space, internet connection, USB
• macOS: Not listed as supported on this model

Physical

• Dimensions (W × D × H): 434.66 × 361.53 × 157.26 mm (minimum) / 434.66 × 580.65 × 259.37 mm (maximum, lid open)
• Weight: 5.03 kg
• Country of Origin: China
• Recycled Content: 45% post-consumer recycled plastic

Power

• Supply Voltage: AC 100–240 V ±10%, 50/60 Hz ±3 Hz
• Power Consumption: 0.11 W (manual off); 0.984 W (sleep); 2.588 W (ready)
• Energy Savings: HP Auto-On/Auto-Off Technology
• Operating Temperature: 5–40°C / Humidity: 20–80% RH

Acoustics

• Sound Power: 6.4 B(A) / Sound Pressure: 56.8 dB(A) (printing at 9 ppm)

Warranty

• Standard: 1 year or 30,000 pages (whichever comes first); 1-year technical support

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Use Cases

The HP Smart Tank 520 suits home users and individuals who print a mix of colour and black-and-white documents regularly and want to avoid the ongoing cost of cartridge replacements. Students printing assignments and photos, home-based workers producing correspondence and forms, and households with moderate monthly print needs will find the in-box ink supply covers several months of typical use before any purchase is required. The flatbed scanner handles document digitisation and ID card copying for day-to-day admin tasks. However, the Smart Tank 520 does not support Wi-Fi, automatic duplex, or ADF scanning — users who need wireless printing, double-sided output, or multi-page scan feeds should consider the HP Smart Tank 580 (wireless) or a model with ADF capability instead. Additionally, the 100-sheet input tray and 3,000-page monthly duty cycle make the 520 unsuitable for shared or workgroup environments.