How to Check Ink Levels on HP Printer

HP printers utilize CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Black) color combinations to print your documents. If any of these color levels are low, the printing quality of your printer may start degrading. So, it is better to periodically check the ink levels to ensure quality printing and avoid any damage to the printer.

If you have access to the ink tanks of your printer, you can physically inspect the ink levels. Besides, there are a few tools like “HP Smart” and “HP Print and Scan Doctor” that provide information about ink levels.

Physical Inspection of Ink Levels

You can inspect the ink levels visually if you own the HP Smart Tank series printers. The ink tanks are located outside the printer’s main body and you don’t need to open up the printer to check the ink levels.

Using HP Smart

HP Smart is an all-in-one printer management hub for HP printers. It is a basic tool that makes everything easier from setting up the printer to accessing the advanced printer settings. You can also use it to check the ink levels on your printer.

1. Connect the HP printer to your PC.
2. Launch the HP Smart application on your PC.
   
3. You will see the ink levels mentioned as Estimated supply levels on the home screen of the HP Smart beside the printer’s name.
   

Using HP Printer Assistant

HP printer assistant is another tool designed by HP to customize the security settings, set the printing preferences and include utility tools for maintaining the printer. Follow these steps to check ink levels from HP Printer Assistant.

1. Open Control Panel. To open it, hit Windows + R keys, type control and press Enter key.
   
2. Click Hardware and Sound > Devices and Printers.
3. Go under the Printers section and double click your HP printer.
   
4. Double-click HP Printer Assistant.
   
5. On the printer assistant window, click the Estimated Levels tab.
   
6. On the next toolbox window, click Estimated Cartridge Levels menu. It will show the ink levels.
   

Using HP Print and Scan Doctor

HP Print and Scan Doctor is a utility tool from HP that helps diagnose and fix issues with your HP printers and scanners. Here’s how to check ink levels using this app.

1. Launch HP Print and Scan Doctor application on your computer.
   
2. Click the Start button on the home screen of the app.
   
3. Choose your printer profile and click Next.
   
4. Click the Printer tab on the menu bar and choose Supply Levels.
   
5. You can then see the Tricolor and Black ink levels.
   

Check HP Printer Ink Levels From Mac

If you have connected the HP printer to your Mac, the steps to check the ink levels are quite different from Windows. Here’s how.

1. Click the Apple icon in the upper left corner of your Mac.
2. Tap System Settings.
   
3. Select the Printers & Scanners option from the left pane.
   
4. Choose your printer profile.
   
5. Select the Options & Supplies tab.
   
6. Jump to Supply Levels. It will show the ink level on your printer.
   

Check HP Printer Ink Levels From Mobile Phone

You can also check the ink levels of HP printers from your smartphones. Connect your mobile and printer to the same Wi-Fi network. Then simply download the HP Smart app from Play Store or App Store and use it.

1. First, let’s connect your HP printer to Wi-Fi.
2. Launch HP Smart on your PC.
3. Tap the Printer Settings tab.
   
4. Navigate to Advanced Settings.
   
5. Click the Wireless Setup Wizard menu.
   
6. Choose your Wi-Fi network.
   
7. Enter the login credentials and connect your printer to Wi-Fi.
   
8. Now, install HP Smart on your phone and launch the app.
   
9. On the home page of HP Smart, tap Add Your First Printer.
   
10. Tap Add printer under Add a printer that’s already set up.
    
11. Choose your printer.
    
12. Ink levels will be shown on the home screen beside the printer name.