HP LaserJet Tank MFP 2604sdw: Specs, Features, Pros & Cons
This review measures the HP LaserJet Tank MFP 2604sdw against the full 24-spec sheet we track for printers, comparing it like for like with the 50 other models in our database. It earns a VS Score of 53 out of 100 — the weighted result of every verified specification measured against the class average.
On the spec sheet it is strongest in paper handling and weakest in design. Its clearest single advantage over the class average: a higher print speed (black) — 22 ppm vs 17.21 ppm (avg). None of our retail partners currently lists the HP LaserJet Tank MFP 2604sdw, so availability may be limited; a missing price never affects the VS Score.
Category strengths
Where the HP LaserJet Tank MFP 2604sdw beats the average
- A higher print speed (black) ?22 ppm vs 17.21 ppm (avg)
- Has automatic document feeder ?
- A higher input tray capacity ?250 sheets vs 182.02 sheets (avg)
- Has supertank / refillable ink ?
- Has automatic duplex printing ?
- Has ethernet ?
- A much higher output tray capacity ?100 sheets vs 68.95 sheets (avg)
- Has all-in-one ?
- A higher monthly duty cycle ?25,000 pages vs 19,346.15 pages (avg)
- A higher ADF capacity ?40 sheets vs 34.48 sheets (avg)
Where the HP LaserJet Tank MFP 2604sdw trails the average
- No color printing ?
- A much lower print resolution ?600 dpi vs 4,041.94 dpi (avg)
- No touchscreen display ?
- No duplex scanning ?
- No fax ?
- A slightly heavier build ?9.5 kg vs 9.07 kg (avg)
Editor’s note
The LaserJet Tank is the toner equivalent of an EcoTank, and that is genuinely unusual. Instead of buying cartridges you pour toner in from a reload kit, HP claims the refill takes about fifteen seconds, and the box arrives with roughly 5,000 pages already in the tank. Running cost lands around 0.7 cents per page against the three to five cents a cartridge machine will charge you. For a small office bleeding money on toner, that is the entire argument, and it is a good one.
The 2604sdw is the well-equipped one in the family: automatic duplex printing, a document feeder so multi-page copies do not need babysitting, wireless and Ethernet, 22 ppm.
Two things need saying before anyone buys, though.
The first is buried in a footnote. The imaging drum is replaceable only through an authorised service provider. At around 50,000 pages that is a service call rather than a $60 part you click in yourself — an awkward fact on a machine whose whole pitch is low running costs.
The second is that it is discontinued, and that changes the calculation completely. The maths only ever worked by paying more up front and earning it back over five to eight thousand pages. If today's asking price has drifted up because stock is scarce, the payback period stretches past the point where buying a current model with a warranty and an available drum makes more sense.
It prints black only, and there is no fax.
At its real historical price this was an easy recommendation for a high-volume mono office. Today, check what HP's current LaserJet Pro equivalent costs before committing to a machine nobody stocks.
Specifications
Quality bars are generated automatically against 50 other printers.
Printing
Laser prints crisp text fast; inkjet handles photos and colour better.
Prints in colour, not just black and white.
Black-and-white pages per minute; higher is faster.
Colour pages per minute; higher is faster.
A higher dot density produces sharper prints.
Prints both sides of the page without manual flipping.
Refillable ink tanks cut the cost per page dramatically.
The maximum recommended pages per month.
Scanning & copying
Scans and copies as well as prints.
Feeds multi-page documents through the scanner unattended.
How many pages the document feeder holds at once.
Scans both sides of a page automatically.
Sends and receives faxes.
Paper handling
A larger tray needs refilling less often.
How many printed pages the output tray holds.
The largest paper format supported (e.g. Letter, Legal, A3).
Connectivity
Print wirelessly over the home network.
Connect devices directly without a router.
A wired network port for reliable office use.
A direct USB connection to a computer.
Print from iPhone, iPad and Mac without extra drivers.
Print and manage the printer from a phone app.
Design
An onboard touchscreen makes standalone tasks easier.
A lighter printer is easier to place and move.
How the VS Score works — and what it can’t tell you
Every measurable spec is scored against the average of all the printers we track: matching the class average scores 50, clearly beating it climbs towards 100, and each spec counts according to an editorial weight that reflects real-world impact — a battery-capacity gap moves the score far more than a colour-options list. The quality bars on the spec cards above show where this model sits inside the full range for its class, and the overall VS Score rolls every weighted result into one number.
Unknown values are never estimated. A spec this product doesn’t report simply drops out of its scoring — it isn’t penalised with a guess — but a thinner spec sheet does mean a score built on fewer data points, which is why completeness is disclosed under About this data.
Most importantly: a spec-sheet lead is not the same as a better product. Megapixels, gigahertz and benchmark points describe capacity, not experience — image processing, software optimisation, thermals, haptics and ergonomics decide how a device actually feels, and no table captures reliability or long-term support quality. Treat the VS Score as a structured summary of what can be measured, not a substitute for your own priorities.
About this data
- Specifications are compiled from each manufacturer’s official spec sheet, cross-checked against trusted specification databases, and normalised into one schema so identical things are compared identically.
- Specifications last verified August 21, 2026.
- Data completeness: 23 of the 24 specs in this category are verified (96%). Anything we could not verify is shown as Unknown — never estimated — and is excluded from the score.
- Prices and availability come from live retailer feeds via our shopping partners and refresh throughout the day; a missing price means no partner currently lists the product, not that it is discontinued.
- Want the full picture? Our editorial guidelines explain how we research products, weight the scores and stay independent.
- Spotted an error in a spec? Tell us and we will correct the sheet.
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The bottom line
The HP LaserJet Tank MFP 2604sdw earns a VS Score of 53, a solid mid-pack result among the 51 printers we compare here.
- Who it’s for
- Small offices, clinics, churches and classrooms printing a lot of black text — HP's own range is 250 to 2,500 pages a month — that want refillable toner and a feeder for multi-page copying.
- Who should look elsewhere
- Anyone who needs colour or fax, since it has neither, and anyone who scans double-sided documents, since the feeder is single-sided. Light users will never recover the tank premium.
- The trade-off that matters
- The cheapest pages in the class, against a drum you cannot replace yourself. Everything about the running cost is excellent until the imaging drum wears out and it becomes a service call.
- The main alternative
- Brother MFC-L2820DW — faster at 34 ppm with conventional toner cartridges and normal parts availability, the safer buy now that this HP is discontinued.
The VS Score is generated automatically from the weighted specifications above, measured against all other printers in our database. Treat it as a shortlisting guide — not a substitute for your own priorities.
