HP PhotoSmart 5510 e-All-in-One

The HP PhotoSmart 5510 e-All-in-One ($99.99 direct) is a multifunction printer (MFP) geared squarely at home use?its meager paper capacity and lack of business-centered features make it a poor choice for even light-duty home-office work. As a home printer, though, it?s fast and has good output quality, particularly for photos. It even has a touch screen?albeit a small one, but you seldom see them at all at its price.

The 5510 is compact, measuring 5.7 by 17.2 by 12.8 inches (nearly as small as the Epson Stylus NX430 Small-in-One) and weighing 11.1 pounds. It can print, copy, and scan; print from and scan to a memory card (slots are limited to SD/MultiMediaCard and Memory Stick Duo).

The PhotoSmart 5510?s paper tray holds a mere 60 sheets, which may be fine for modest home use, but precludes its use for even light-duty home-office work. It lacks an automatic duplexer (for printing on both sides of a sheet of paper) or any other paper-handling options.

The 5510 supports HP?s ePrint: You can e-mail files as attachments to a unique address that HP assigns to the printer, and it will print out the e-mail and files. Unlike most of HP?s e-All-in-Ones, though, this MFP doesn?t support HP?s Web apps. ?The 5510 is compatible with Apple?s AirPrint, allowing users to print directly to it from an iPhone, iPad, or iPod touch as long as it?s on the same WiFi network as the printer.

The PhotoSmart 5510 offers USB and WiFi (but not Ethernet) connectivity. I tested it connected via a USB cable to a PC running Windows Vista.

Print Speed?

Though it couldn?t match the Editors? Choice Brother MFC-J430W?s ?($100 street, 4 stars) effective speed of 4.3 pages per minute (ppm), the 5510?s 3.7 ppm speed when tested on our business applications suite (timed using QualityLogic's hardware and software, www.qualitylogic.com) is fast for a $99 MFP. I timed the Kodak HERO 3.1 ($99.99 direct, 4 stars) at 3.1 ppm, while the Editors? Choice Kodak ESP C310 All In One Printer ($99.99 direct, 4 stars) was clocked at 2.7 ppm and the Epson Stylus NX430 Small-in-One at 1.7 ppm

The Photosmart 5510 took an average of 1 minute 2 seconds to print out a 4-by-6 photo, a typical score for a budget inkjet.

Output Quality

Output quality is one of the 5510?s strengths, particularly for photos, with text a little below par for an inkjet and graphics typical of inkjet MFPs. Text is fine for schoolwork and general business use, but not for tasks requiring very small fonts.

Graphics quality was par for an inkjet MFP, with banding (a regular pattern of faint lines of discoloration in some images with solid backgrounds) the main issue. In a couple of illustrations, the banding was serious enough to be distracting. Graphics were suitable for schoolwork or for general business use, including PowerPoint handouts, although you might think twice before giving them to a prospective client you?re seeking to impress.

Photo quality was overall very good, with most images better than what you?d expect from drugstore prints. Colors seemed realistic looking, with good saturation. A monochrome image showed a modest tint, but that was the only issue of note.

Other Issues

HP?s claimed running costs for the 5510 are 4.1 cents per monochrome page and 14.9 cents per color page

The HP Photosmart 5510 e-All-in-One is a solid choice for a $100 MFP, providing good speed and respectable output quality, with photos its forte. Its most notable feature is the touch screen, rare on a budget MFP. Its meager 60-sheet consigns it to very light use, which may be just as well as its claimed cost per page?particularly for color printing?is relatively high.

The Kodak HERO 3.1 and Editors? Choice Kodak ESP C310 offer lower claimed running costs and have higher paper capacity, though they?re slower than the Photosmart. And if you?re looking for a more business-centered budget MFP, the Editors? Choice Brother MFC-J430w adds goodies such as fax capabilities and a 20-page automatic document feeder (ADF), and it?s faster than the 5510, though it doesn?t print as pretty photos.

More Multi-function Printer Reviews:

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??? Canon imageClass MF5960dn
??? Canon imageClass MF5950dw
??? Epson Stylus NX430 Small-in-One
??? Brother MFC-J430w
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