This week, I’ve been test-driving the HP Photosmart 6510 e-All-in-One printer. This model forms part of the new revolution in wireless printing, with a wealth of features packing a punch at US/CDN $150.
I like the combination of matte and glossy black finish and sleek design of the printer.
It’s the amount of features that perked my interest in reviewing the 6510 in the first place:
– Automatic two-sided printing
– Access apps from the touchscreen for printing recipes and games without a computer
– Fun and useful templates for calendars, games, and other projects using HP Quick Forms
– Print photos, documents and copies, scan and get access to apps from print to the web
– Produce lab quality photos; scan using the 3.5 inch colour diagonal screen
– Print on photo quality or plain paper (plus a variety of media) using the automatic paper tray
– Access online photo libraries
– Onboard memory slots to print photos without a computer
– Uses four individual inks, expandable to high-capacity cartridges to save on usage costs
– Print photos and documents while on the go
– Set preferences to who can access ePrint, a service available as a wireless network
– Integrated wireless networking allows cloud printing from multiple computers
– Includes a suite of mobile printing solutions (via a wireless network)
– Print wirelessly from an iPad, iPhone or iPod Touch with AirPrint™
– Consumes up to 50% less paper with two-sided printing
– ENERGY STARⓇ qualified
– Utilizes less than one watt of energy in Off mode
For the purpose of experiencing a typical install, I’ve outlined the steps I took in getting the 6510 ready for action.
The box contains the 6510 in a reusable fabric bag, four ink cartridges, a power cord, software CD and reference guide. There is an optional USB cord available separately as an accessory.
The HP Photosmart software CD is meant for Windows XP, Vista, 7, plus Mac OSX 10.5 and 10.6. As I’m currently running Mac OSX 10.7.2 Lion, I downloaded the software from the HP driver support site, as advised on a sheet that came with the reference guide.
[Photosmart 6510 preference panel]
It took a few moments to run through the four cartridge setup. The printer was easy to unpack, install and plug in with a single power cord (I wasn’t missing the bulky additional AC outlet that’s sometimes included with peripherals).
Once both paper trays (photo paper and plain) and ink cartridges were loaded, the 6510 aligned the four cartridges, giving a progress percentage on the screen. The final screen in the process showed that the cartridges were also calibrated for best print quality.
Next up was setting up the wireless features.
HP online walks you through the entire process, making ePrint registration and user account creation a pretty painless operation. HP ePrint mobile printed a direction sheet to get started. A unique code was also provided.
[HP Photosmart 6510 receiving ePrint code (step 2; code whited out)]
Once at the eprintcenter.com portal, you can either choose to sign up, or sign in to your newly created account using Google, Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, OpenID, or ePrint Center accounts.
Through trial and error, I discovered that you need to have signed up for ePrintCenter first in order to access the others though. The ePrint Center will allow you to create a dedicated email address with the hpeprint.com domain extension.
I registered the printer and noticed that Snapfish is part of HP’s online photo service. By registering my 6510, I was offered (but declined for the time being) 40 free prints as well as online storage and sharing options.
I noticed that with an iPad (1), my estimated wireless print time was one minute. The send time to the printer was fast though. In reality, I actually received the printed 4″ x 6″ photo within 30 seconds. The Photosmart 6510 delivers crisp, colourful prints.
Inserting an SD card from a digital camera allows you to select a photo, as well as rotate, crop, add frame, or PhotoFix the image before sending it off to print.
I printed out a trial-without-error print from a 16GB SDHC card.
Clicking on Apps brings you to a menu filled with options. Apps are shown four to a screen, and include Disney, HP Crafts, MSNBC, QuickForms, Weather, Sudoku, etc. Within HP Crafts for example, I discovered 3D Cars, 3D Trucks, and others. Great for families.
I decided to try printing today’s top stories via MSNBC. What I received was a four page printout of various stories in brief, including colour photos, sidebar content, and a URL at the bottom of each page pointing to hp.com/go/eprintcenter, an online space for sharing feedback and ideas.
Curiously, the date on top of each page was set to November 13 (the previous day) and listed it as Sunday, when in fact it was a Tuesday. Perhaps a small glitch over at MSNBC.
I also scanned in a photo and made a few copies. Scanning can be done one of four ways: photo file, photo to email, document to file, or document to email.
I scanned an image to file that came back with a standard 200 pixels per inch resolution (1,200 x 800 pixel dimension).
Some of the smaller things I noticed:
– The 3.5 inch touchscreen can be tilted forwards and backwards depending on your viewing preference.
– The card reader supports memory sticks as well as SD cards.
PROS
Easy and effortless set up from box to usage
Lots of options within many of the 6510’s functions
One touch will turn off wifi if necessary
The copier will enlarge, reduce, lighten or darken originals, even allowing choice of quality (Best, Normal, or Draft, to save ink)
Four separate inks means not having to replace the entire cartridge when one colour runs low
HP Web Apps offer pretty much something for all ages, from Disney characters to Google Docs and current weather ready to print
Several HP Web Apps are customizable
CONS
Hard to find any! This is a great all-in-one printer that offers excellent value for the price point.
Dimensions: 17.17″ wide, 15″ deep, 6.34″ high
Scan Resolution
Enhanced: up to 19,200 dpi; Optical: up to 1,200 dpi
Print Speed: Up to 11 ppm black, 7.5 ppm colour (maximum 22 ppm black, 22 ppm colour)
Scan Size Maximum: 8.5″ x 11.7″
I was sent the HP Photosmart 6510 e-All-in-One for the purpose of writing this review. Opinions, as always, are my own.
