HP Officejet 5610 All-in-One

Pros: Low price, very functional, straight forward

Cons: It is a low end product, envelope feeding is a little cumbersome

Summary: Wanted to get an inexpensive printer/copier/scanner/FAX machine for home use. I had initial concerns because I have an older computer (1.8 GHz) with a USB 1.1. I went to a local Best Buy store and talked with their in-house HP rep. Had a couple of questions regarding the use of a FAX machine and how it interacts with a home answering machine. The HP rep was worthless as he didn't know anything about FAX machines and suggested I talk with a Best Buy employee in the department (amazing!) or call HP. After a lot of followup, searching and reading reviews at this site, I purchased the HP 5610. Couldn't pass by the Best Buy 10% off coupon plus their own $30 rebate. Have had HP printers over the past 14 years and they have been very reliable. I did have some reservations though after reading some of the posted comments, so I wanted to pass along my own personal experience for what it's worth.

Set-up was very easy ........ followed the directions to the T. Software loading was very straight forward and took about 12 minutes. Printed a couple of sheets with no problems. It is faster (and quieter) than my older HP 990 Cse printer, so I was happy, although it was probably a little slower than optimal due to my computer specs. Printing envelopes is a chore as you have to remove one tray and empty the blank copy paper to feed the envelopes. My older printer had an envelope feed slot which overrode the blank copy feeder. Copying was a breeze, although it did slightly cut off one edge of the 8 1/2 x 11 form as reported by others. My wife's Lexar printer/copier/scanner does the same thing. Fixed this by setting the custom copying at 95% of the original which very slightly reduces the image, but it's hardly noticeable. Scanner works like a charm. FAX checks out OK, but haven't used it yet. Also bought extra black-n-white and color ink cartridges as the salesperson told me that the unit only comes with "starter" cartridges that run out quickly. The full cartridges are not that expensive - about $18 apiece.

All-in-all, I'm very happy with the HP 5610 so far. It is a lower cost unit, so there is a lot of plastic here and there. If this is unnerving to some, I'd suggest moving up to a higher cost unit. Have had the HP 5610 for 5 days now and it seems to continue the good performance string that I have with HP printing products.