Customer Reviews

HP Officejet 5510 All-in-One Printer

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(29)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(31)

 

 

All things being equal, I would have to call the HP OfficeJet 5510 one of the best all-around printers / copiers / scanners around. I have reviewed enough all-in-one units now to appreciate a great model when I get to play with one, and after a month of testing, I can honestly say that the OfficeJet 5510 has really impressed me.

Printing is probably the main reason anyone would purchase this unit. The print quality is simply fantastic. Printing text-only pages is very, very fast, much quicker than I was expecting from an ink-jet printer. So quick, in fact, that my nine-year old daughter even commented on it just this morning. I used the OfficeJet 5510 to print out a letter to her school. She asked which printer it would come out, and I pointed to the HP. It was done printing just a few seconds later. Her reaction? "Wow, that was a lot faster than the silver and black printer." The silver and black printer being the Lexmark 5150 I reviewed back in June 2003.

Fast is not always good if the print quality is not up to par. The OfficeJet 5510 has nothing to fear. Using standard high-gloss photo paper and printing a photo from iPhoto, I was simply amazed at the print quality. I have printed many full-page color photos over the last few years, and I can honestly say that the OfficeJet 5510's print quality is one of the best for an ink-jet printer. While no speed demon printing a full-page color print, the print time was respectable.

Paper is loaded from the bottom front of the unit, so it is much easier to see how much paper you have left at a quick glance. Not so with a rear, upwards facing paper tray such as those found on most Lexmark, Epson, and other printers. I much prefer a lower-front loading tray to the other types. My only grip here is that there is no protective cover for the paper tray, meaning that if you don't print something every few days, dust will accumulate, and be run through your printer when you do.

Be aware that the OfficeJet 5510 is not a post-script printer; so graphic professionals will want to look elsewhere. There is also no built-in print sharing with the OfficeJet 5510, nor is it compatible with Rendezvous, but you can share it via USB Print Sharing built-in to OS X.

Speaking of OS X, if you are not using Mac OS X or Mac OS 9.1, and are still a happy OS 9.0 or earlier user, you are out of luck. Like many programs and hardware coming out as of late, the OfficeJet 5510 is not compatible with pre-OS X operating systems. Nor is it compatible with Windows 95, NT, 3.1, or DOS, either.)

Scanning is done via the HP Director software, which you can only get from the included CD-ROM. To deviate from the standard review process for a moment, I would like to point out that HP, while having great products for the most part, has a woefully inadequate support website. The above mentioned HP Director software cannot be downloaded via their website. When Mac OS X 10.3 was released, I had some initial problems printing to the OfficeJet 5510. The problem was unrelated to the HP software, but in my search for a cure I did learn of the poor quality of HP's support pages. What happens if I loose or scratch my HP CD-ROM? I have to order another one. And as of today's date, there is still no software update for the software on HP's website. The same software, HP Director, also controls their digital cameras with their HP Director (Camera). There is also no update for that program online, even though I cannot get it to work under 10.3 correctly. For a company the size and with the reputation they have, I expect better from HP.

Getting back to the OfficeJet 5510 and scanning, I have found that the scanning works great. While I don't especially like the scanning software the OfficeJet 5510 ships with, it does work well. You can access the software directly through Adobe Photoshop as well, via the Import-HP All-in-one Scan in the File menu. You can scan photos or documents from 150x150 DPI up to 19200x19200 DPI. The flatbed scanner performs about the same as most other scanners (and copiers) in this price-range, and there is nothing here. It work fine, has an auto-crop feature, etc...

The true strength of scanning, however, if the 20-page top-load automatic document feeder on top of the OfficeJet 5510. You can set the printer to scan multiple documents (not pictures) up to 20 pages, which is a great feature, one many small or home business users will appreciate.

Usually, when reviewing a multi-function printer / scanner / fax machine, the fax aspect is the least impressive. Using built-in fax software, you have to have your computer turned on to control, send, or receive a fax. Not so with the OfficeJet 5510! HP, realizing how nice it would be to be able to send and receive faxes, has taken the need to have a computer out of the equation. Simply plug the OfficeJet 5510 into your phone jack, and you can control all the fax features from the built-in LCD display. This is a great feature, one I overlooked when my testing first started. I now feel that this is one of the best selling points to the unit, and one I did not realized I missed so much from other units.

Specification:

Print quality 1200 x 1200 dpi

Connectivity: USB

Print speed, black: Up to 17 ppm

Print speed, color: Up to 12 ppm

Compatible operating systems: Microsoft Windows 98, 98 SE, 2000, Me, XP; Macintosh OS 9.1, OS X

Scanner type: Flatbed

Automatic document feeder 20 sheets

Media sizes: Letter, legal, executive, cards, 3 x 5 to 8.5 x 14 in (using ADF)

Color fax: yes

Fax transmission speed: 3 sec per page

Fax memory: 90 pages

Fax autoredial: Yes

Fax PC interface: Yes (sending only

Fax auto-reduction: Yes

Fax delayed sending: Yes

Copy speed, black: Up to 17 cpm

Copy speed, color: Up to 12 cpm

Copy settings: Stand-alone copying: fit-to page (from glass only), 100%, reduce/enlarge

Maximum number of copies: Up to 99 copies

Bit depth: 36 bit

Levels of grayscale: 256

Software included: HP Photo and Imaging Gallery: HP Director, HP Photo Gallery, HP Image Editor, HP Instant Share, HP Photo Prints, HP Creative Projects, HP Quick 4 x 6 prints, HP Memories Disc DVD Creator, ReadIris OCR, HP Send to Programs

Dimensions (w x d x h) 18 x 11.3 x 9.25 in (18 x 17.8 x 9.25 with tray fully extended)

Weight: 11.8 lb

Warranty: One-year limited hardware warranty backed by HP Customer Care, service and support; one-year technical phone support, plus a toll-free number in North America only

This is a great printer for both the new and veteran computer user wanting an all-in-one printing solution. Fantastic execution in functionality and usability. Small, compact design in an attractive package.

Well worth the money and investment.

MyMac Rating: 5 out of 5

In search of a machine that would be compact and efficient enough to serve as an all around tool, I researched several brands and models that are with-in the less than $250 price range.

I've always find it cost effective to go to Costco to get prints off of my digital camera rather than print pictures on a color laser or inkjet printer, so photo quality was not a concern in my quest. I did however require an auto-document feeder, which comes in extremely handy when faxing pages and pages of documents.

Dell had the A960, which is a spin-off of the Lexmark X6170. These printers caught my attention but upon reading the specifications (lack of fax memory), seeing it up-close and after inspecting the prints it produced, I had to find something better. I looked at and tested Brother's $149.00 entry to the "all-in-one" market but aside from having a slow fax modem (14.4kbps), plasticky and flimsy looking, the prints were not too good either. Personally, I prefer Epson printers because of overall performance, print quality and design, but since Epson's all-in-one does not come with fax capabilities, I turned to HP.

HP offers several all-in-one models with auto-document feeder to choose from starting from this 5500 series all the way to the 7100 series, which cost a lot more. I did not need the built-in card readers, wanted a very small overall footprint and wanted something affordable so I chose the HP5510v. I tried the 6100 series as well and aside from having more on-board buttons it slightly has an edge over the 5510 in terms of print quality. Bear in mind though that I had the prints inches away from my face trying to compare and scrutinize the differences. In the end $100+ difference between the 2 was more noticeable.

I have Win XP on my machine and I would have to say that setup was simple and easy enough if you follow the setup poster to the letter. Other reviewers had issues with driver setup and had to call HP customer support and got connected to a tech person in India, which in the end caused more problems. I'm guessing that because we've been so accustomed to hooking up the new device first before installing the driver/software, people tend to do just that. With the 5510, you have to begin installation of the printer driver/software using the CD first, and then wait until it instructs you to connect the printer to your PC. So make sure you read the instructions carefully.

The install CD uses a chunk of your hard disk space if you want everything installed. You can however opt to have just the drivers installed. Doing so will save you hundreds of Megs. You can also download installers from the HP website. I did that and burned the drivers on a CD just incase, but the supplied install CD worked just fine.

After installing the driver/software, I was able to do pretty much everything the all-in-one promised. However, I have not tested the fax function yet. I also noticed after installation that by pressing the scan button repeatedly, it cycles through my PC's installed photo editing software even Word! This allows you to dictate the scanner where to send the scanned image immediately after scanning. The time and date on the printer's LCD screen also adjusted automatically based on the time and date I have on my PC!
If you have an answering machine on the same telephone number, make sure you follow the manual on how to hook it up so that the fax machine can still receive faxes by "listening" to incoming messages and detect a fax tone while your answering machine is recording. I have yet to test this feature but I think HP did a great job and did everyone a favor by doing this.

Prints from the 5510 surprisingly came out very nice looking even on draft mode and on plain paper. Scanning using the auto-document feeder is not the fastest but was not slow either. It produced a very crisp and clear scanned image directly onto my software of choice destination. Copying in fast mode produced a good enough copy of my son's colored school calendar, which is now held by a couple of magnets against our refrigerator door. Like I said, I will have to test the fax capabilities although it does sport a fast 33.6kbps modem and supports black and color faxing, enabling you to transmit and receive color faxes.

All in all, I am very happy with this HP5510v all in one. However ...

Cons:

I knew it did not come with a USB cable so I had to get that before the printer arrived. Fortunately I knew where to get a USB cable cheaper as those things can run from $24 and up adding to the cost of the printer!

When I was doing the pen alignment utility feature as per the printer's instructions, it could not find the pen alignment sheet on the scanner when I tried to follow the paper orientation as shown on the setup poster. I did that several times and no luck. I finally rotated the paper 180 degrees; the printer scanned it and finally said, "alignment complete". It's funny because the same thing happened when I tested the pen alignment feature on one of the store's display model.

The HP inks for this machine, as everybody else noted can cost a lot of money. So make sure you find the best deals when you shop for HP inks.

Enjoy and HP(Happy Printing)!


>>>>>> UPDATE: September 28, 2004 <<<<<<

Faxing from the machine went without a hitch, and yes I used the auto document feeder!

I also tried to fax from our office fax machine which allowed colored transmission. The 5510 received and printed it out in color and it looks as if someone had printed the document off of the PC. Yes it's that clear and in color! No more fuzzy fax!

By the way, when I tried the color faxing experiment above, my answering machine picked up the call first, as it should, and after a few 'beeps' from the office fax, the 5510 took over the call and started receiving the fax. (You can read more about that inside the manual.) Happy Reading!

I've had this All-in-One for several months now and I'm pretty satisfied with my purchase. I've been printing a LOT of bw and color documents and the print quality is solid. This is one of the only AIO machines that has a flatbed AND an automatic document feeder for copying and scanning. Amazon seems to have the best price right now.

For someone who is going to be printing a lot of documents, esp in color, keep in mind that a set of replacement ink cartridges (one black and one color) for this printer will cost you $50. Heavy users may want to look at the next higher model, which I've heard uses cheaper and longer-lasting ink cartridges.

Some of the Software issues mentioned in previous reviews are warranted, I had some slight problems even with my brand new computer, though I think HP has since posted updates. In general buy it for the machine, not for the software.

The 5510 is an exceptional value. It copies well. Its print quality is excellent -- no support for the "photo" ink cartridge, but that doesn't seem to matter much. And it's surprisingly fast. Scanning looks okay, though I haven't really worked it hard. Having a multi-sheet fax/copier feeder and a flatbed scanner in this price range is amazing.

The weak point is in the software. Installation (on Win98) was no fun. Installing per instructions from the CD, it did not work right, and broke printing. HP's email support (one hour response from India at 1AM EST!) had the fix: Uninstall, copy the CD to hard drive (600MB), and reinstall from there. Keep that in mind if you buy one.

And, most disappointing, it often WILL NOT PRINT OVER A NETWORK. While not a Winprinter (it uses LIDIL), the fine print (on the support web site) says it won't. CS is more accurate: It prints "within a platform", so a Win98/ME box can print to a Win98/ME server (drivers transfer automatically), but not between NT/2K/XP and 98, or Linux and Windows. This is a real pain in a heterogeneous home environment. They really should fix this, though I fear it's a misfeature designed to sell costlier 6610s (which add network printing).

Best thing about HP all-in-ones is you can use the copier and fax without the computer on. This is a great machine at a very good price. The install is tricky: I think other reviewers that had trouble may have not followed the directions exactly (they're a little odd) or may have aborted before it was finished, because it does nothing visible for very long times. The install took over an hour on my WIN98 computer, and the software takes up over 900K. But, once in, the printer is great. Black text looks very crisp. Laser quality equivalent. (You do need to use over 24lb. paper, the 20lb. cheap stuff I use with our Laser doesn't work well.) Is is very fast. Photos look fairly good, even with the four color ink, and are very very fast. The machine is not too noisy. It is very small and cleanly designed. Paper inputs and outputs are on the front, so it can go back against a wall on a desk. The scanner works well. I haven't tested the multipage feeder yet, but it is only good for 20 pages or so. Overall, very pleased with this unit. Good combo for a home office. I would give it 5 stars but for the software install time and size.

This printer was fine until I changed cartridges and a contact was dirty. Now it won't quit printing alignment pages all the time. I have about a million now, and its cost me a fortune in ink. Every 3 or 4 print jobs and I get another one.

I've spent hours with technical support, who keep leading me through the same old song and dance, disconnect the usb cable, hit some buttons, print another page I don't need, and scan. Voila it works! Case finished.

NO IT IS NOT.

The tech support people don't speak English and it shows in their grammar and inability to understand that my problem seems to be a variant on what they have in their knowlege base.

HP would do better to hire native English speakers. I'll never buy another HP printer.

Oh, they print fine, that is, if you want a million alignment pages.

Ideal for home offices and small businesses -- fax, printer, scanner, and copier in one compact unit. Really very satisfied with the performance of this unit.

Installation was a "breeze" -- 45 min. from start to finish. Installation is not complicated at all. A large poster size illustration show how installing has to be done. Just follow the steps. Even an 8yr old can do it !! Installed the entire software which I admit was too big. Setup was very easy -- for example adding fax cover sheet, setting dual side printing etc.

Very happy with the speed and the print quality. Scanned output was great and so was the FAX output. You can scan to various destinations -- email, file, Word, paint, Powerpoint etc. Print quality is fantastic compared to my existing printer. It is "ultra fast" compared to my Canon S400 printer -- though this is an apples to oranges comparison.

Remember the following ::-

1) Dual side printing, you have to move the sheets from "out" tray to "in" tray. It prints all the "odd" sheets first and then the "even" sheets. Software clearly illustrated what needs to happen.
2) If you not using HP supplied phone cord, please use the provided 2-wire phone cord adapter.
3) You can download software upgrades easily through HP Director
4) You can use the copy and fax options even if the computer is not connected.
5) You can change the scan destination list via HP Director
6) Word, Powerpoint and Paint have to be open before you start the scanning process. It does not start these application if they are closed.
7) You can either scan the document placed on the scanning glass or feed the document
8) Scan / copy / Fax in "Black" even if the document is color. Just press the required button. Really like this feature because we seldom require Copies or Faxes in color.
9) Most of the problems mentioned here have been address ( with solutions ) on HP's website. (...)
Cons ( so far )
-- HP Director software is huge, about 1 GB
-- No power saver node

Haven't tried the following yet ::-
-- receiving faxes
-- scanning and print photos

Worth every bit of the 5 star rating !!

the device works fine but the software is a major pain in the butt. it took me a few days to get it working correctly (esp. the scanner). and i had to download the latest software from hp with is an amazing 354 megs!! unbelievable. now i've got it working, but the software is huge, memory intensive, and is generally a pain.

I was skeptical when considering an all in one. I'd purchased a nnew Dell Dimention computer, and it came with a Dell a940 all-in-one. I'll be writing about that fiasco in a minute... yikes. Anyhow, after reading reviews here on Amazon and at other sources, I screwed up my courage and purchased an HP 5510. I'll never regret my decision... it's an absolute dream. Setup was NOT difficult as others say, albeit it did take a little while, but good things come to those who wait. I suspect that the reason that people had trouble installing this machine is that they did NOT take the time and effort to read and follow the directions. They are plain, easy, and informative. Also, this machine is for USB 2.0 and not below, as stated on the HP website. It is FULLY compatible with Windows XP, and is NOT loud as others say it is. It's a brilliant machine, and it comes with my highest recommendation.

I loved this unit at first, but after a little over a year of ownership, I wish I didn't own it! The ADF has continuously given me problems. My current problem is that printing one page it taking 10-20 minutes!!!! I was on the phone with HP trying everything to fix it to no avail. They decided it needed physical service, which as another reviewer stated, would cost about as much as it would to just buy a new one. I'm buying a Konica color laser printer and a Canon laser fax machine. I'll also be buying a separate scanner. This all-in-one idea doesn't seem to work long term. This is also my 3rd HP printing machine in 2 years. I think their quality has gone completely downhill.