expert_witness's Full Review: Hewlett Packard Officejet 5510 All-In-One InkJet P...
I've never really loved this machine -- it replaced an HP G85 multifunction machine (which, in typical HP form, died when a 20 cent part broke and sent a $600 machine to printer heaven. NO ONE repairs HP multifunction machines, certainly not any of their authorized service agents. Call them, they'll tell you.) The only thing I liked about the 5510 was that it's smaller than the G85 (what wouldn't be?) I came very close to returning it that very first day because of the quality (or lack thereof) of its scanning. Quite frankly it's a TERRIBLE scanner. It's sufficient for making a copy of an invoice, perhaps, but if you want to make a good looking scan of a photo, forget it. (I recently purchased a Canon stand-alone scanner and my jaw dropped open when I saw the difference in quality.)
Coupled with the fact that the thing feels like it's made out of flimsy plastic and sounds like it's breaking every time it prints. I did not have high hopes.
But the reason I've tossed it into the trash in fury is because of the ink cartridges. They've designed the machine to require brand new (expen$$$ive) cartridges at regular intervals, and as far as I can tell, refilling them is not a long term option. YES, I've refilled them when the ink runs out, and most of the time they then run just fine - for a while. But they keep track of the number of pages they've printed, and my conviction is that after a certain number of pages it STOPS, whether or not there's life left in the print head.
We're talking about a perfectly good cartridge, which makes a perfectly fine print (no streaking, no gaps, all the colors there) and ten seconds later, suddenly "Remove and check ink cartridge" on an error message. According to "tech support" I have no choice but to install a brand new (expen$$$ive) ink cartridge.
Additionally, the printer is designed so that if you want to print in black and white, you still have to buy a color ink cartridge. I decided I just wanted to use it as a cheap intermittently-used B&W copier, but I still had to fork over $45 for a color ink cartridge just so I could get it to print in black and white.
I threw it in the alley after that incident; I confess I retrieved it before the trash truck came and paid the ransom for a color cartridge. Now it's demanding a black cartridge (won't print with a refilled one) and after talking to Bangalor again, I'm tossing it back in the trash. I've got an Epson printer that makes better prints, and a Canon scanner that makes better scans. What, if anything, is a 5510 good for?
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