HP PhotoSmart 7510 e-All-in-One Review

The HP PhotoSmart 7510 e-All-in-One ($199.99 direct) is a multifunction printer (MFP) geared primarily to home use, though its automatic document feeder (ADF) and paper capacity give it some home-office chops. It does print beautiful photos, and has a large touch screen and can take advantage of HP's ePrint and Web app services.

The 7510 measures 8.7 by 17.9 by 17.7 inches and weighs 18.5 pounds. A 4.3-inch tilt-up touch LCD lies to the left of the It can print, copy, and scan (as well as fax wirelessly through eFax); work as a standalone Web-enabled device; print from and scan to a memory card (slots are limited to SD/MultiMediaCard and Memory Stick Duo), but it lacks a port for a USB thumb drive.

It has a 125-sheet main paper tray and a 25-sheet photo-paper tray, plus an automatic duplexer for printing on both sides of a sheet of paper. A 25-sheet automatic document feeder (ADF) lets you copy, scan, and fax multi-page documents.

The 7510 can run HP's Web apps; several come pre-loaded, with their icons appearing carousel-style at the top of the 4.3-inch touch LCD, and more can be added through the HP ePrintCenter. Pre-installed Web apps include Snapfish, Facebook, DreamWorks, QuickForms, Tabbloid, Crayola, and Travel Guide.

The 7510 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. The 7510 is also 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.

It also has built-in support for eFax Internet faxing, a third-party service that lets you send up to 20 fax pages and receive up to 20 pages per month for free, no phone line needed. (After those free pages, subscription charges kick in.) The printer is assigned an eFax phone number to which you can direct your clientele to send faxes. Faxes received at that number are automatically sent over the Internet to your printer for you to output. To send a fax, you just touch the eFax icon on the touch screen, type in the number, and press Send. We can attest to the fact that eFax works, but whether it would be cost effective for you depends on how much you expect to fax, and how much a dedicated phone line for a fax would cost. (Note that eFax is owned by J2 Global, the parent company of PCMag's publisher, Ziff Davis.)

The PhotoSmart 7510 offers USB and WiFi connectivity. I tested it over USB connection, with its driver installed on a PC running Windows Vista.

Print Speed

The 7510 turned in a respectable 3.7 ppm speed when tested on our business applications suite (timed using QualityLogic's hardware and software, www.qualitylogic.com). It's a little short of the Epson Stylus NX625 ($149.99 direct, 4 stars) and Brother MFC-J825DW ($150 street, 4 stars), both Editors' Choice models that we clocked at 4.0 ppm, but faster than the 2.9 ppm turned in by the Canon Pixma MG6220 Wireless Inkjet Photo All-in-One ($199.99 direct, 4 stars).

The Photosmart 7510 took an average of 1 minute 19 seconds to print out a 4-by-6 photo, an acceptable speed.

Output Quality

Photo output quality is one of the 7510's strengths, 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 or documents such as resumes with which you seek to convey an impression of professionalism.

Graphics quality was par for an inkjet MFP. Although generally the graphics looked very good, several illustrations showed significant banding (a regular pattern of faint, thin white lines in some images with solid backgrounds). Graphics were easily suitable for schoolwork or for general business use, including PowerPoint handouts, but bear close inspection giving them to a prospective client you're seeking to impress.

Photo quality was above par, 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 15.6 cents per color page, a bit on the high side.

Lack of ports for a USB thumb drive or Ethernet make the HP PhotoSmart 7510 e-All-in-One most appropriate for home use, as does its above-par photo quality, but its paper capacity and automatic document feeder make it suitable for home-office use as well. If your fax needs are limited, eFax Internet faxing is a plus, but when subscription fees kick in after your limited monthly faxing allotment, it might not be cost-effective versus a dedicated fax line.

There are faster MFPs in the 7510's class, such as the Epson Stylus NX625 and Brother MFC-J825DW , while the Canon Pixma MG6220 provides comparable photo quality and considerably greater paper capacity (two 150-sheet trays are standard). But the HP Photosmart 7510 is a capable and fun MFP for home (and home-office, if need be) use, with HP's Web app and ePrint functionality behind it.

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