HP PSC 2210 All-in-One

WHAT'S HOT: The HP PSC 2210 earned high scores for print and scan quality. The colors on the device's prints were generally realistic, though a bit dark in some places. Its scan quality was second only to that of the Brother MFC-4420C, but it outperformed that MFP in our print and copy tests. The PSC 2210 garnered the best quality scores in our 4-by-5 color and line-art scan tests.

The PSC 2210 had the second-best overall scores in our text and line-art print tests. The sharp, easily readable documents it produced were second only to the HP LaserJet 3330mfp's output in overall quality.

The device's memory-card readers support the CompactFlash, Secure Digital, SmartMedia, and Memory Stick formats. If you're a digital photo enthusiast, you'll appreciate the PSC 2210's photo index system. After you insert a memory card with photos, the device prints a proof sheet containing photo thumbnails. You simply check those you want to print, and then scan the sheet to generate your prints--all without the aid of a PC.

The PSC 2210's built-in fax is easy to use. At the machine's lowest resolution, you can fax up to 50 pages without using your PC. When we faxed at the standard 300-dpi resolution, however, the memory was full after 13 pages.

WHAT'S NOT: The HP PSC 2210 was slow in most of our scan tests. It took 41 seconds to scan a 4-by-5-inch color print at 100 dpi, and it practically crawled at 56 seconds when scanning a one-page Word document (the average MFP scan time for this document was 37 seconds). And at $300, the PSC 2210 is among the more expensive MFPs we looked at.

WHAT ELSE: The Iris OCR engine built into HP's Photo and Imaging software is serviceable, but we didn't find it as useful as the Abbyy FineReader OCR engine used in the drivers of the Dell A940, the Lexmark X5150, and the PrinTrio X75.

The interface of HP's Photo and Imaging software is simple: Its control panel is a 1-inch horizontal bar with big icons that allow easy access to such basic functions as copying and scanning. Though the driver doesn't indicate how much ink you have left when you print, you can find this information elsewhere in the program.

UPSHOT: The PSC 2210 produces some of the best output we've seen from an MFP, but it can be pokey, and it doesn't come cheap.

SUMMARY

HP PSC 2210 All-in-One $