Wireless connectivity is only one of the tricks that this MFD can perform.
The PSC 2510 is what HP claims as the industry's first All-In-One (AIO) with built-in wireless networking connectivity. That aside, for a competitive price of ~AU$770, we found this multifunction to be surprisingly feature-packed. It brings to the table a 2.5-inch LCD display, 7-in-1 memory card reader, and of course, wired (10/100 Ethernet) and wireless (802.11b) networking capability. If you don't need that much out of a printer, the PSC 2410 is virtually the same machine less the much-hyped networking support, and priced at around AU$220 cheaper. In design, the PSC 2510, 2410, and 2310 don't wander far from their older brethren, the PSC 2210. Besides the slight departure in colour and the introduction of an adjustable 2.5-inch colour LCD (PSC 2410 and 2510 only), you'll be hard-pressed to find any difference externally. While the blue-and-silver of the older PSC 2210 may be more pleasing aesthetically, we favour the dark-grey guise of the PSC 2510 as it won't dirty quite as easily, especially in a SOHO (Small Office, Home Office) environment.
The only indication of Wi-Fi connectivity on the surface comes in the form of a blue LED (Light Emitting Diode) that lights up when a Wi-Fi connection or 10/100 Ethernet is detected from the PSC 2510's network port. When both are connected, the 10/100 Ethernet link takes precedence over wireless. This blue LED is useful and will save users some valuable time when troubleshooting network connection problems.
At this price point, it's not hard to see this multifunction being picked up by home owners seeking to cut down on their cable clutter. While HP gives a detailed description of how to set up the PSC 2510 for wireless use, for the less tech-savvy, the lengthy installation instructions may cause more confusion than good. HP's step-by-step directions suggests you change your current network settings to suit the AIO, just so you can install the drivers. We found this to be troublesome and counter-productive.
We figured the fastest way to set up the PSC 2510 for a wireless environment is to enable Wi-Fi and print the network configuration sheet from the unit. After that, either using an Ethernet cable or wirelessly, configure the AIO to work with your network through a browser just like you would an access point or router. The network configuration sheet that you've printed earlier will have all the necessary information to get you connected. With communication accomplished, all that remains is to run the driver CD on the computers that need access to printing.
Whether you're planning to scan, print, fax or copy, operating this AIO is a breeze. On the front panel, clearly labelled buttons give users one-touch access to scan, copy, fax, and photo print. If one has to nitpick about the user interface, it is the size of the Cancel button. The button is a little too small for practical purposes.On the lower front of the PSC 2510, you'll find the 7-in-1 memory card reader similar to the ones that grace the company's Photosmart range. The onboard reader means more flexibility in printing photos direct from memory media, which is always welcomed.
The machine pops open beneath the scanner bed--much like the hood of a car--to reveal a rather spacious interior. Even though the angle of tilt may seem small, there is enough room to accommodate easy installation or replacement of cartridges.
The PSC 2510 prints quickly and with reasonable quality. In terms of speed, this machine finished our 10-page test in 65 seconds or 9.2 pages per minute. This edges the unit to the front of similarly priced AIOs such as Canon's imageCLASS MP730 or even the manufacturer's own Officejet 7130. For "borderless" A4-sized photo outputs, the PSC 2510 manages to keep up with Canon's speedy multifunction inkjet, churning out prints in 5.5 minutes.We also tried printing wirelessly using a Pocket PC via HP's Mobile Printing software and the timings increased by approximately 2 minutes for the 10-page test. While approximately 1 minute can be attributed to spooling, the other minute was due to a problem with configuration. HP's Mobile Printing program tended to send print jobs of normal quality regardless of setting.
With regard to quality, the prints were commendable. Text came out very clean and legible to even 2pt font size. On the manufacturer's glossy photo paper, the pictures turned out great with little dithering and no banding. However, like the Photosmart 7960 and Deskjet 5652 before it, the driver's default "HP photography" settings caused our outputs to almost always turn out too bright (due to the flash algorithm designed to aid in underexposed images). Switching off these settings allowed our photos to come out perfect.
The scanner and copier of the PSC 2510 did very well with regard to colour fidelity--although the colours were not always matching. This AIO did not produce noticeably washed-out colours when copying. If one does not compare with the originals, the copies from the PSC 2510 will look almost as good. There is one thing to note, however. When scanning pictures with white borders, do not set the multifunction to fit the image to page size. The scanner will ignore the lower and right-most borders as it'll think the image ends there when it detects white spaces.Because the PSC 2510 does not feature an automatic document feeder (ADF), copy speeds will never be decently quick. It took slightly more than 20 seconds to copy one monochrome sheet. Copies of photos took longer at about 5 minutes 40 seconds for high-quality prints.
With its 3,000-page monthly duty cycle and networking connectivity, the PSC 2510 is a worthy candidate for the SOHO environment. With the exception of an ADF or a two-sided printing mechanism such as the one found on the manufacturer's Officejet 7130, you'll find the PSC 2510 a rather complete multifunctional device. I should add that the duplex mechanism can be installed in the PSC 2510 if needed.
In all, we were pleased with the HP PSC 2510. It produces generally good performance with good-quality prints. After the tedious setup in the initial phase, you'll reap the freedom that wireless networking brings, and if you fax only occasionally, this multifunction might just be what you're looking for.
HP PSC 2510
Company: HP Australia
Price: ~AU$770
Distributor: Selected resellers
Phone: 13 13 47
