HP 610 Ink
Deskjet 610 Ink Cartridges

Looking for a cheap run-of-the-mill printer to print minimal pages? If so, the HP Deskjet 610 could be a decent bet for a standard home printer. Don't have too many expectations with this one, though - printing a few pages a month at slow speeds is about all that's going on for this inkjet unit. Compared to most units on the market, it is a little outdated, lacking copying capability, wireless support and Mac compatibility.

This unit uses two HP 610 ink cartridges. One is a tricolor Deskjet 610 ink cartridge that has a 350 page yield, which is less than other HP tricolor tanks such as HP 78 ink, and the 610 black ink has a yield of 500. The maximum resolutions are 300x300 dpi and 600x600 dpi for color and black printer ink, respectively. This resolution won't do much for the eye - most machines in the same price range have much higher resolutions. HP 610 ink might seem cheap upon purchase, but depending on how often it's used, it could become an expense quickly.

Saying that this device prints slow would be an understatement. Using black Deskjet 610 ink, it prints only 5 pages per minute, and using the tricolor printer ink, only 2 pages will be printed per minute. Wanting to print a 5x7 photo easily from home? The 610 will print it, but wait time will be about 4 minutes. For more efficient graphics printing, a unit using Xerox 108R00669 ink would be better. There is no auto-document feeder on the 610, which could also disrupt some lifestyles. For anyone planning to print more than a few pages a month, the printing process could become more of an annoyance than a convenience.

Consumer reviews for the Deskjet 610 are, for the most part, negative. Users complain time and time again about the unreliability and paper jams that come with purchasing this cheap unit - many even complain that it has simply stopped working. A few have praised it for how cheap its HP 610 ink is, however, the low yields cause high cost per page, which is higher than other kinds of ink, such as Canon PGI-5BK ink. This inkjet printer wouldn't be good for people who print often or who don't have a lot of time to sit and put each sheet individually into the unit. But for those with simple printing needs and all the time in the world, this could be a solid investment.