HP 2571 Ink
Photosmart 2571 Ink Cartridges

HP 2571 Printer Review

Aimed at providing an affordable solution for printing photos and documents as well as scanning and copying, the HP Photosmart 2571 all-in-one inkjet delivers. Its maximum print speed of 30 pages per minute seems impressive, though higher-quality settings are significantly slower, and its optional HP 2571 ink supplies add extra cost.

The 2571 is generally compact, though a little boxy. It measures 16.9x17.3x20 inches, but it is very lightweight at only 12.2 pounds, even with two HP 2571 ink cartridges installed. Home users who want to put it away between uses will be especially grateful for this. The machine can connect to either a Windows or Mac system via USB 2.0, and an ethernet port is included for networking as well.

The photo-centric design elements include a bright 2.5-inch color display that can preview photos, and even allows for a few minor edits. High-resolution scanning of up to 2400x4800 dpi will help convert hard-copy photos into bright and vibrant digital copies, and the front of the machine includes both a Pictbridge USB port and several memory card slots for loading images quickly and easily. The HP Instant Share feature can take the guesswork out of sharing photos to the web as well.

The choice of HP 2571 printer ink supplies could easily become confusing. First, users have the choice between standard and high-capacity Photosmart 2571 ink cartridges, but there are also optional "photo color" and "photo gray" supplies to extend the color palette. Neither of these are required, but users who want to utilize them might want to seek out remanufactured Photosmart 2571 ink to keep the cost of extra supplies down.

The Photosmart 2571 inkjet printer isn't the best choice for an office user, with its lack of an automatic document feeder and somewhat slow speeds. For the home user who is mainly interested in photos, however, it is a very capable device.