A Fax Machine That Does Everything: HP 6210 All-In-One

Years ago I wrote about the frustrations experienced with a former fax in my office. When that fax finally died, the company sent me the latest model they were using universally to cut costs. Delivery brought me a big box; I never imagined the value inside.

The HP 6210 is a sizeable fax machine, but it isn’t just that. It is far more than just a fax machine, in fact. The machine is a fax, copier, printer and scanner all wrapped in one average size machine. As I began to use it for copying, my attention was immediately riveted to the speed of printing. It is not quite as fast as my Lexmark printer, but pretty close.

When occasion arose to receive a fax, I noticed immediately how clear and precise the print seemed as though it were an exact copy of the original. I used it to make some copies. The feed can be done from the top of the machine fed up, which to me was a plus so you can actually see the page that is to be copied (call me crazy), or you can lift the lid and place it on the glass as in traditional machines. The machine scans the image rather quickly and makes a copy within less than half a minute. Remember, this is not an IBM copying machine. You aren’t going to get 60 copies per minute. But for a small machine, it is relatively quick.

As I became more comfortable with the machine, I began to experiment with the scan function of the machine. The All-In-One had come with computer software that I loaded into both my business and personal computers. It allows HP to feed updates into the system files (with approval, of course) and allows the computer programs to talk to the All-In-One. In the case of scanning, the software provides visual imagining programs HP Image Zone and Document Viewer. Image Zone is very similar to Photo Shop and allows you to edit, crop, rotate and doctor pictures. The software has proven valuable through the years I have been using it. I have scanned and edited hundreds of receipts and pictures. The receipts were for business expense reports for the Concur program. The photos have helped me immensely in uploading appropriate pictures to various websites.

Two negatives in regards to this Mack Daddy of All-In-One machines: the cost of replacement ink cartridges is exorbitant. I haven’t tried refill services as of yet, but understand that they could cut my costs. We have to buy our office supplies from Office Depot, so I don’t have much choice. Secondly, this baby hums along with the rhythm of the music. Put it on a sturdy table, because it will shake and shimmy to the point you will swear to an Elvis sighting. This is a function of the speed of the printing and the lightweight of the material used for its outer construction.

One other thing that may irritate some people is the fact that it does not have a phone attached, so you have no ability to speak with someone if they pick up a fax ring on the other end.

The cartridges are very easy to remove and install. Each time you do so the machine will automatically align the new cartridge and align the heads. The machine will let you know visually through a text message on your computer and through auditory beeps if there is a jam or runs out of paper. The tray for paper seems to protect the paper reasonably well as sticking paper because of humidity has never been a problem with this machine as is often the case with copiers.

I have noticed that while it is possible to multitask on this machine, a ringing of the phone (when it is even a separate number and ring, if it is on the same phone line, it will interrupt transmittal of faxes.

The HP 6210 has always given me tremendous service. Hundreds of pieces of paper have run through this copier, printer, fax, and scanner. It has held up superbly. And I’m going to miss it. It belongs to the company, and now that my position has been eliminated, it must go away. But I already have my eyes peeled on a replacement. And you better believe it will be the next version of this HP product.