The cannon MP 210 Printer is advertised as all in one in that it not only prints in black and white, but also scans.  The price of about $59.00 retail is attractive and the ink cartridges when compared to other brands is less expensive making it slightly more attractive to the budget minded buyer.  The printing quality is adequate for home use, but will not fill the bill for detailed work such as required by some offices in which small, fine print or graphs might be required as the printer has some difficulty clearly printing foot and or margin notes.  It will get you by in a pinch for this type of work, but I would not recommend it if this is going to be a major requirement. 

The software is easy to use and installs without glitches.  The printer comes with a pack of free photo paper and does print a decent color photograph, but I would not make this a major use of this printer as the printer is an ink hog.  The cartridges either do not hold much ink or the printing process is wasteful.  Off brand, or refilled cartridges will trigger an internal software response and either shut the printer down or provide false warnings of low ink - the machine can somehow sense if the ink is cannon factory or not.  I am not sure how this feature works, but you can not cut corners on refurbished cartridges or fill your own and will be locked into buying only Cannon refills. Ink cartridge life is a real disappointment with this printer.

The printer will not accept USB cards directly.  In fact it is just a basic printer that is not easily serviced.  The paper feeds through a slot in the rear and there is not a decent support system for it which allows the paper to curl over and if left in this position for a few days will cause some feeding problems.  The top feed slot is prone to jams.  Anything from a mint wrapper to a paper clip will jam the machine up.  In areas where small children are involved and may or may not have access to this printer it is a disaster waiting to happen.  Its flat top makes a handy parking place for small objects from change, toys, lolipop sticks, paper pieces, keys, and just about anything else you can imagine.  They are easily blown into this paper slot by a sudden gust of wind from a door opening, to a bump of the table.  Even the smallest of candy wrappers easily fall into this slot. Once there, they are nearly impossible to see as the printer design is slightly angled away from the front and the operator would nearly have to be looking straight down into the back to see it - assuming anyone takes the time to do this - and once started the forigen object will be pulled into the paper track and that will be the end of the printer.  The gears used to pull the paper into the track are very touchy.  The act of prying a paper jam can destory their ability to pick the paper up and properly feed it.  I know first hand as a cellophane mint wrapper destroyed the one I owned.  To make the situation worse, the paper path is nearly impossible to peer into. It can't be seen when the printer top is raised up, nor can you see into it by looking into the slot.  The owner must take the paper out, unplug everything, turn the back to them, pick it up, and move it back and forth until the right visual angle can been found to allow them to see what is jambed.  Sometimes the jam is inbetween the pick up rollers on the left side of the feed tray and the if the jam gets in between them, one set of rollers are below the plastic housing which can allow the material to wrap around it, making it nearly impossilbe to see without using a flat thin edge like a butter knife to lift the top roller slightly upwards.  Then getting the jam out without upsetting the gears is even harder to do.

A plastic lid does cover this slot and if this printer is used in the home, it would be wise to always remove the paper and close it to keep the accidential small objects out, especially in homes with small children.  This will help, but as any parent can testify small fingers have exploring ways and it is not a foolproof system.  Unlike most printers, there are no removable parts that allow easy access to the jam prone areas.  The Paper tray can not be removed, nor the top of the printer.  It is a uni-body construction making quick repairs impossible. 

The scanner is adequet, but does not allow for automatic lighen or darkeness controls.  These must be done by using a photo program before printing.  For normal black and white printing it will do the job nicely.  The scanner is simple, but the top is not hinged to allow for thick objects such as a book or magazine which does not provide a tight seal for better quality.  For scanning objects like arrowheads, coins, or other thick items for eBay use, the addition of weather stripping on the egdge will help offest some of these limitations, but it causes lid strain and instability. Should the lid accidentally pop off such as by turning the scanner upside down - and that is enough to make it fall off - it is a bear to realign and reinstall.  The scanner buttons are set close toether and are touchy.  It is easy to accidentailly hit the scan or print button when lifting the lid causing the scanner to begin printing whatever you might be wanting to scan. This wastes a lot of ink and paper.  Not an attractive aspect, but if care is taken it can be minimized.   

For overall basic printing I would give it 4 out of 5 stars
For compact size:  3.5 out of 5 stars
For ease of use:  5 out of 5 stars
For ink cost:  3 out of 5 stars
For surviabilty in a home with children:  2 out of 5 stars
For surviability in an office:  3.5 stars out of 5 as something is going to get in the feed tray and destroy it sooner or later.
Scanning Quality normal documents:  5 out of 5 stars
Scanning of thick objects:  2 out of 5 stars - this needs a hinged lid.
Paper feeding:  Weak 2.5 out 5 stars - this needs a major re-design.
Intial Cost:  5 out of 5 stars

Summation:  If you have a nice clean home enviorment and a place where accidents aren't likely this is a great printer for the money.  If you have a busy office with lots of users, and or a home with active children you should get about three months of use before someone destroys it or causes a major break down.  On the plus side, it is inexpensive enough  to simply toss it out an replace it than to repair it.

Recomendations:  Get a front loading printer if a remote chance of a jam is possible.  I think I'm going back to HP.  At least most of them can be openend up and have the jam removed without destorying the machine.