I have several printers, all HP, one I purchased last year is an HP 5520 all in one just for the scan and copy function for my wife. It is without a doubt the worst HP unit I have seen, to date. It is going into the scrap heap and I am probably going to opt for a Canon unit for her to use. I have a pair of HP C5550 printers that I purchased years ago, one for her and one for me, I have never had an issue with either of them. I have a couple of other stand alone HP's that don't see much use they are probably 5-6 years old, no issues. Typically I prefer and use stand alone scanners over the all in ones but things are changing and she wanted the copy function, so the 5520, as I said I'm tossing it, basic JUNK! Oh and no, you need ALL cartridges on board, you CAN change settings but you will still be using the other inks. As was suggested, for mono/B/W get a Laser unit..you can get some of them fairly cheap, I've seen the little Brother units for 70 to 80 bucks and they work.