HP Photosmart C4180 All-in-One Multifunction Printer

By Yahoo! Shopping User  Dec 13, 2008

you get what you pay for.

By Yahoo! Shopping User  Dec 18, 2007 | 1 out of 1 found this HP Photosmart C4180 All-in-One review helpful

Pros: Integrated card reader, LCD screen

Cons: Doesn't come with USB cord, Prints smudge easily,huge power brick,photo paper attachment

I really wanted a printer and scanner for my college work and so I went and got myself a Lexmark wireless printer. But since that wasn't compatible with leopard, I took it back, and got it replaced for a Hp C4180 because apparently, HP had drivers available for leopard.

I unboxed it. It came with a lot of useless junk like HP cd labels and hp photo paper sample...ok, I admit that photo paper isn't completely useless, but a USB cord in the package would have been VERY useful. I had no problem setting it up (Because I had kept the USB cord that came with the Lexmark printer) But the huge power-brick hanging from my table irked me. After downloading new drivers from the HP website, I was well on my way to using the printer. But it wasn't all smooth sailing.

First, I had to spent around 15 minutes trying to figure out how the dumb 4x6 photo paper attachment was supposed to go into the tray. I wonder why its even there! Another piece of hardware to take care of and keep track of. huh! Anyways, I gave the print command from photoshop lightroom(photo organizing/managing software) And watched the printer take in the first sheet, and immediately spew out most of it... and in the last part, started printing. And as you'd expect, it didn't finish printing the photo on there, and took in the next sheet too! I have thrown that away, or else, I'd have put up a picture of it here. On other occasions, wanting to print border-less has resulted in disasters... with the paper jamming or the print being misaligned.

Scanning was a problem too. When I tried to use file import Hp scan Pro in photoshop, it always resulted in photoshop crashing. I am using cs3 with all the updates applied. So I was forced to use HP's stupid scan pro application. It does have a nice 'scan tiff to adobe photoshop' option, and it would have been ok, had it not been for the automatic exposure adjustments. It always overexposed the drawings and photos. I had to manually go in for each scan and get the highlights and shadows back to zero. I really hope they work on these things.

The other day, I took some pictures and wanted to transfer them to my computer. And I figured I'd try putting it in the card reader on the printer. And luckily, I could access the card on my computer! So this can also work as a card reader for your computer, besides being able to print directly from the card! But the lexmark one also had a USB port which this one doesn't. But I thought this feature was really neat!

Then the final straw was the smudging of the ink! I print out my artwork for putting up in my room or submitting to the teachers. I also made stickers and was intending to print cd labels. But the ink is so unstable, that slightest amount of wetness will smudge it. I have sweaty palms. And so me resting my hands on those pieces while working with them results in it getting smudged and destroyed. Wet fingers destroyed a photograph by smudging the ink. Plus, my hands got black. Its like the ink never really dries! This is wasting very expensive photo paper. So I decided to take it back.

What I also did like was the lcd screen which can be tilted upto 90 degrees from flat. Its nicely readable, and provides information and access to features. This I thought was a great adition to the printer that can print directly from memory cards. yeah, forgot to add, It also came with another faceplate with instructions in french (canada is bilingual.)

So buy this printer if you don't care about durability or life of your photographs. or if you only want to print documents. the scanner is alright, not very lazy like most, and I didn't get around to testing the copier functions.

By Yahoo! Shopping User  Oct 29, 2007

Compact Printer That Packs a Punch

By Yahoo! Shopping User  May 12, 2007 | 2 out of 2 found this HP Photosmart C4180 All-in-One review helpful

Pros: Excellent print quality, both text & photo

Cons: Nothing major to whine about

I have had the C4180 for over 4mos. now and it's been working great! The LCD & control panel make it easy and efficient to use, and both text & picture copies come out crisp, clean, and clear, in a matter of seconds. With the ink cartridges that were included when I bought the printer, I was able to print out up to 30 pictures (4x6in borderless), which could rival studio-developed prints, only because the photosmart software enables me to make the necessary improvements in my pictures, in a simplified manner. And I love the feature where I can use the software to email pictures in a snap, no need for huge file attachments!

The photo-paper cassette is a welcome novelty since it hides away in its own space-saving compartment,so it can safely store 4x6in photo paper (up to 20sheets, according to the printer manual..but I recommend only up to 10 or so, depending on the weight of the photo paper; just to ensure printing goes on smoothly and to avert possible paper jams. Wouldn't want to waste precious photo ink!), keeping it wrinkle-free and always at hand, until it's ready for use.

And when you're all done, the input paper tray folds up securely to close the printer into a compact and neat little package, that is definitely no eyesore in anyone's home office. The C4180 gets the job done in a big way, and I'm really impressed with its performance. Looks like me and this printer are going to be friends for some time to come! :)

By Yahoo! Shopping User  May 5, 2007

By Yahoo! Shopping User  Jan 28, 2007

By Yahoo! Shopping User  Dec 20, 2006

Superb All-in-one

By Yahoo! Shopping User  Dec 11, 2006 | 6 out of 6 found this HP Photosmart C4180 All-in-One review helpful

Pros: Smart design/compact

Cons: difficulty in loading ink cartridge

What an amazing printer I just bought from PC world. This printer is even ahead of the next-generation successor of the same lineage, i.e, the C5180, talking of design-smartness.

To the naked eye, once the scan and print resolution are above 1200X2400 dpi, the difference is indistnguishable in any case.

But this printer truly scores in it's super-compact designing, especially the cleverly built photo-paper storage tray (which simply stows away when not in use). Also, the paper carriage tray folds up neatly, keeping it dust free and making it ideal for tight spaces.

It has been slashed down to €120 to compete with an Epsom in the same price range,and I think, printers can't come any better for that price.

DPI/resolution notwithstanding, the print quality of all HP printers is easily by far the best in any case. I personally don't think even HP can come up with a better printer than this one.

Love it's horizontal slots for the memory cards, they always work better than vertical slots.

As regards ink consumption, too early for me to comment yet.

C4180 Overall Great Printer

By Yahoo! Shopping User  Oct 7, 2006 | 13 out of 13 found this HP Photosmart C4180 All-in-One review helpful

Pros: Photo Paper Tray with Storage

Cons: Phot Ink Cartridges do not last that long

I've had this printer for 2 weeks now and I love it. I scaled down from a photo printer, regular printer, and separate scanner. I kept my laser printer though.

The photo quality is great and they are water proof. As long as you do not let a print "sit" in water, then you can wipe it off and it is still in great condition.

My only complaint is that the cartridges do not last that long, especially if you forget to change from the photo cartridge to a regular cartridge for normal printing.

The best feature is the photo paper storage tray. It slides into the side when not printing photos and keep the paper wrinkle free and ready to go in a snap.

For the price, you can’t go wrong. While the price is the same on most sites, if you check the sites, you can find one with free shipping. HP was offering free shipping when I ordered the C4180.