HP Photosmart C4180 All in One Printer, Scanner, and Copier

List Price: $183.00 Discount Price: $89.99

Features:

• Thermal Inkjet Printer/Scanner/Copier with 32MB Internal Memory
• Up to Up to 4800 x 1200-optimized Color Print Speed
• 30ppm Blk/24ppm Clr Copy Speed/2.4 InLCD (Color Graphics) Display
• Flatbed 48 Bit Color Depth Scanning with 30ppm Blk/24ppm Clr
• 12.00 lbs (WxLxH) 7.80" x 17.00" x 6.40"

Accessories:

3-Year Extended Service Plan - Covers Electronic Items $0-$200 - Repair

Customer Reviews:

Decent print quality and functionality  [Posted on 2007-11-26]
General Thoughts:

After looking at a friend's HP F380, I decided to get an all-in one printer, but wanted one that had a better duty cycle, so I ended up buying the C4180. It was a replacement for my HP 3820 USB printer, which had died a couple years back after owning it for barely a year and never printed that good to begin with. This is a much more reliable unit and follows the HP tradition of quality a lot better. Print quality is pretty good, and it can scan/copy without having the computer on. Nice feature when one is in a bit of a hurry - This printer worked really good right from the start. My take on the features and performance is as follows:

What's Cool:

Very easy to setup and get working.
It's fast for a cheaper printer.
Useable scanner, if not stellar.
Decent copy quality, even in color mode.
Nice onboard display - useful for seeing more information, and it shuts itself off to preserve itself.
Very easy to setup and use right out of the box.
Works like a USB printer SHOULD work - that is to say it's going to work as a UID device with Windows 2000, XP and Vista with no quibbles.
Separate photo paper loader is nice plus for a printer of this price range.
Has a universal media reader - almost. My camera uses the original Sony memory stick format and it's not supported - only will take memory stick pro or newer (original won't fit into slot).
Has standalone functions onboard for scanning, printing and copying that don't require the computer/print server it's connected to be on.
Built in calibration - and will automatically calibrate when new ink cartridges are installed - you don't have to calibrate it manually thru the software.

What's Lame:

Nickel and Dime mentality - included ink cartridges are not fully loaded and you don't get a USB cable.
No Ethernet port.
Has a tendency to spit printed material out on the floor since there is no paper guard in the paper input/output tray.
The software suite takes entirely too long to install and is very obtrusive - and once installed it constantly looks for updates and tends to get in the way on the desktop - which was a bit pompous on HP's part - modules running in the background or system tray should stay there until you call it up.
Online registration is a bit annoying too - be careful when registering - and watch which boxes are checked before submitting it - if you don't pay attention you will start getting junkmail and promotions you don't want.

Overall:

The HP C4180 appears to be a decent performer - HP won back my confidence after the disaster I had with the 3820. Whereas the 3820 pretty much only printed text ok (and smeared everything else), the C4180 prints text and photos pretty well, and is a reasonably fast deskjet printer. I wouldn't recommend it for serious photo printing, but for general purpose use it's a good choice.

4 stars for this product - mainly because of the obnoxious functionality in the software suite. Otherwise it's a solid printer and should offer years of general purpose service.

Great Printer [Posted on 2007-11-27]
I hooked this printer up to an HP desktop that runs on Vista software. Instalation was easy. I just plugged the USB cable in and the Computer did all the proper installations by itself. Ive had this printer for about 6 months and really have no complaint. It is fast, quiet and very reliable in all its functions.

Incompatible with Windows Vista [Posted on 2007-12-12]
After many problems with this printer I just threw it away. I had a heckuva time getting it to work with Windows Vista, then when it did work it did so reluctantly, quirkily and unreliably. Also, the software that came with the printer seemed to slow down the computer's workings, as though there was always something going on behind the scenes. It didn't work well with Windows XP either. I think the software was the main problem. It seemed to be a massive file, which required quite some time to delete from both of my computers.

If you love "Carriage Jam", this is the printer for you. [Posted on 2007-12-13]
Third HP printer we've owned. First one was an old model, and it was passable as a color inkjet printer. The second one, a 550, printed well enough, but for some strange reason the printer driver and setup page would always revert to Spanish, no matter how many times we reinstalled. Eventually, it quit working altogether.

So that brings us to the C4180. We needed a printer after the last two fiascoes, and this one was a reasonable price. We've had this printer now for about a year. At first, it worked very well. Scanning is great. The print quality is good. Then, as time went on, the infamous "Carriage Jam" occurred more and more frequently. Send a print job. The paper pulls in about half way, and then error. Absolutely no reason for it- new, fresh paper, no wrinkles, clean, etc. Put it in exactly straight. I've tried it with one sheet, a few sheets, full of paper, it doesn't matter. It still jams.

With the tiny amount of ink they give you with this printer, it wasn't long fighting with carriage jams that it finally ran out of ink. So i run to the store, pick up two new ones and install them. Or, let me go back. I go to install them and there is a random spring laying in the area where the ink cartridges go. The old ones came out easily, no forcing or anything that should cause a spring to pop loose from God knows where. Since it is completely detached on both ends, and I have no way of knowing where it goes, I proceed to put in the new cartridges. Everything after that goes smoothly, they align correctly, test page comes out, great.

Now, after a few successful printings, it won't print at all without a carriage jam. Followed all of HP's directions for correcting this to no avail. Wife is in the process of emailing HP and figuring out if there is anything to do with this thing.

After three HP printers that have apparently failed - and these printers see extremely light use, we may have gone through a total of three reams of paper for the three- I've finally learned my lesson. No more HP printers for me. I'm not sure if anyone else's printers are any better, but they certainly can't be any worse.

Works great after a year BUT!!!!!!!! [Posted on 2008-03-08]
This is a nice printer. I have had it since Dec 2006. It scans well and prints well. The pictures that I have printed are great--especially using HP paper. So why do I rate this as a 2 star? Because of the ink cartridge. They are less expensive. A black cartridge will run you $14, the color maybe $17. Sounds great, right? Wrong--there is only 5 ml of ink in the cartridges. Folks that is a teaspoon worth of ink! We go through cartridges like Sherman went through Atlanta. As soon as I can I'm getting another printer.

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