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HP Photosmart C6180
Manufacturer: HP Part number: Q8181A#ABA
- More product information:
- Editors' review
- User reviews
- Specifications
- Accessories
- Manufacturer info
- Bottom Line:
- The HP Photosmart C6180 all-in-one tries to be everything to everyone, and ultimately it fails to meet this lofty goal. It's a good printer at a decent price, however, for the home user who wants to consolidate all tasks into one machine.
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CNET editors' review
HP Photosmart C6180 price range: $307.99
- Reviewed by: Felisa Yang
- Edited by: Matthew Elliott
- Reviewed on: 03/19/2007
- Released on: 09/08/2006
The good: Built-in networking, including wireless; supplies ADF and media card reader; PictBridge port can be used to connect storage devices; great print quality and good scan quality; dedicated photo paper tray.
The bad: Task speeds are a bit slow; color prints can be expensive; photo print features need to be fleshed out.
The bottom line: The HP Photosmart C6180 all-in-one tries to be everything to everyone, and ultimately it fails to meet this lofty goal. It's a good printer at a decent price, however, for the home user who wants to consolidate all tasks into one machine.
The $300 HP Photosmart C6180 is a photo printer by name but has office-printer tendencies by function. The inclusion of an automatic document feeder, built-in networking (including wireless), and fax functionality make it attractive as an office printer, but its task speeds are too slow for all but the smallest offices. It offers great print quality, but it lacks photo features. While it excels in neither role, it's a decent all-around all-in-one for a home user who wants a machine that can do everything. If your needs tend to the office functions and you have to have faster task speeds, the comparably priced Canon Pixma MP830 is a good choice, though you lose fax functionality and a bit of print quality. If you're leaning toward a truly photocentric all-in-one, check out the $200 Canon Pixma MP600.
Design
The HP Photosmart C6180 AIO is quite compact for a multifunction that includes a flatbed scanner. It measures 17.5 inches wide, 15.2 inches deep, and 9.2 inches tall, and weighs nearly 23 pounds. There are handwell-like indentations on either side of the printer, but it would be a stretch to call them handwells, as they are too shallow to serve as such.
The automatic document feeder (ADF) sits atop the scanner lid and can hold up to 50 sheets of letter- or A4-size paper or 35 sheets of legal-length paper. Though the flatbed scanner can accommodate only A4 originals, you can scan legal-size documents using the ADF.
Mounted on the front of the printer are four media card readers and a PictBridge-enabled USB port. The media card slots can take a wide range of cards, though some require adapters. You can connect PictBridge cameras to the USB port to print photos directly, or you can attach a USB storage device, such as a thumbdrive or a hard drive.
The C6180 AIO employs HP's consolidated paper system. The main input tray pulls out partway for easier loading, and adjustable paper guides help you align everything from envelopes to legal paper. Above the main paper cassette is a dedicated photo paper tray that holds 4x6 sheets and smaller. Finally, above both inputs is the output tray, which flips up to allow access to the input trays. A small window in the output tray lets you see whether the photo tray is empty.
The control panel on the C6180 is quite busy because each function has its own set of buttons, including menu and start buttons. Additionally, there is an alphanumeric keypad, menu navigation buttons, and some photo shortcut buttons, including zoom, preview, reprints, and Photo Fix. Rounding out the control panel is a 2.4-inch color LCD display that pivots through a range of almost 90 degrees so you can optimize the viewing angle.
The HP Photosmart C6180 employs a six-ink/six-cartridge print system. Because the tanks aren't attached directly to the printhead, changing them (even while the printer is powered down) is a snap. Black cartridges cost $18 and each color cartridge costs $10, so changing the whole lot will cost you $68. Based on HP's estimates of cartridge yields, we estimate that a black page costs about 2.7 cents and a full-color page costs just over 10 cents. The color estimates for both the Canon Pixma MP830 and the Dell Photo 966 are lower.
Features
The Photosmart C6180 comes chockablock full of features that blend a photo-oriented printer with a more business-minded one. You can connect to the printer directly via USB or mount it on a network so everyone can share. Even better, you can network the printer wirelessly, as it comes with a built-in wireless print server.
The C6180 includes built-in fax, which is more commonly found on office AIOs. The setup manual walks you through various fax configurations, depending on the type of phone line and accessories you have (such as answering machines). You can program up to 60 individual speed dial numbers and up to 60 groups. If you subscribe to caller ID, you can also turn on junk-fax blocking, which blocks faxes from numbers you designate. One minor problem we encountered was an organization issue: we pressed the Fax Menu button, expecting to find an option that would allow us to program speed-dial numbers but we didn't. Eventually, we found it by pressing the printer's general Setup button, which isn't intuitive.
The copy and scan functions offer the array of features we've come to expect from HP. When copying, you can select the type of original (to maximize copy quality), change the number of copies, crop, change paper size, and so on. You can also reduce or enlarge the original, either using preset values or custom, from 50 percent to 400 percent. When scanning, you can save the document to your PC or to a memory device connected to the PictBridge port; reprint the scanned document; have it attached to an outgoing e-mail; or scan it into a number of programs (such as Word, Paint, or PowerPoint) or into one of HP's bundled utilities for editing. Unfortunately, when scanning to a file, you can't choose the format (for example, TIFF or PDF): it's automatically saved as a GIF. Nor can you choose the destination--it defaults to your My Documents folder. You get more options if you initiate the scan from HP's bundled Solution Center utility, as opposed to using the control panel. And unlike the more expensive C7180, you can't scan negatives or slides on the C6180.
When you insert a memory card into one of the slots, you have a number of options. First, you can save all of the photos from the card to your PC. Second, if you've set up the printer on a network, you can e-mail photos. And, finally, you can print them directly off the memory card, but the PC-free photo printing options are limited on the C6180. Basically, you can print all the photos in one fell swoop or step through the photos on the card, choose which ones you want to print, select among a few paper sizes and layout options, and print. You can do some minor editing as well, including adjusting the brightness, adding a frame, or altering the color effects, but if you want to do any major editing, you'll need to print from your PC using HP's bundled software (or a third-party photo editing program).
Oddly, the print-all feature is a bit buried. We think it should be a near-top level option; instead, you have to select the first photo to be printed before you're presented with the option. If you choose to print all, you can print one photo per page, several per page, or an index sheet on 8.5x11 paper. The index sheet gives you the file name but not the photo number. And it only serves as a reference. Some HP multifunction photo printers and most Canon multifunction printers such as the Canon Pixma MP830 allow you to use an index sheet to select photos to be printed. Considering that the C6180 is a photo-centric printer with a flatbed scanner, we're surprised by the omission.
Performance
In CNET Labs' speed tests, the HP Photosmart C6180 gave a middle-of-the-road performance compared to other all-in-ones in its price range. It printed black text at a rate of 5.36ppm, faster than the Lexmark X9350 (4.93ppm) but much slower than the Canon Pixma MP830 (7.70ppm). It printed 4x6 photos at a rate of 0.6ppm, more than twice as slow as the Pixma MP830's 1.83ppm. Grayscale images were scanned at a rate of 7.26ppm and color images at a rate of 2.99ppm, the slowest of the pack. Using the automatic document feeder, it made copies at a rate of 2.26ppm, again, twice as slow as the Pixma MP830's 5.80ppm.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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Copy Speed | |
Color Scan Speed | |
GrayScale Scan Speed | |
Photo Speed | |
Text Speed |
What the C6180 lacked in speed, it made up for in print quality. Text printed on inkjet paper was clean, dark, and sharp. The color graphics page displayed smooth color gradients, pleasing saturation, good handling of photo elements, and overall sharp detail. We printed both types of documents on regular copy paper, too, and as expected, the results weren't as good. This is to be expected, though, as inkjet printers usually require inkjet paper for optimal performance (copy paper results in faded colors and more wicking). The 4x6 photo print on HP photo paper also impressed us: it showed sharp details and good skin tones, but could've been a bit brighter overall.
The scans were generally good, though the color scan was a bit soft and the grayscale scan showed compression in the dark end of the grayscale. This was evident in the loss of detail in dark areas of the photo element.
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
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GrayScale Scan | |
Photo | |
Graphics on Inkjet Paper | |
Text on Inkjet Paper |
Service and support
HP backs the Photosmart C6180 AIO with a standard one-year warranty, which is on par with the competition, though you can also pay to extend the warranty. While under warranty, you can get free, toll-free phone support 24-7. HP's Web site has downloadable drivers, software, and manuals; e-mail and online chat tech support; FAQs; and a troubleshooting guide.
User reviews
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Does it all well - seamless wireless - Mac compatible - worth a look
by ebrodeur on October 11, 2006
Pros: Excellent Mac compatibility; easy to setup and use; wireless setup is flawless
Cons: Noisy; slow scanner
Summary: Bought for $211 after instant rebate and Best Buy sale. Keep this in mind as you read this user opinion because it's not about what you didn't get ...
Summary: Bought for $211 after instant rebate and Best Buy sale. Keep this in mind as you read this user opinion because it's not about what you didn't get for $211 but what DO GET for $211.
I keep printers for a long time. So long that OS support is tough to come by which ultimately forces me to upgrade. My Epson Stylus Photo 700 served well for years until my wife brought home an HP OfficeJet R80i. That R80i was old as dirt and has worked well. Now it's ready for donation to a worthy cause.
Onto the C6180. The printer is compact, a welcome change from my R80. The LCD screen is easy to read, shuts off after an hour or so, and turns back on with a keypress. The unit feels sturdy (enough) although isn't as sleek as the C7180 or 3310. The buttons have a nice click, although tad wobbly.
Out of the box, I setup the printer wirelessly on my 802.11g network (running a DD-WRT Linksys router). It connected without incident, using DHCP for IP addressing.
I popped an SD card into the reader and printed a photo. Well, not really as the printer locked up and required a reboot. I did the same thing the following morning and it worked fine.
I declined using the included CD-ROM software and downloaded the latest drivers from HP's site. The downloaded version is just the drivers and core software (I don't care for the extra 3rd party software on the CD). The software installed onto my Apple PowerBook G4 (800 MHz) without incident. Same for my wife's new MacBook 2 GHz. Both Macs running OS X 10.4.8.
The HP software (on the Mac) works seamlessly with the printer. It "just finds it" on the network and "just works." What I like most is the ability to send a fax from the Mac to the C6180 or grab a scan from it. Keep in mind, this is done WIRELESSLY using 802.11, not USB.
The HP also allows me to send a scan from the printer to any of the computers on my network (assuming they have the HP software loaded). Further, I can send the scan to iPhoto, HP Photosmart, Photoshop, or Preview as JPEG, TIFF, or PDF depending on the destination application. I don't have the utmost control over sending format X to application Y but it may be something I can change somewhere.
Photo print quality is OK on 4x6 (I haven't tried anything larger). The image is darker than I'd like so it's good for quick output where quality isn't the most important to you. If you can't tell the quality difference between drug-store, Costco, and high-end printers, this won't matter to you. (Side note: I've sent my prints all over the place and found Internet printers like Fotki are far superior [and cheaper]). Output speed wasn't bad, about a minute according to the LCD but I think it finished in half that time.
Text print quality is good. A reviewer at CNET (or related publication) said the quality was terrible but I don't agree. Output is quite nice although not lighting fast.
Scan quality is good but not terribly fast. If you're a big scan person, go buy a scanner rather than an all-in-one.
Copies are pretty quick, black and white ones that is. Color copies will probably be slow since the scanner isn't the quickest. I haven't used the ADF for more than one page.
Remember about that $211 price tag after rebates and sales? It's not the quietest thing around, or the fastest, or the absolute best output quality, but it does everything well for the low $200 range. "Better" units lack wi-fi, fax, or both, and will cost you at least $300-400. The C6180 is a solid printer for the money. It does A LOT and the wireless ability and Mac support sold me from day one. I can't recall if it supports duplex printing out of the box but if not you can add it. You can also buy a Bluetooth USB module from HP (not sure if a 3rd party one will work) if you need that ability.
Another user stated their C6180 was DOA. That's a good reason to buy local. I'm not sure why people complain about the Mac support - maybe they're running an older version of OS X or have other oddities on their machines. My PowerBook has been in constant OS upgrade since 10.2 so if anything will have a problem, it will, but didn't.
The C6180 lacks a slide/negative scanner. Buy the C7180 if you need one. Better yet, buy a good standalone scanner with one. My Epson Perfection 1200U scanner (I told you I keep things a long time) has a slide/negative scanner which I've used ZERO times in the last six years.
I haven't used the HP Photosmart Share system where my scans and photos can be uploaded to HP's site and printed or emailed to others. My account is active, I just haven't tried it being a fan of Fotki instead.
If you're in the market for an All-In-One and don't have unrealistic needs or wants, you'll like the C6180. Many people tend to "over buy" on computer equipment and not use it to the extent they had envisioned. I work from home and find the C6180 fulfilling all my needs.Updated
In what I can only call "typical for Windows" I couldn't get the HP drivers to install when I selected the "wireless" option. The setup program found the printer on the network but couldn't establish proper communication with it.
I went the USB route instead. Windows XP found the new hardware but the HP setup program still wouldn't see the printer, even via USB. Fortunately it let me finish the driver installation.
I still can't print from Windows. The job is stuck in the queue. It's off to reboot and restart everything - hopefully that's the trick.
Fortunately I use my Mac the marjority of the time and it works flawlessly.Updated
Still a great printer. Could be faster to scan and print but acceptable. I've since changed from a PowerBook G4 to MacBook Pro using Apple's Migration Assistant and the HP software continued to work flawlessly.
I've also changed out routers from Linksys WRT-54G to Buffalo WHR-HP-G54 (both stock and DD-WRT firmware) to a D-Link Xtreme N wi-fi router. No problems. Even my Nokia E61 can print to it via wi-fi.
My wife's MacBook works fine too. All wireless functions work.
What does HP needs to fix? The printer's firmware. After many network scans it will flake out and require a reboot. Although the HP software on the Mac seems to hang it's actually the printer which needs the reboot - not the Mac. Doesn't seem like HP is updating printer firmware which is too bad.
I cannot complain for what I paid and I'd do it again.28 out of 29 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Good printer, so-so fax/scan/networking. BAD SOFTWARE
by lbr7 on November 13, 2006
Pros: Qood print quality, good overall design
Cons: Horrible drivers
Summary: I've used this printer for over a month, connected through the wired ethernet port. Overall it is a good printer: fast printing, excellent print quality, robust construction, versatile. Not ...
Summary: I've used this printer for over a month, connected through the wired ethernet port. Overall it is a good printer: fast printing, excellent print quality, robust construction, versatile. Not very good for scanning and faxing, though.
My 3 major concerns are, first, that it is slow to start printing. If you launch notepad, enter a single letter and print, it takes up to 30 seconds before the printer actually picks up a sheet and starts printing (I'm not sure if this is a printer or software issue). With my 10-years old deskjet I got the page out in 7 seconds. With this printer, it takes 37.
The second concern is that software and drivers are REALLY BAD. Here is my list of complaints about the software (version 7.0.1):
- By default, an incredible number of (mostly useless) programs and modules get installed. Just finding out what they are used for and which you can do without takes a lot of time
- Printer driver breaks WinXP power-saving features - if your pc is configured to go into hibernation/standby after a given period of inactivity, after you install the printer drivers, it won't go anymore
- A new Windows service, named "Pml Driver HPZ12", gets installed as part of the drivers. This service breaks services.msc, msconfig.exe and, even if you uninstall the printer drivers, it doesn't get removed
- Scan software is very bulky and slow. While scanning, I often get a Windows error dialog with the message "Server Busy" and have to retry after a while.
- When faxing from pc, there is no way to get a fax transmission report (you can check the fax log, but no pretty reports)
- When faxing from pc, if the called number is busy you can't have the printer retry automatically
- When faxing from pc, you can choose contrast, resolution and quality, and there is a preview button. But after you preview, you cannot change any of those setting anymore (so if you notice from the preview that contrast is too low, for example, you have to cancel the fax and start over again)
- The "scan to computer" function from the printer panel doesn't work consistently (sometimes shows application names, other times it shows computer names, more often just a messed-up list)
- Scanning to memory just creates a 300dpi jpeg: no way to specify different resolution, file-format, color depth, etc.
- Incoming fax can only be printed: i think it would be very useful to have an option to have incoming fax saved to memory or sent to pc, rather then printed (to save paper, trash spam faxes without printing them, archiving, etc).
- Printer buttons seem to be designed by marketing guys: the first option of the "Scan menu" is "scan and reprint" which has exactly the same effect as the "reprints" button, and also the same as "PhotosmartExpress->reprints". They really want you to reprint!. But in the end this duplication is annoying, confusing and just makes it more difficult to reach the useful options: scan to memory and scan to computer.
- When scanning from the printer web interface, there is no way to specify resolution and file format (the file format is pdf for b&w scans, jpeg in all other cases; I often would really like a color PDF)
- When using "manual duplex", after the printer has completed the even pages, you get a pop-up dialog that prompts you to flip pages and this keeps the foreground application completely locked until you confirm that you have flipped the pages. WHY? Can't I just complete the sentence I'm writing before flipping those pages??? ANNOYING!
I tried to contact HP (via the email support) about these issues, but got no answer at all back (besides the fact that they have been "forwarded to the proper individuals")
My last concern regards the network functionality. Not much actually. Just print and very limited scanning. NO FAX AT ALL!!!! Incredible.
Other two things I didn't expect are that, to print an envelope, you first have to remove all the standard paper (which seems to be common for all-in-ones, but I was used to my previous deskjet); and that the printer often makes some weird noises (for self-maintenance), not too loud but initially quite surprising.
I'm keeping the printer anyway, hoping that HP will fix most of these issues.19 out of 21 users found this user opinion helpful.
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So far so good....But I had to work for it.
by theace18 on October 9, 2006
Pros: Fast print time, awesome quality of picture printing, innovative features, quiet printing
Cons: Mac drivers on CD did not work at all, scanner is kinda loud.
Summary: After our first HP all in one decided to stop working, my wife and I went out and got a new one. We liked our first HP All In One ...
Summary: After our first HP all in one decided to stop working, my wife and I went out and got a new one. We liked our first HP All In One a lot. Since this was a new model, we hadn't seen any reviews on it. When going to the store, this one caught our eye. It had a definate "Mac Appeal" to it, with its sleek color and design. We also noticed that this particular model was flying off the shelves. Seemed to be very popular.
The quick setup guides it came with were easy to understand got me up and running fast. I've never seen a printer do this, but I thought it was amazing that I could connect it to my main computer w/o the use of a USB cable. I just plugged it into my router and go! However setup on my Mac was a different thing. I installed it with the drivers it came with on the CD, and for some reason it would not see the printer. The OS would see it, but the HP software would not. I went to HP's support website and looked around. One thing I have to say is HP's site is very user friendly. So, I spent about an hour looking through the HP support forums and guides trying different things that they sugguested and stuff on my own. I then noticed there were some new drivers for the Mac. I went ahead and installed those, and it worked like a charm. I really wish HP would have tested their initial drivers out better.
When I got it everything to work, the printer worked like a charm. I first scanned an item. One thing I did notice was how loud the scanner was to start up. Which is a shame, since HP scanners are usually pretty quiet. Nevertheless, the scanner scanned the item flawlessly and clearly. Printing of this scanner was fast and very very quiet. I was really impressed by that.
Overall I am very happy with this purchase of the HP C6180. Despite its few shortcomings, it seems like HP has another good quality printer under its belt.19 out of 22 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Very good printer
by blue55 on October 19, 2006
Pros: No Banding at draft speeds-Very fast, quiet scanner
Cons: Software issues a little difficult
Summary: This is my second photosmart printer after the 8450 I owned, whose colors went completely outof calibration and could not reset.
The first thing you notice after getting the C6180 ...Summary: This is my second photosmart printer after the 8450 I owned, whose colors went completely outof calibration and could not reset.
The first thing you notice after getting the C6180 set up, is to see how fast it can print (in draft). This is one fast printer, and the colors had no trace of banding. I am impressed. From the computer side everthing worked perfectly. But from the printer side, it wouldn't scan a file back to the computer. Still working on that issue with HP tecnicians. It is possibly a previous install isue with my previous Photosmart and I can't find any fault yet with this model. For those considering buying this printer, all the 6100 series are the same. No difference what-so-ever. The 6150's are being sold at Sam's wholesale Club and the model numbers range from 6150 to 6185, but they're all identical, and therefore, meaningless if you think the higher numbers are getting you a better quality unit.
The scanner is ultra fast too, and exteremly quiet.
I rate this unit a 10. It prints text extremely well and photos are very good.14 out of 15 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Excellent All-In-One
by Tempest790 on November 22, 2006
Pros: Wireless networking. Quick printing. LCD screen. High-res scanner. Sheet feeder. Dedicated photo paper tray.
Cons: Can be a little noisy scanning. Could be little cheaper.
Summary: I wanted to upgrade my printer and scanner and wanted to get an all in one with photo quality printing. I'm pretty picky on my photo printing.
I can ...Summary: I wanted to upgrade my printer and scanner and wanted to get an all in one with photo quality printing. I'm pretty picky on my photo printing.
I can say this is an excellent deal. I had a Canon photo printer (about 2-3 years old) and it made excellent prints. This HP does not disappoint. You can order a combo pack that includes all 6 inks and 150 sheets of HP 4x6 photo paper for about $36. Purchased separately, it would be about $75+. This alone makes it worth it. Oh, and it prints photos fast!
The scanner is 4800 dpi optical both ways. My old Canon scanner (which made excellent scans) was a 1200 dpi model. Dpi isn't the whole story, so I compared some scans. The HP does do very good scans, but its defaults are different. It has sharpening turned on, and without it, scans become somewhat soft compared to my Canon (without sharpening). I usually scan my photos at 600 dpi. The sharpness feature on the HP doesn't seem to add any noise or degradation, so I will probably leave this feature on. Color accuracy looked very good. Photos scanned in were not to dark/bright and colors were dead on.
Fax features I haven't set up yet, but they look promising. You can fax straight from your computer.
Copy feature works good as well and works quickly. HP added a new print mode: Fast Normal, in addition to Draft, Normal, and Best. Fast Normal looks very good with text and everyday printing. I use bright white inkjet paper in my printer.
Software I was dreading, but it worked like a champ on my computer. Included software is very bloated, but it does work fine. For those who don't like what HP installs, you can select Custom Install, and choose which modules are loaded. I deselected the HP Survey software for instance. I don't need HP to prompt me now and then for surveys and other stuff.
All in all, a good deal. I'm very pleased with this printer, and it's a very good printer, scanner, and copier.6 out of 6 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Does what it should well, and looks great - why didn't HP do this before?
by Michael HARDTMANN on December 16, 2006
Pros: Easy set up, very good print speed and quality, wireless networking, separate inks, small footprint, classy looks
Cons: Well, it is a bit expensive, and so are the inks; no "sleep" mode; scanner a bit noisy
Summary: OK, it's an HP, so we had pretty high expectations with regard to print quality - and this printer does a very fine job of that. Printed text is ...
Summary: OK, it's an HP, so we had pretty high expectations with regard to print quality - and this printer does a very fine job of that. Printed text is clear and black, colours in graphics and images cannot be faulted. A 6 megapixel photo (JPG, 2100x2800 pixels) printed beautifully, although the colours could use a tiny bit of tweaking to appear fully brilliant and life-like. It's not a professional photo printer, but for our office - which does a broad range of printing, mostly in small quantities - it delivers more than adequate performance in terms of quality. Even for photos for Mom and Dad, it does a great job, and quickly, too - a 10x15cm photo in less than a minute.
Of more notable interest to us was the speed of printing (very good) and the networkability (flawless - on both Mac and PC).
The printer is feels solidly constructed, even if the paper catcher (a little tab that pulls out of the table on which printed pages land) seems a bit flimsy.
Two things do annoy me a little bit about an otherwise well-thought-through printer: 1. there is no sleep mode: it appears that the printer is always on (and seems to be in regular contact (a blip every half minute or so with my laptop), and turning it off turns off the fax, too. 2. When I send a document as a fax from my computer, and it fails, or I need re-print/send it, I need to re-enter all the data (unless I pull it out of my address book, which is also a possibility...).
But, I guess these are a minor price to pay for an otherwise fast, solid printer that delivers good looks - on paper and on the desk.5 out of 5 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Nice Printer, Lousy Installation
by keaura on December 9, 2006
Pros: Easy photo printing, fast document printing
Cons: Slow, painful installation process
Summary: My old HP OfficeJet 85g finally gave out. Being a fan of all-in-ones, wanting a networked printer this time, and having had success with the last HP printer, I bought ...
Summary: My old HP OfficeJet 85g finally gave out. Being a fan of all-in-ones, wanting a networked printer this time, and having had success with the last HP printer, I bought the C6180.
The printer itself was easy to unpack and setup; printing a picture from my camera's card was effortless and it looks great.
But installing the software on my computers. Ugh. Slow, slow, slow. HP should use InstallAnywhere not some lame, home-brewed thing. When I finally got one machine set up (2 reboots later) I could print, but not scan - the scanning software was missing - but I did a full (recommended) install! I wound up downloading the installation from their site.
What a mistake that was. 289Mb later I launch it and what does it do - begin uncompressing itself bit by bit (not fast like byte by byte) - I swear it wrote one bit at a time and then it crashed the computer (we're talking Windows XP/Professional SP 2).
I don't know what HP is doing, but make the printer, leave the software to someone else, PLEASE.4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Very nice all-in-one for the price.
by mdlowe19 on October 16, 2006
Pros: All in one in a small package. Price. Looks stylish. Wireless connectivity with your router. Text printing looks good. Photos good. Scans well.
Cons: A little loud on the scans. Finding the WEP key with Mac was an hour long process.
Summary: Just got this a couple days ago, and so far, very happy with the purchase. The best part is the wireless connectivity with your home network--no wires necessary! The printer ...
Summary: Just got this a couple days ago, and so far, very happy with the purchase. The best part is the wireless connectivity with your home network--no wires necessary! The printer will find your network, no USB cable to the router or your computers in the wireless network! Finding the WEP key for my airport express was the only annoying thing--had to do some serious searching for how to find that . Finally found it on the apple website, but basically you have to go into your airport express administrator to find it.
Just today, I printed out a contract, signed it, scanned it and emailed it back which was pretty effortless.
By the way, I also downloaded the drivers and software from the HP site rather than use the included CD's, and had no problem whatsoever.
Highly recommend based on my use so far. . .4 out of 4 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Troubles with color photos
by shribe on January 2, 2007
Pros: Fast, easy to use
Cons: Colors are terrible on photos, black's not black, way off tint.
Summary: Has anyone else had disgusting color photos with the c6180? I am on my 2nd one because the first had unacceptable color photos. The black areas were "light Black", and ...
Summary: Has anyone else had disgusting color photos with the c6180? I am on my 2nd one because the first had unacceptable color photos. The black areas were "light Black", and there was a yellowish - orange tint to alot of the photos. The second one is the same. I've tried every possible combination of settings, print programs, and paper. The photos looked the worst with the advance photo paper, and slightly better with the premium. Still not great. Am I just spoiled because the $99 Epson R200 had such great photos? Problem with that one was it used too much ink, and was too expensive.
The part that is driving me crazy is everyone here is saying the photos look great, and it makes me think I'm missing something, but can't see how.
Alot of my photos are of the kids in the hockey arena. It makes me wonder if this printer has some issue with the colors under the type of lights they use. Those photos are always an issue with this printer. My daughter's hair turns blue, the red jersey turns dark red to grayish purple. And there is always a goofy tint to the picture. The Epson had no problems with these pictures. The outdoors photos do look a little better.
Everything else is great, but I was told that this All in One would replace both of my previous printers. And so far, it has not worked out. HP Customer Service was no help. If anyone has any suggestions, let me know.3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
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Great All-in-One for the price. Get it!
by VivaGigantes! on December 5, 2006
Pros: Good quality, easy to use, compact, wireless, auto-feeder, styling, does everything I need well.
Cons: Not the fastest at printing, but then again, it's not a laser printer...
Summary: While their are other printers out there that my print faster/better (I looked at dozens of other inkjet printers and am convinced that I got the best one for ...
Summary: While their are other printers out there that my print faster/better (I looked at dozens of other inkjet printers and am convinced that I got the best one for under $300), this one has fine quality and decent speed for around $240.
The compact size, wireless feature, auto paper feeder, flat-bed copier/scanner and color screen (this is an awesome feature) all fit what I was looking for.
I have been using it in a home office setting for a month now, and I am very happy with it. My dad has one too, and he loves his as well.
The multi-color ink system works great, and photos print out really well. The memory card slots on the side make it really easy to print out photos. I have had a lot of fun using this feature.
Bottom line: It is well worth the price for what it is. I got mine at Best Buy, but the same one is at Costco for a little less.3 out of 3 users found this user opinion helpful.
Specifications
- Manufacturer: HP
- Part number: Q8181A#ABA
- Description: HP Photosmart C6180 All-in-One printer, scanner, copier, fax features leading printing innovations for versatility and home productivity. Built-in wireless networking, USB flash drive, and the HP Photosmart Express software user interface allow users to print and copy photos with ease. The HP Photosmart C6180 All-in-One also provides multiple ways to print without a computer using the 2.4-inch color image display with memory cards or PictBridge enabled cameras.
General
- Copier Type Digital
- Fax Type Plain paper
- Printing Technology Ink-jet - Color - Photo printer
- Monthly Duty Cycle (max) 3000 impressions
- Display Diagonal Size 2.4"
- Office Machine Features Print from memory card
- Width 17.7 in
- Depth 15.2 in
- Height 9.7 in
- Weight 23.4 lbs
- Localization English / United States
Memory
- Standard Memory 64 MB
- Max Supported Memory 64 MB
- Supported Flash Memory miniSD, CompactFlash, Memory Stick, IBM Microdrive, MultiMediaCard, SD Memory Card, xD-Picture Card, Memory Stick Duo
Copying
- Max Copying Speed up to 32 pages/min (mono) / up to 31 pages/min (color)
- Max Copying Resolution up to 1200 x 1200 dpi (mono) / up to 4800 x 1200 dpi (color)
- Gray Scale Half-Tones 256
- Max Document Enlargement 400 %
- Max Document Reduction 50 %
- Maximum Copies 50
Printing
- Inkjet Technology HP Thermal Inkjet
- Max Printing Resolution up to 1200 x 1200 dpi (mono) / up to 4800 x 1200 dpi (color)
- Max Printing Speed up to 32 pages/min (mono) / up to 31 pages/min (color)
- Ink Palette Supported (Colors) Cyan, magenta, yellow, black, light cyan, light magenta
- Color 6-ink
- Ink Type HP Vivera Inks
Scanning
- Scan Element CIS
- Optical Resolution 4800 x 4800 dpi
- Interpolated Resolution 19200 x 19200 dpi
- Gray Scale Depth 8 bit
- Color Depth 48 bit
Fax Machine
- Compatibility Super G3
- Max Transmission Speed 33.6 Kbps
- Fax Resolutions 300 x 300 dpi
- Total Memory Capacity 90 pages
- Fax Printing Speed 20 pages/min
- PC Faxing Yes (send only)
Fax Machine Features
- Broadcast Transmission 48 stations
- Delayed Transmission Yes
- Remote Fax Retrieval (Polling) Yes
- Features Fax forwarding, Automatic redialing, Distinctive Ring Pattern Detection (DRPD)
Document & Media Handling
- Original Type Sheets
- Document Feeder Capacity 50 sheets
- Min Copy Size 3 in x 5 in
- Max Copy Size 8.5 in x 24.0 in
- Min Copy Weight 60 g/m2
- Max Copy Weight 280 g/m2
- Supported Media Type Cards, Labels, Envelopes, Photo paper, Plain paper, Transparencies, Iron-on transfers
- Standard Media Capacity 100 sheets
- Output Trays Capacity 50 sheets
- Document & Media Handling Details Input tray - 100 sheets size: 3 in x 5 in - 8.5 in x 24.0 in weight: 60 g/m2 - 280 g/m2, ADF - 50 sheets, Output tray - 50 sheets size: 3 in x 5 in - 8.5 in x 24.0 in weight: 60 g/m2 - 280 g/m2, Input tray - 20 sheets - 4 in x 6 in
- Speed Details Printing : up to 32 pages/min - B/W draft, Printing : up to 8.2 pages/min - B/W fast normal, Printing : up to 8.2 pages/min - B/W normal, Printing : up to 4.9 pages/min - B/W best, Printing : up to 31 pages/min - Color draft, Printing : up to 8.2 pages/min - Color fast normal, Printing : up to 6 pages/min - Color normal, Printing : up to 2.5 pages/min - Color best, Printing : 12 sec ( 4 in x 6 in ) - Photo draft, Printing : 40 sec ( 4 in x 6 in ) - Photo fast normal, Printing : 87 sec ( 4 in x 6 in ) - Photo normal, Printing : 105 sec ( 4 in x 6 in ) - Photo best, Copying : up to 32 pages/min - B/W draft, Copying : up to 8.9 pages/min - B/W normal, Copying : up to 0.9 pages/min - B/W best, Copying : up to 31 pages/min - Color draft, Copying : up to 5.5 pages/min - Color normal, Copying : up to 2.5 pages/min - Color best
Finishing Equipment
- Collator None
- Stacker None
- Stapler None
- Binder None
PC Connectivity
- PC Connection Availability Yes
- PC Connection Hi-Speed USB, IEEE 802.11b, IEEE 802.11g, Ethernet 10 Base-T
- Operating System Support MS Windows XP, Apple Mac OS X 10.4, Apple Mac OS X 10.3.9, MS Windows 2000 SP3 or later
- Software Included HP Photosmart Premier
Power
- Power AC 110/230 V ( 50/60 Hz )
- Power Consumption Operational 33 Watt
Miscellaneous
- Direct Printing Specifications PictBridge
- Consumables Included 1 x Cartridge ( Black ), 1 x Cartridge ( Cyan ), 1 x Cartridge ( Magenta ), 1 x Cartridge ( Yellow ), 1 x Cartridge ( Light cyan ), 1 x Cartridge ( Light magenta )
- Microsoft Certifications Certified for Windows Vista
- Compliant Standards EN55024, CISPR 22, CISPR 24, EN 60825, ICES-003, EN 60950-1, UL 60950-1, IEC 60950-1, EN 61000-3-2, EN 61000-3-3, IEC 61000-3-2, IEC 61000-3-3, AS/NZS 60950-1, EN55022 Class B, FCC CFR47 Part 15, FCC Class B certified, CSA C22.2 No. 60950-1-03
Manufacturer Warranty
- Service & Support 1 year warranty
- Service & Support Details Limited warranty - 1 year
Environmental Parameters
- Sound Emission 54 dBA (operating)
- Min Operating Temperature 41 °F
- Max Operating Temperature 104 °F
- Humidity Range Operating 15 - 80%
CNET Labs' Benchmarks
- CNET Labs Color Scanning Speed Test (pages per minute) 2.99
- CNET Labs Gray Scale Scanning Speed Test (pages per minute) 7.26
- CNET Labs Photo Speed Test (pages per minute) 0.6
- CNET Labs Presentation Speed Test (pages per minute) 2.81
- CNET Labs Printer Graphics Speed Test (pages per minute) 2.57
- CNET Labs Text Speed Test (pages per minute) 5.36
Accessories
Manufacturer info
- HP
- Manufacturer profile
- Browse HP products on Shopper.com
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- Website: http://www.hp.com
- Address:
3000 Hanover Street, Palo Alto, CA 94304-1185
