Prints well, everything is smart and clean. In this model series the ink cartridges are easier to just push in, as compared to HP's previous All-In-One lines.

For SOHO use especially, the ability to do stuff like the Copy function *without* having the computer turned on is very good.

This model allows the optional use of a "Photo" ink cartridge, eg. a special cartridge, supported by HP's software, that contains a LIGHT magenta and a LIGHT cyan to broaden the color depth slightly when printing photos.

The C3180 prints a bit faster than earlier generation consumer printers if you will eg. pre-2006-2007 models.

These products use as little as 5 ml of ink at a time before you have to replace the cartridge; consider products with Continuous Ink Systems if you do a lot of printing. Similarly the paper tray is small, with room for maybe 20-30 sheets of 20 lb bond paper (approx.)

As with other HP printers the paper feed design is front loading. The paper goes in and does a U-turn before coming back out essentially the way it came in. Some folks may prefer a more straight-through paper path.

The paper feed on the C3180 is driven by a single rubber wheel towards the back right side... these *can* be quirky especially with non-HP photo paper. HP papers have a sort of tooth or texture on one side - this appears to be what the drive wheel likes to have. We have found that in some cases no HP paper can = no printing.

ONE BOO-BOO: the North American or Canadian packaging for the C3180 includes a little decal or overlay for the front panel. Our box had two of these, one in English and one in French. Surprise surprise these are printed with a little barcode on the back, information that is actually READ by the printer. If you don't insert the decal/overlay, the inkjet carriage will not move! Naturally we had Murphy looking over our shoulders as we set up our C3180 and sure enough we crashed and burned before we went back and tried to figure out what we did wrong... HP wraps the decal/overlays in a little piece of printed newsprint that says "Wait wait do this first!" but it is nevertheless easy to fumble the ball in all the excitement on Christmas morning, so to type. Strange!

I think to be fair, we should note something about the operating systems, options and hardware used. For instance I tried the Photosmart C3180 under Windows XP Home Edition with a fairly powerful, late-model P4 computer with 512 Mb of RAM and lots of disk space, and I tried to keep the installation of HP's various suites to a minimum. I skipped anything that looked like it had to do with registration, software updates or the Internet.

Customer Service

N/A... we live in a major center however, and HP has established a large office nearby so we assume we can rely on a degree of local support.

Similar Products Used:

HP 1210 All-In-One, various scanners and multicartridge inkjet schemes.

None.

Unable to connect to computer and work.

This HP printer is by far the worst I have ever tried to use. There are several connectivity problems like the other reviewer has explained. I had a 2 hour tech support session and all they did was manage to mess up my cable internet connection. This printer never printed one single copy of anything.

NONE

Connectivity issues; lack of customer support. There is no value to a printer/scanner that does not work.

I bought this product on the recommendation of family and friends. I would NOT recommend it. The All-in-One has connectivity issues. I have had my All-in-One for over a month, have made numerous calls to their tech support, have tried their on-line tech support, have been promised twice that I would receive a call back from a "supervisor/senior technician/case manager" but have waited in vain. The All-In-one works as a photo-copier only. It will not interact with the computer except on a sporatic basis and sometimes what it prints is jibberish.