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- Average user rating: 1.5 stars out of 34 reviews Back to product review
- My rating: 0 stars
Full user review
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31 out of 32 people found this review helpful
1.5 stars
"Read this before you buy"
Pros: Prints well...I think
Cons: HP software fails again
Summary: I bought this for the high quality scanning options, the built in light scribe drive and network connectivity. Well as far as I?m concerned being able to use a major feature (disk burning and light scribe labeling) only in USB mode (and not mentioning it anywhere until you unpack the unit) is disingenuous at least and bordering on deceptive practices??Oh yes my car has air conditioning, but it only works in the winter when I am in park?. A networked printer that has a major feature crippled by using it in a network configuration is not a networked printer (at over $400 this really pisses me off). The WiFi connection is slow as well and taxes the sending machine. Apparently switching between network mode and USB mode is not trivial and you cannot be connected to both at the same time (this is murky tech support has not answered that question, but really wants to know how well they did?sigh).
The software driver is buggy, sometimes when I turn the printer on, after the printing computer has booted, the printer will print, sometimes it won?t; reboot and power cycle time. When rebooting a computer with the driver installed you have to wait for I/O notification windows the shut down repeatedly.
Using the WiFi option (I have very good signal strength everywhere in my home) the print driver blips in and out telling me I?m connected to the printer at random intervals (I view this as a marketing ploy to remind us of our lovely products (unless the wifi connection is absurdly weak). When I changed to legal size paper the other day the printer immediately loaded 2 sheets, and tried to print (and promptly jammed), when there was nothing in the print queue.
On the rare occasions I have printed the quality seems quite good. The hardware should work, good hardware is a hallmark of HP; and in the last 10 years, so is bad software. I?m sure the drivers will improve over time?check back in 9 months on this one. I will not be considering any more HP equipment for several years if ever again; this is from an old engineer who used to worship HP for its quality, now not so much.
- 3 replies to this review
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WOW!!! I gotta say you've had a Completely Different Experience than I with this unit:) It is hands down the best printer I've owned and certainly the best/most efficient and reliable wireless printer I've had a chance to use. Kind of like Pmccarty7, I use a Mac which may or may not play a role in any issues (I also have Windows Vista on a Boot Camp partition for several programs and have NEVER had an issue).
Drivers must be robust to be able to accomplish this printers many attributes. Bluetooth capability will now be a must for me (We are also printing from our iPhones in the house). The Photo quality, for an under $500 printer is phenomenal! I am a professional photographer and videographer and we bought this printer for the office....for HR and reception. It has become our defacto 4x6 photo printer! Very proud of the quality and the overall low cost of ink. -
Although I think not a reason to not buy HP products anymore, I tend to agree with your view that the the HP software has become bloated and complicated, and the size of the drivers are growing huge. I think the software is not up to the standard of the hardware
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Your concern regarding the the cd burner not being wireless is notable but spurious in that cd burners require very intensive uninterrupted data transfer, something that wireless cannot provide. The function of the cdburner is to backup photos from your cards, any functionality beyond that seems to be a bonus. I have not had any issues with this device, it prints seamlessly between photos and plain paper without my intervention. The wireless setup was a no-brainer. The software install was time consuming as is any windows product. I do have a Mac which I supposed is less prone to issues.
Where to buy
HP Photosmart C8180 All-in-One:
$129.99 - $397.22
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Amazon.com Marketplace
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