8 out of 8 people found this review helpful.
Acceptable quality at high maintenance cost
Date of Review: Jan 8, 2008
The Bottom Line: I wouldn't recommend this printer because of the high maintenance costs due to the high amount of inks used and the absence of affordable generic cartridges.
I bought my HP Photosmart C3180 as part of a promotional deal that came with my new computer. Moreover, the sales associated said that he himself had an HP printer, and was quite happy with it.
After 4 months of using it, my opinion on it is divided. The overall print quality is good. It prints very vibrant and sharp color documents, and the black and white prints are just as good. The quality of the copies I've made could have been a bit better, especially with 4-color copies, but for the price of the printer, I wouldn't complain about it. For everyday use color copies where an exact color match is not a priority, it works well.
It is also very easy to use. I has memory card slots for direct printing of digital photographs, and the copy function is very simple as well. Setup was a breeze, and exchanging ink cartridges couldn't be easier.
The major hang-up I have with this printer though is the amount of ink used. I had an Epson 1160 before, and was used to exchanging cartridges once every 3 months at the most. Also, I was able to get generic cartridges for the printer model at a fraction of the cost I spent on the Epson version, and the print quality was just as good. With the HP, however, I have to exchange cartridges every 3 weeks to a month max, and generic cartridges are not available. Also, the cartridges are quite expensive, so what I saved when I bought the printer, I have paid back in ink.
Overall, I would not recommend this printer, due to the ridiculously high amount of ink it uses, and due to the fact that no affordable generic cartridges are available. The low price of the printer is easily offset by the high cost for inks.
