HP Photosmart C8180 Review

All in One multifunctional devices are slowly and steadily replacing standalone printers due to their drop and price and increased functionality. HP Photosmart C180 AIO is a printer, scanner, copier and has touch display, WiFi, Bluetooth connectivity and many other features.  It however is one of the more expensive AIO devices you would find in the market.

HP Photosmart C180 specifications :

• Dimensions : 17.6″ x 15.4″ x 8.5″
• Weight : 25.1 lbs
• Inbuilt memory : 64MB
• Max. copying speed : 34ppm(mono), 33ppm(color)
• Max. copying resolution : 1200 x 1200 (mono) dpi /
  4800 x 1200 dpi ( color)
• Scanning resolution : 9600 dpi
• Connectivity : Bluetooth, Hi-Speed USB, WiFi
• Direct printing : PictBridge compatible
• OS Compatibility : Microsoft Windows XP/Vista, Apple Mac OS X
• Approx. price : $350

The HP Photosmart C180 AIO has a built-in touch display that can be used to control all the functions. There are a few number of the buttons on the panels and is a clutter free front panel. The AIO also has support for flash memory cards and supports a variety of card formats. The overall build quality and design of the AIO is good and it looks professional.

The important feature missing from the C180 is fax and also auto document feeder, both can be found in most AIOs these days. However, it does manage to include a unique feature, a Lightscribe drive. The drive lets you burn CD/DVDs from memory cards or flash drives on to optical media.

The AIO can be connected to the network via the USB network cable or else you can go for a wireless set up. You can go for either Bluetooth or WiFi set up elimininating wires. The AIO is extremely easy to set up both via the USB or wireless way. The process is controlled through the touch display and takes a few minutes to get it up and running.

The printer has dual paper input tray, allowing you to insert two different size papers at one go. The printer uses six different color cartridges for color printing apart from the normal black one. This is the most efficient way as you can easily replace the single color which runs out rather than dumping the whole color cartridge.

The performance of the AIO is good but certainly not best among the rest. The photo prnting capabilities are pathetic with it managing to print a photo in over a minute. However, the quality of the photo print and in general is crisp and text does not have distortion. Grayscales are not that impressive though.

Pros :

• Good design
• Dual paper tray
• WiFi, Bluetooth connectivity
• Lightscribe drive
• Good print quality

Cons :

• Slow photo printing
• No ADF/fax features
• Grayscales not impressive

Final Thoughts

The HP Photosmart C180 AIO is a good offering from HP but nothing revolutionary about it. It has wireless connectivity and a touch display to attract buyers. The lightscribe drive and dual paper tray are added attractiveness. Slow photo printing and no ADF/fax features are the downsides.

Rating : 3.5/5