Customer Rating:  
Summary: All functions on an "All in One Printer" should work
Comment: I have had my Photosmart C6180 for about 18 months. I use a Macbook and operate the printer wirelessly. When I first got the unit, I was astounded at the huge software file that was downloaded for the thing. Later updates further add to the bloatware. My scanner has never worked well. Not sure why. Seems to work when it wants to. I have installed the software 10 times and updated the drivers. Granted, some of this has taken place in the middle of operating system revisions ( I now run Leopard 10.5) So....I don't quite know who to blame. Downloaded HP driver revisions today from the Apple site ( 90 MB) and still my scanner doesnt work. When I plug in the USB cable, it works fine, wirelessly ....forget about it. HP offered to upgrade me to a newer model for $220 bucks. Think I will try something else. Anybody got any ideas? Prints pretty good after it goes through alot of gyrations. It is a pretty unit but who needs the headaches?
Customer Rating:
Summary: Wireless a plus but it is an ink hog!
Comment: I bought this printer because of its wireless capabilities and that feature has been a boon in our household. I haven't used it as a fax or scanner so I can't speak to those features. What I can say is Where does all the ink go??? I seem to be changing cartridges constantly, despire printing few photos or color copies. The price seemed reasonable but I can't fathom what the true cost is when factoring in the ink cartridges. Next time we look for a printer I will definitely research this bit and choose accordingly.
Customer Rating:
Summary: Awful
Comment: I feel like an idiot. My previous HP all in one malfunctioned so what do I do -- I buy another one - the c6180. Worked great for about three months and then the software problems began. Would not scan into the PDF File, then became even worse -- would not even scan at all. The fax also would get jammed, and replacing the six cartriges over and over again is very expensive especially when they don't have much ink in them in the first place. And the annoying thing is when in the middle of a print job it just stops and does it's weird very noisy adjustment (for those who own it you know what I mean) and that wastes time. I contacted HP live help many time -- not helpful at all. So after about 10 months of constant frustration with this dump --- decided I will never buy an HP product again. This time I think I'm going to buy the Kodak color all in one.
Customer Rating:
Summary: High price per page, low initial cost refurbished
Comment: This printer was recommended to me by a friend who noticed it use the HP vivera inks. He had found it in a store, refurbished, for $168, which seemed like a reasonable buy. Looking on line, there were some positive reviews saying the unit worked OK. An odd part is only one of the interfaces can be designated at a time - network OR USB OR wireless.
Scanning to PDF works OK, and I use it for that all the time to email documents.
I've been keeping track of cartridge changes since purchasing the unit, both to find out how many sheets each cartridge actually delivers and to identify the cost per page for output. The bottom line is ink costs $.23/page after a year of steady use. That's pretty high, considering most if its work has been acting as a copier or printer onto regular paper.
Photo printout produces good quality output, but I found I have to manage the colors using Photoshop to get the desired output. The automatic settings are very colorful, but not very accurate, in general.
If I were to make this purchase again, this still would have been a good choice of multifunction device. The cost per page for just the ink must make some product manager at HP smile every day, though.
Customer Rating:
Summary: This Ink guzzler comes with software problems
Comment: I have owned this printer for a little more than one year. I bought it because I wanted an all-in-one printer and I wanted it to be part of my wireless network at home. I have three PC desktops and three laptops (no Mac) and they share this printer. Even though the printer has many features that I like it has also disappointed me. I recommend it but unenthusiastically.
My user experience>>
My first HP Photosmart C6180 I had to return on the first day because it did not work. My second HP Photosmart C6180 lasted three months until a paper jam did it in. However, my third HP Photosmart C6180 has lasted for over a year. The software installation did not work as it was supposed to. The installation program crashed (exception error) halfway through the installation and the re-installation subsequently failed. I had to uninstall the software, call HP support, and redo the process using their assistance. Another bad thing is that I had to turn off my firewalls to complete the software installation. If you re-install the software several times, like I did, you might forget to turn the firewalls back on, like I did once. Because of this my computer was hijacked, and I was visited by Trojan horses, and worms. The fact that the printer runs out of ink so often is also irritating. If it does not run out of cyan, or blue, it will run out of yellow, magenta, or black, sooner than you expect. I have to change cartridges a little bit too often and it gets expensive.
Currently everything works except scanning from the printer. To scan I have to type in the printers IP address in a browser and start the scan from the browser (you get the IP address by pressing Setup on the panel and then Network). HP Support thought this was very strange and by doing some testing it was confirmed that the software indeed was corrupt. However, even if I follow the given instructions I get a corrupt installation and by doing what HP support tells me I also get a corrupt installation. Since I am fine with scanning using my internet explorer instead of the scan button on the printer, and the rest of the stuff, printing, copying, faxing, and photo printing works just fine, I am not going to fix this (don't fix what is only somewhat broken).
I like the fact that I can print 4X6 photos, as well as do scanning, printing, faxing, and make copies from all of my computers on my wireless network in my house. I have never lost contact with it since my last re-installation (a year ago) and I have never needed a network cable. Paper jams do not happen often, it is lightweight, and it is fairly easy to use. My final C6180 has lasted more than a year and my old HP OfficeJet 7410 all-in-one gave me a lot more trouble. Perhaps HP is on the right track.
Summary Pro>>
-- Good printer quality
-- Lightweight
-- The all-in-one feature plus photo printing is nice
-- Easy to use
-- Has worked continuously on my wireless network for more than a year
-- HP customer support is good
Summary Con>>
-- Ink cartridges are consumed too quickly
-- You may get a lemon that brakes (my third has worked fine)
-- The software installation may not work as intended. This has nothing to do with following instructions, there are real problems.
-- I had to turn off firewalls to install software for wireless operation
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