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My youngest daughter has been after me to get her own printer for almost a year now; heretofore she has been sharing my HP Officejet 7130. I limit what she can print and she doesn't like that one bit. So when I purchase my new HP dv9000z notebook computer, the company was offering up a Photosmart C3180 All-In-One Inkjet Printer for a mere $20.00after mail-in rebate, so I took the plunge and bought it.

In the Box

o HP Photosmart C3180 All-In-One Inkjet Printer
o 1x Black Inkjet Cartridge
o 1x Tri-Color Inkjet Cartridge
o Software installation disc
o Quick Start Installation Guide
o Owner's Manual

Installation and Use

The Photosmart C3180 All-In-One Inkjet is a small unit, but it packs in a lot of features. HP advertises this printer as an All-in-One, but it lacks the ability to fax, which is fine with me, my daughter does not need that functionality. The unit does print, scan, (flatbed scanner only), and copy in color and black & white. HP rates the printer as follows: Print up to 20 pages per minute (black) and up to 14 (color); Scan at 1200 x 2400 DPI; Copy up to 99 sheets in black & white and or color.

Setup under Windows XP (SP2) was easy, but the software will take a while to complete, however you can customize the installation. Like most USB connected devices however, the software needs to be (partially) installed before the device is connected to the computer. The installation process did hang at one point and I had to reboot the computer, but after I logged back in, the process completed without incident.

Once the installation is complete it will leave behind an icon entitled HP Solutions Center wherein one can control the various functions of the printer.

The Photosmart C3180 All-In-One Inkjet ships with two inkjet cartridges: tricolor and black. The paper tray folds down so that one can insert up to 25 sheets of paper; there is no output tray, but a small arm unfolds from the unit to catch printed sheets. The output is respectable and in keeping with other HP inkjet printer at this price point. One can print (4x4) images from the tray as well as 8x10 prints. Images can be input from the computer via the USB port, or from a variety of memory cards that can be inserted directly into the printer on the bottom left-hand side of the unit; nice touch. There are two buttons right above the memory card slots for printing images.

The printer feedback display is a step way above other HP printer in that it is backlit. This is a welcome new feature given that earlier HP printers at this price point have lack such displays, making them had to read in most lighting conditions.

Scans and copies can be made via the flatbed scanner; up to 99 copies can be made, and scans of varying resolutions can be accomplished. There is space in the back of the printer in which a duplex unit can be inserted.

Paper Tray

If this printer has an Achilles Heel it is the folding paper tray. On the one hand it is nice to have a tray that folds into the body of the printer, so that it is not in the way when not in use. But this also means that there is no output tray to speak of; there is a little acrylic arm that unfolds from the paper tray to catch output. Care must be taken not jam the paper in too far when loading or it will jam. Also since the output comes out over the paper tray, if you print more than five pages you might get a paper jam warning; very annoying, and a royal pain in the rear to clear. However, I can reluctantly accept this failing for the convenience of the folding tray.

Conclusion

If you or your family is in need of a solid, reasonably priced, small footprint personal All-In-One color printer with a lot of built-in flexibility, look no further then the HP Photosmart C3180 All-In-One Inkjet printer. For my money HP is still the best; something about raising the performance bar. Now perhaps they can work on their service arm…