HP 13" Photosmart Pro B9180, Photo Inkjet Printer with USB & Ethernet Interfaces, Mac & Windows.

2010-07-30T20:00:00

My Photosmart Pro B9180 which has served me well for almost 3 years, printing hundreds of photos (typically 13x19 sheets) for framing. Early on it was a bit finicky and I almost returned it had it not for a software update which seemed to cure the paper feeding issues which were driving me up the wall. Since then it has worked like a charm and I love that it’s ready at a moment’s notice—not having to go through a lengthy cleaning procedure if I haven’t used it for a week or more. Here are a few pros and cons that I’ve found over the time I’ve owned it: Pros • Beautiful print quality in color and black and white • 200+ print life suitable for archival prints • Fast • *Ink cartridges last a long time and are not expensive (compared to similar class printers) • Heavily built and solid (so heavy that UPS dropped and broke two of them before I got a third one that was undamaged) • Tracks ink cartridge and head-life and compensates for clogged nozzles • Built-in colorimeter keeps itself calibrated against an internal reference Cons • Driver issues early on gave me a lot of headaches. I was running it on a Vista x64 machine (now Windows 7 x64) and it would often spit the sheet sitting in the manual feeder through, then ask for it to be inserted again, often caught in a loop. • Menus can be confusing (too many areas to set the same settings and it’s not clear if one setting overrides the other) • *Ink is used up during its daily cleaning procedure and even though it might be a miniscule amount, it can slowly drain the cartridges if not used for several months • Must be left plugged in and on (goes to sleep) in order to do its daily cleaning routine One thing to keep in mind after owning several similar printers (Epson and Canon) is that none of these are inexpensive printers to own. If you’re not going to use it the way it was meant to be used and just let it sit there, it’s probably a waste of money. The inks are not terribly expensive but multiplied by 8, they do add up. And using high-quality papers can be expensive as well. On the other hand, if you’re serious about photography and take time to learn how to get the best out of it, it’s a terrific printer.

CraigL

Originally posted at

2010-01-10T19:00:00

HP Photosmart B9180 printer is a great printer if you are rich enough to keep it going. I have printed about 40 13 x 19 photos and it not only tells me that I need new cartridges at a cost of 39.00 or so per each and it takes 8 of them, but that I also need 2 printi heads at a cost of around 65.00 dollars each and it takes 4 of those to fill it. The HP Photosmart 8750 does the same job and only uses three cartridges which include print heads at a cost of around 90.00 total. I am going to get rid of the B9180 and continue with the 8750 which is a real work horse. I have had it for several years and thought the B9180 would be an improvement. That was a mistake.

bee7474

Originally posted at

2009-12-30T19:00:00

I received this printer in July for my birthday. Since then I returned it and got a second printer because it wouldn't work. With this second printer I have yet to get a photo with good color. If I scan a photo the colors do not match the original. If I print from a file the colors are as if they were only on the surface of the paper. There is no depth to the photo and the colors don't even come close to the original. i have tried using my desktop and my laptop and have the same result with both of them. I am so upset with HP and this printer. I have numerous case numbers trying to get help with this problem and the agents have yet to come up with the answer. Also I can't print envelopes with it because in the print preview screen the return and delivery addresses are never in the place where I position them in word. Again I have tried both of my computer's and get the same result. I plan to return the printer again.

GailJane

Originally posted at

2009-10-20T20:00:00

I have had this printer 18 months, bought it for the large photo capability printing. If you shut the printer off, there is a 10 minute wait once you power on to use the printer as it goes through various maintenance cycles. If you leave the printer "always on" then 3 times a day it goes through printer head maintenance and it uses up ink. The printer stops printing when "it" senses you are out of ink in a cartridge, even though it still has plenty of ink in the cartridge. I usually put in an older "empty" cartrige & I'm able to print a few more sheets. Paper constantly gets jammed. The printheads wear our quickly and are $70. each to replace, it uses 3 of them. HP raised the price of the cartridges from $33.95 to $38.95 so a new set of 8 cartridges cost $312. I read in PC World Mag where the ink is 5% of HP's total sales but it accounts for 95% of their profit. Sometimes the prints come out nice, sometimes they have banding problems and streaks. My 10 year old deskjet 722C puts this printer to shame. With regards to total cost of ownership, the printer is $699. and if you use 2 sets of ink cartridges in one year it's an extra $624 which totals to over $1300. for the first year. Unless you are on Forbes list of the wealthiest people in the world, stay away from this printer. It uses more ink than my 1971 Dodge Challenger Hemi burns gas.

billyG

Originally posted at

2009-09-16T20:00:00

Fantastic prints!!! Wish I could be here in 100-years to see the quality. Ink usage is major problem. It seems that just as I am ready to start a printing project, 1 to 3 inks have suddenly dried up. 2-days shot. 1-day to order 1-day to prepare printer. Needed--- 4-Step Forward Ordering System Since I am one of those who buys direct from HP I want HP to develop an ink-anticipation, forward-ordering system that: 1. Monitors my ink usage in real time against historic use 2. Develops an advanced ink-ordering plan that ships me fresh inks and cartridges prior to running out. 3. Automatically apply discounts that I am entitled to 4. Add an additional discount for doing this forward-ordering

YBE

Originally posted at

2009-08-09T20:00:00

I have been using this printer as my photo work horse for several years and the only problem I have encountered is a streak that has developed on one side of the print. The printer was out of warranty but HP provided me a trade-in upgrade option to replace my faulty printer with a factory refurbished unit at a fraction of the cost of a new one. Although there are probably other comparable products available, HP customer service has ALWAYS come through. It is easy to reach a real person and everytime they have worked to make it right, rather than make me jump thru hoops. NOTE: Aside from the streaking issue, the print quality is 5 stars. Aside from the streaking issue, this has been an outstanding printer. I generally print 5x7, but have used the art paper, canvas and other print media and each is excellent. Ink usage is much faster than indicated on HP's usage chart, but their online delivery service is fast and due to the volume of supplies I use, overnight shipping is generally free. Great product, service and delivery.

George281

Originally posted at

2009-02-13T19:00:00

I really liked this printer. Great quality, decent performance, handles multiple paper sizes, nice set of features. However, I was only happy with it for less than two years. It has just broken down and needs to be replaced to the tune of $279 for a refurbished unit. The reason? The paper sensor has gone down. In other words, this printer can no longer tell when it has paper in it. Just for reference, although I do use this printer for a home-based business, I do NOT punish this printer with heavy use. There are some weeks when I will only print out several pages, other weeks -- when I'm on the road -- when I won't print out ANY pages. This thing should not break down in less than two years, and that's primarily why I give it an overall rating of 1 star; the other part of the "1" rating is that the ink cartridges are expensive, and I'm now stuck with quite a few of them.

UnhappyJ

Originally posted at

2009-02-09T19:00:00

This printer prints the most fantastic quality photos and documents. However that's where the good features end. It constantly requires tweaking during automatic paper feeds. Paper jams occur frequently and seem to be rather violent to the hardware. The paper trays are unwieldy and are not user friendly. The printer also takes between 10 to 20 minutes to initialize if you turn it off so to have it availabel when you need it you must leave it turned on all the time or wait (even when frimware and software is up to date). It requires expensive advance photo glossy paper to repalce a printhead, ink tank, to align heads, and to calibrate the printer. The print heads fail quickly and have to be replaced at $70.00 apiece x 4 heads. The ink is expensive and not readily available except by the HP store. For non-photo document printing it uses large amounts of ink. If you run out of a colored ink you cannot print in black only. For example if you run out of magenta or the magenta printhead is faulty the entire printer is useless even if you just want to print in plain black. My previous Deskjet 1220c lasted for 8 years before I bought this one and printed almost 200,000 pages with little trouble other than occassional paper jams. If the 9180 worked as well as the 1220c this would be the most outstanding printer.

calvert

Originally posted at

2008-12-18T19:00:00

I owned HP B9180 for a year before I got tired of power cycling and ink usage! When I first got it, printer produced acceptable quality prints till I updated the firmware!! After that no matter what I did my prints did not match my monitor. I did not like the gloss differential it created on semi-matte and glossy finish. The other thing I did not like was power cycling when printer displayed the error massage which I never figured why it was happening!! and each time it happened I had to disconnect the printer from power wait 30 second then connect the power cord back to the printer. You might think that is not a big deal!! each time you disconnect power from printer it looses the color calibration so you have to that again and that means more ink gets wasted plus one sheet of glossy paper!! According to HP you have to leave the printer on all the time for the printer to maintain its health so everyday printer shoots some ink through its print heads and that expensive ink just gets wasted, since printer does not have user replaceable waste tank sooner or later you get your sponge pads saturated with ink and that will cause a premature print head failure. Default setting for printer maintenance software coming on too early and too frequent to tell you buy more ink while ink cartridges still had lot of ink left in them! On the positive note it prints nice B&W but how often you print B&W?? B9180 ink does not like Ilford paper and if you print on the Ilford you need to let it dry at least 24 hrs or more before storing it even after 24 hours of drying if you touched the surface of the print you would see some marking. Print sharpness and saturation of B9180 is not as good as Epson comparable printers.

Morad B.

2008-11-23T19:00:00

This is an outstanding high performance pigmented ink jet photo printer. I've printed thousands of photos over the past two years, and they have all come out perfectly - for purposes ranging from snapshots, photo albums, wedding abums, gallery displays, fine art printing, etc. I especially like the (1) internal self-calibration feature (this virtually eliminates having to create separate ICC profiles to take into account print engine differences machine to machine), and (2) the self monitoring the B9180 performs on an almost daily basis (I have NEVER had a print head clog up even in the dryest of conditions). Now that the printer has been around for a couple of years, there are lots of third party gallery quality print papers available (all with ICC profiles for the B9180) giving you and almost endless list of printing options. My only (minor) quibble is that I miss the Photoshop plug in from HP that worked only with Adobe CS2 (I use CS3 now). Finally, the HP store provides outstanding service levels - I won't buy HP supplies anywhere elses - more than once an overnight delivery has kept a project rolling. I have recommending this printer to several of my friends and they too are very happy with the B9180. Keep up the good work HP!

Vance

Originally posted at

2008-11-03T19:00:00

The B9180 prints in very good quality and on very heavy paper, but: » Driver • Why do we have to install 80MByte on Citrix just for a printer driver? • Where is the Driver for Windows 2003? • The Driver has 7 predefined configuration settings. We can not use any of them and have to define 3 new settings. Because the predefined settings can not changed and not deleted it's a mess for the user to select the right 3 out of 10 setting. • In the configuration register to pre-define settings you don't have the same possibility as in the manual settings register. Therefore you can not pre-define everything. Very bad. • To define the qualitiy its not possible to define the DPI. There are only Draft, Normal, Optimal and Maximal. » Handling • If you change the Paper-Format, then the Driver changes the Input bin. If you change the Input Bin then the driver changes the Print Quality. And so on. Its Crazy. • If the Manual Tray is open, you always have to put in the next sheet, otherwise the printer blinks and it looks like a problem. But how can I know which kind of paper the next job needs? We wouldn't choose this printer again because it is not user friendly.

Schittli

Originally posted at

2008-10-09T20:00:00

After only a year I am now on my 3rd B9180, the prior two having locked-up and stopped working. Fortunately, HP Service was responsive to replacing the two lemons. This is my first HP photo printer. I have always been very pleased with all HP office printers, and so I had high expectations of the B9180. The good news is that HP Service has been great to resolve the hardware problems. The only continuing issue is software: the Photoshop add-in for the B9180 can cause Photoshop to crash. I have learned to make doubly sure to save my image files prior to attempting a print with the B9180!

PhotoGuy

Originally posted at

2008-09-21T20:00:00

I started out looking for a printer for labels and was not pleased with the quality of most printers. I am very pleased with the quality of these photos and will never have to get anything professionally printed for my business. When I printed my first high resolution picture I couldn't stop looking at it in amazement of how there was no pixalation!

DanielK

Originally posted at

2008-08-29T20:00:00

While this printer's results are excellent it is breaking the bank when it comes to replacing print heads. I've already replaced three and i just received a warning that all print heads are bad. I almost have enough in print head replacement greater than the cost of the printer. With the recent warning the cost of replacing the print heads will exceed the price of the printer. Looks like i am going to have to bite the bullet soon and replace the printer.... I'M GOING BROKE...... ANYONE FOR A USED PRINTER THAT NEEDS FOUR NEW PRINTS HEADS......

Stash

Originally posted at

2008-08-21T20:00:00

If you don't mind spending over $500 in ink then this is a great printer,that is what I have spent in 2 years of owning it!

echo13

Originally posted at

2008-07-11T21:00:00

This printer was purchased because the very similar B8850 was on back-order and the B9180 was available. I was hesitant about buying the B8850 due to limitations with material thickness compared to the B9180 and was going for it because it cost less, but I'm glad I bought the B9180 because it's capable of printing material twice as thick, especially since I'm a fan of heavyweight cotton rag media. Also considered was the Epson R1900 but negative reviews and B&W print limitations ruled it out, though the gloss optimizer was appealing. Setup of the HP was touchy, especially as the box had been opened and the quick-start instructions were missing, but the info was available via download and went fairly easily except for a glitch during the software installation when the software install program attempted to access the Internet to check for updated drivers -I can't really say why I agreed to the requested search because I'm using an IBM compatible running XP and that OS has been around long enough for satisfactory drivers to be available. Lesson learned because the search hung things up to the point that I had to start the software install over, including uninstalling the botched initial install. Once the printer was finally up and running the difficulty was forgotten because the prints are beautiful. I use Photoshop CS2 and it's simple to print from so far. I'm using a USB 2.0 connection but the Ethernet capability that the B9180 has -and the 8850 doesn't- should be a plus when the printer goes upstairs next to our router. As others have stated, this machine is built like a tank, though it's still far more manageable than my 24" wide format Epson 7600. A roll feed might be useful but I am somewhat tired of curled media, so it's not that big a deal for me. I really appreciate the ink cartridge capacity as compared to the Epson and Canon printers, and I've started a print log in an effort to determine average print capacity per cartridge, though I expect that this HP will give me more prints per ink set, especially since it doesn't go through head-cleaning rituals that waste ink like my Epsons have. I also appreciate not having to waste ink switching black inks as with my 7600, especially since that procedure can burn through a large quantity of ink in the process as well as prematurely filling the catch tank that the Epson uses. Overall I'm happy as a clam with this printer because the bottom line is the output, and this printer does that amazingly well. This does seem to be a pro-quality inkjet printer, capable of creating archival prints that will be around long after I’m gone. If you can afford this machine, I recommend it because there is no waiting for a print to arrive in the mail or worrying about how a print is going to come out. Adorama could put its photo printing business out of business if everyone had one of these beauties!

The E.

2008-05-31T20:00:00

I bought this printer for one purpose, printing on adhesive back vinyl. It has performed very well, ink is truly waterproof and UV resistant... exactly what I wanted. I have read all previous reviews and I agree, it does have quirks that none of my other 'old-reliable' HP's have had over the years. It doesn't feed some media without jamming, such as transparancies, but I have found way to fool it into working. No other printers I have are this finicky. If I didn't absolutely have to have waterproof printing, I would not have bought this printer. It's the only this keeping it in my office, but it's a big thing... not much competition out there. I definitely recommend buying an extended service plan. I bought one through HP (extends it to 3 years), that provides for an immediate next business day replacement shipped to my door if it breaks and cannot be resolved through tech support. HP has bought me two new printers in the past 1.5 years and it has been a breeze to deal with the process (phone support once and internet chat support the second time. I only print maybe 100 to 150 sheets per month, so obviously a printer shouldn't be so fragile. The first time it just stopped working. The second time the speciaty media door function would not work. I just noticed HP has come out with a little brother for this printer... the B8850. No reviews posted yet. Hopefully the reliability will be better.

dbarton

Originally posted at

2008-05-07T21:00:00

This printer is still new and replaces a Canon S-9000 with blocked printhead issues. The set-up was easy although many steps. The proof sheets coming off this printer are sharp and accurate. I have tried a few fine art prints and so far the colors look good and accurate. Too early to tell about ink consumption but the 27ml. ink cartridges are a big plus.

Montana J.

2008-03-26T20:00:00

HP has broken into the professional/prosummer printing world with the B9180! I print exclusively B+ size prints and the output is nothing short of extraordinary. The advanced/artistic papers match well with the printer and the color saturation is phonomenal! The printer build quality is typical HP, heavy and very robust to include a metal paper cover. The only complaint I have with this printer is the Vista driver which will NOT ACCEPT PRINTS GREATER THAN 80 MBs!! That is a real downer and detracts from an otherwise great printer!! HP, you need to fix the Vista driver!! That is the reason for only 3 stars in what otherwise would be a 5 star rating in performance - I have to keep an XP computer around to handle large files!!

Stealth01

Originally posted at

2008-01-20T19:00:00

I have had this printer for less than a full month so have not had the time to put it completely through it's paces. I have also not set up the network connection and have been using it on a USB 2.0 connection.Set-up was fairly intuitive, but one should read the accompanying documentation before set-up and then follow the documentation step-by-step.My sole intention for purchasing this printer was use as a photo printer. Photo print quality is superb using a variety of both glossy and "satin" photo paper of various brands. HP Advanced Photo paper and Kodak Professional paper produce equally high-quality results. Color rendition is faithful throughout the color palette, as are blacks and grays. I have printed several documents simply because the printer was already selected and I did not switch to my document printer. Print time and quality for these documents is excellent. I did a lot of research and comparison shopping before purchasing the printer from Adorama.com; my expectations were fully met. [...]Hats off to both HP and Adorama.com!JESStafford, VA

JES

2007-12-28T19:00:00

Overall I've found my printer to work really well....the only complaints I really have about it are the fact that you can only use advanced paper (premium looks cruddy and they don't have the photo cards or 12x12 paper in advanced)....and the prints scratch kinda easy if handled....other than that...the ink lasts pretty well, the prints look great....def. worth the money

scrapangel

Originally posted at

2007-11-29T19:00:00

A really poor product that failed after 13 months of periodic use. Noisy on startup, slow to print and unreliable. When it does work, the prints are great. But, it is not worth the trouble.

KA1957

Originally posted at

2007-11-06T19:00:00

Love the printers but, had several problems with printing on canvas paper , went thought 2 boxes of canvas and a other printer that HP sent me, to get it to print on canvas but think it was the canvas after all that , still really don't know!!! HP was great trying to help me thou but just be careful.

SSWazz1

Originally posted at

2007-10-19T20:00:00

I've used the printer for about six months and found if you leave it on it will clean the heads about 6 times a day and use up a lot of ink. If you turn off the printer, every time you turn it on it will also clean the heads which will use ink. There is no way to stop this. I've spent too much money replacing ink cartridges. Other then that the printer prints very nice.

stang128

Originally posted at

2007-09-11T20:00:00

This is an incredible printer, both for the features and the money. It is relatively easy to set up and operation is a snap. It gives you incredible photographs that are as good if not better than those from a pro photo lab on photographic paper. So far the ink is used conservatvely and the selection of papers is wide and varied. I have nothing negative to say about this device. No photo printer will give you better results for any amount of dollars. Only shortcoming may possibly be the lack of ability for roll paper, but in my case I doubt that I will ever exceed the 13x19 size available. Buy it!!!

wizard

Originally posted at

2007-09-09T20:00:00

This is my 6th HP photo printer in the last 12 years, and by far the most satisfying. I've owned it for several months, and have printed using the advanced photo paper satin and gloss as well as the canvas and smooth fine art Hannemuhle papers. The canvas prints are jaw-droppingly beautiful when mimicking oils and watercolors (but be sure to dust off the edges to avoid voids created by canvas particles). The colors are identical to what I see on my monitor, and the range of Cyans and Blues in sky area are perfect, with no blocking or pixelization. Individual cartridges are long-lived. Sepia variations printed on the smooth fine art paper are gallery quality. The Photoshop plugin works almost flawlessly, and makes printing effortless. The added bonus of using the Advanced Photo Papers is that prints are virtually dry when they come out of the printer, and much less susceptible to dust and handling. CON: When adding border treatments in Photoshop, the print must be reoriented 90 degrees in order to avoid printing a fine line approximately 1/4" below the bottom horizontal edge of the print. The same is true of photos modified in Painter Essentials 3. But knowing this in advance, it's an acceptable glitch given the final results.

GLRPHD

Originally posted at

2007-08-01T20:00:00

This printer is one of the best and highest quility photo printers out on the market today. I have a hobby in digital photosaand copying. I get great results every time.

Printsalot

Originally posted at

2007-05-19T20:00:00

I am an architecture student, and I need a printer to print boarderless printing on both sides... It does not have a two side printing option so,,, you just print the odd pages then even ones... the thing is it leaves streak marks and tends to print at an angle sometimes. BUT if you are just printing single photos,,, yes this is great for that, haven't had a problem yet with printing great single professional quality photos... it just bugs me that it messes up for continuous printing... right now as I type i'm printing my portfolio on my older photo printer,, the hp photosmart 7960... it is a bit old,, but when i need something done now, knowing that the quality won't be as good,, but it won't leave streaks or print on an angle,, just takes about 2-3 hours to pint.. Ha.. choose wisely.

archstudent

Originally posted at

2007-04-25T20:00:00

The B9180 is an awesome machine. If only it were wider than 13 inches! Keep up the good work, HP.

d98125d

Originally posted at

2007-04-09T20:00:00

Print quality is very good, however many problems exist 1. Software problem: not sufficient drying time allowed - scratching occurs. One needs to remove each printed page to avoid scratching. Drying time cannot be adjusted manually. 2. Trying to print on media thicker that 1 mm caused the head to scratch the media surface. HP claims media up to 1.5 mm thick can be used. Overall, I do not recommend this printer

Eric

Originally posted at