Hewlett Packard B9180

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colind

Has anyone experience with this printer? I'm in the market for a
better than average photo printer and am sick of Epson brand machines;
they guzzle ink and have a problem with their print heads. The
reviews I've read about the 9180 are generally very positive, but as
you know, reviews have a tendency to be either skewed or not based on
long term real world analysis. I was also looking at the Canon 5000
but it's out of my league in terms of price...Thanks and Happy New
Year.
 
I am not familiar with that printer. However, if you are looking for
some deals, here is a website you might want to check out:

http://discountphotoprinters.org

They have listings of all brands and pretty good prices. They also have
data feeds so you can use your rss reader to keep up with new
additions. Hope that helps you find a good price on a new printer. Take
care and Happy New Year.

Jay
 
Has anyone experience with this printer? I'm in the market for a
better than average photo printer and am sick of Epson brand machines;
they guzzle ink and have a problem with their print heads. The
reviews I've read about the 9180 are generally very positive, but as
you know, reviews have a tendency to be either skewed or not based on
long term real world analysis. I was also looking at the Canon 5000
but it's out of my league in terms of price...Thanks and Happy New
Year.
Click to expand...

For printer reviews:
http://www.photo-i.co.uk/

The B9180 gets a good - and reasonably thorough review there. When all
is going well, the printer is extremely good.

I suggest that you also read the forums at Photo-i and DPReview. There
are very many reports of issues that users are encountering - HP are
having more than a fair share of teething problems with this model.
(Sure - there are always problems reported with new models, but read
some forums and you will see that there are a flood of problems with the
B9180)

The B9180 also guzzles ink. Although cartridges are larger (27ml) than
most desktop printers, they are more expensive "per ml of ink", plus it
appears that the HP pigment ink is applied more heavily. Based on a
cartridge cost of US$30, then ink cost per a3+ print will be at least
US$2.50 based on HP claimed yield, so no different to Epson's desktop
printers.
 
For printer reviews:
http://www.photo-i.co.uk/

The B9180 gets a good - and reasonably thorough review there. When all
is going well, the printer is extremely good.

I suggest that you also read the forums at Photo-i and DPReview. There
are very many reports of issues that users are encountering - HP are
having more than a fair share of teething problems with this model.
(Sure - there are always problems reported with new models, but read
some forums and you will see that there are a flood of problems with the
B9180)

The B9180 also guzzles ink. Although cartridges are larger (27ml) than
most desktop printers, they are more expensive "per ml of ink", plus it
appears that the HP pigment ink is applied more heavily. Based on a
cartridge cost of US$30, then ink cost per a3+ print will be at least
US$2.50 based on HP claimed yield, so no different to Epson's desktop
printers.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the references. I'm going to check those out tonight. Is
there a printer in the class of the B9180 that you find more reliable,
works better, has less problems, etc that you have experience with? I
don't know if I can handle another Epson although I was going in that
direction initially, looking at the 1800 and 2400. I'd like to keep
it below $700 if possible. Thanks all for the help...
 
Has anyone experience with this printer? I'm in the market for a
better than average photo printer and am sick of Epson brand machines;
they guzzle ink and have a problem with their print heads. The
reviews I've read about the 9180 are generally very positive, but as
you know, reviews have a tendency to be either skewed or not based on
long term real world analysis.
Click to expand...

I do not have any direct experience, but I did order a (free) print sample
from
http://www.hp.com/sbso/productivity.../IPG/VAcontent/colorprinters/Orderprintsample
and was impressed with the print quality. There is also a very active Yahoo
group dedicated to this printer at
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/hp9100Series/. They have over 300
members, with lots of profiles for various papers and lots of discussion.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, MS MVP Printing/Imaging
 
Thanks for the references. I'm going to check those out tonight. Is
there a printer in the class of the B9180 that you find more reliable,
works better, has less problems, etc that you have experience with? I
don't know if I can handle another Epson although I was going in that
direction initially, looking at the 1800 and 2400. I'd like to keep
it below $700 if possible. Thanks all for the help...
Click to expand...

I've had an R1800 for about 18 months, with no nozzle blockage problems
or other problems over that period. I'd still recommend the R1800 if
you mainly print glossy and colour.
If you expect to change between matte and gloss media frequently, then
the 2400 has the added problem of having to switch black cartridges -
wasting a few dollars worth of ink each time.
It seems that the B9180 can match or exceed R2400 output quality (and
IMO the 2400 is "state of the art") for monochrome and colour, but has a
little more gloss differential. A downside is less support for
third-party media, although that will come in time.
I wouldn't suggest not buying the B9180 - but I would suggest perhaps
finding out what HP support is like in your area first. One of the
major complaints that are being expressed is that HP support don't seem
to have the first idea about the printer. OTOH several users have
reported that they have had good response with replacements from
retailers for faulty units - so check the return policy. Problems have
been varied, but include faulty print heads and paper feed mechanisms,
banding, some software bugs - the usual stuff, but more complaints on
user forums than any other printer I can remember in recent times.
But if you get a "good one" they are supposed to be very very good.
I only hope that Canon and HP succeed in this part of the market. Ink
prices are crazy, and only through real competition is there any hope
that prices will come down.
 
I do not have any direct experience, but I did order a (free) print sample
from
http://www.hp.com/sbso/productivity.../IPG/VAcontent/colorprinters/Orderprintsample
and was impressed with the print quality. There is also a very active Yahoo
group dedicated to this printer at
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/hp9100Series/. They have over 300
members, with lots of profiles for various papers and lots of discussion.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, MS MVP Printing/Imaging
Click to expand...

Thanks again; I'm going to sniff out the newsgroup tonight and see
what people are saying about the 9180.
 
Thanks again; I'm going to sniff out the newsgroup tonight and see
what people are saying about the 9180.
Click to expand...

I did check out the newsgroups and found there were issues with the
B9180, firmware and mechanical problems and no roll paper for
panoramas and ink issues. But it did sound like an amazing printer
when it was working properly. I still might check it out next year
after the bugs are out. If anyone is interested in this printer now
or in the near future,, http://www.buydig.com has it for a great
price, $569 with free shipping. Thanks again and Happy 2007.
 
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