Accessories

Looks great, if only it worked
I think it only fair to balance the comments of others. There is no doubt this could be a fabulous printer. In theory it does everything you could ask, it is compact, it is fast, it is cheap. But in fact it is more trouble than it is worth.

I agree that the software is flaky and difficult to install. I had one networked machine where it simply refused to identify the printer (I think it had something to do with that machine being on a segment of my network fed from a switch but I don't know why). In the end I had to physically move the computer to install and then it was okay. And every time it fails to install you have to go through a painfull clean up routune.

Eventually I got the knack and installed the drivers/applications on 3 machines - then the printer stopped working. The black ink would not work. From trawling the internet this seems a common problem. HP could not diagnose the fault. They claimed the printer was out of warranty but I eventually proved it was not, so they sent a new one. This lasted 2 months and then the same thing happened. So I am on my third printer and again the software install is playing up. I have had to role back my OS even as it completely stopped my laptop working. In the past I have even seen rogue processes running that take 100% of CPU. This is costing me a lot of time to solve. So unless you are very patient and very computer savvy, so are not freaked out by having to mess with the OS, don't take the risk with this printer.

Do not buy this printer
This printer has never worked since the day I purchased it. It is impossible to connect via a wireless network and HP support is the worst.

Good Printer - Disapearing Ink
We bought this printer about a year ago. Its been working fine for us; although we don't use it a lot. There is one major problem I have with this printer: It eats ink like crazy. We have never printed a full color picture, nor do we print color documents often, but I have replaced a few of the color cartridges three times. It seems that I can print in only black and white pages but in 2 months the printer will tell me a color cartridge is low...

Another annoying problem I have is that when any one of the color ink cartridges are low I cant print out anything at all, not even black and white prints. I've owned dozens of printers in my life and this one feels like it holds me hostage the most.

All Sizzle, No Steak
Great features, but HP ruins what could have been a great printer via horrible software and moronic "features" that are supposed to "protect your printer", such as:

Printing in color all the time, regardless of settings
The machine prevents you from using any other ink type other than HP
The machine will not allow you to print, fax, scan, copy if you just one single ink pot is close to empty.

This was actually confirmed:

Confirmed by a HP Representative, the HP 6180 Uses Yellow Ink to Print in "Black Only", regardless how you set up you printer. This means that even if you print in gray scale, it still uses all the colors to "enhance" the black.

Super easy to hook up to Mac network
I've been looking for an all in one printer that I can easily hookup to my network and this is it. I have an IMac an Ibook and both hooked up easily.However, I had to use the newer installation software from the HP website instead of the discs that came with the printer. For some reason the software on the CD didn't work on my mac. The installation probably took 2 hours and now I am able to print and scan wirelessly from both computers. Because it works wirelessly I was able to store the printer in a closet to declutter my work area. The only thing I found that isn't perfect is the scanner. Seems a bit blurry if I scan larger than 100% even though it's set at 300dpi and above. Other than that, I LOVE this printer!