Accessories

Customer Service Chat Torture
I purchased the HP Deskjet F4180. I thought it was a bargain - $[...] plus there was a $[...] rebate bundled with a PC. Installing drivers is not hard but not easy either on my Vista PC - took 2 tries.

The only real problem was that the ink cartridge wouldn't print the color red. I went through all the usual self-help steps, reinstalling drivers, cleaning cartridge, running diagnostics, etc. It appeared to be a simple cartridge flaw. That is when I entered customer service chat hell ... the chat technician must be handling many chats because interval between each exchange was a couple minutes. I told him the steps I took, and then he lead me through everything I had done before at a very very slow pace. I know there are steps to follow but do they have to be repeated? Do I have to repeat these steps over > 1.5 hours because he is handling other problems simultaneously? There must be a better way. My great bargain wasn't such a great bargain.

p.s. after an hour and a half, the technician concluded it was a cartridge problem. they are sending a new one.

just ok, I expect more from HP
First, I don't know if this is standard practice, but the printer didn't come with the usb cable to connect it to your pc. HP generally isn't the cheapest brand, but I've generally felt the quality of the product warranted the price. Cost cutting like this really leave a bad aftertaste.

The software is a bit of a let down too. Once installed, it will automatically whatever is under the flatbed when you click the 'scan' button on the unit. Only problem is that it doesn't let you name the file, show it to you when it's done, or give any indication where it is (my documents\my scans).

Overall, the the printer/scanner itself is great. The print speed is fine and the scan quality is excellent. It's just disappointing that they didn't put the finishing touches on it to make it the total package it could have been.

Great Performer, Great Price!
A nifty, small-footprint, multi-capable machine...and at a bargain price.

Installation and set-up was darned-near transparent (even with Windows Vista Home Premium) - this thing was up and running in no time without a single glitch.

The ink cartridges are tiny, and rather than purchasing new carts every six months (as with our HP 4215) we buy them every 3 to 4 months now...BUT, they cost a lot less than the carts for the other printer.

Print quality is what you'd expect: not as good as the cheapest laser when printing strictly black text, and as good as other HP injket products when printing color. No complaints.

There are features we haven't even used yet with this machine, but it's worked fine for basic copying and printing of text.

Bottom line: highly-recommended, given the terrific price. You won't find anything better for less money.

just what I asked for
I needed a printer that was easy to setup and worked with Linux out of the box. This one has everything I need for printing and copying and scanning and it works with Linux right out of the box. The print quality for me is fine and the speed of the printer may not be up to everyones standard but for what I need/use it for it's perfect. It doesn't take up much space and so far the cartridges for it haven't broken me. I'd reccomend it to anyone who wants a simple printer/copier/scanner.

Very good for your money.
I just picked up this printer not too long ago, and I have loved it. The only thing that I don't like about it is that it is pretty big - but small for a scanner I suppose. Other than that, mine didn't come with a USB cable. Since I have a few spare USB cables already, this was no problem for me - but I find it a bit silly to not include one with the product.

The durability is incredible. At least, as far as I can tell. Just today I was cleaning around my computer desk, and accidentally backed into the printer, knocking it off of my desk onto the floor 3 feet below. I was pretty disappointed, I thought it would be broken, or that something inside would have been shaken up. But, to my amazement, nothing was hurt at all, besides the top falling off while it fell (it is removable though).


A great printer, and possibly the best copier/scanner for it's price.