Review of the HP C5180

www.hp.com/ukstore Promising to deliver lab-quality photo prints and laser-quality documents, this sturdily built, all-encompassing unit is probably best suited to the small office/home office. With fastest photo output set at just 12 seconds for a 6x4in print, the C5180 employs six HP Vivera inks and features a useful 2.4in colour screen for earmarking images without the need for a PC (connectivity is via USB 2.0 if you do). Setting up the device takes five to ten minutes, from unwrapping and slotting in each cartridge, to the machine carrying out its alignment tests ready for the first activity. You’re guided through each stage by on-screen prompts. Once this is done, a borderless 6x4in print can be output in a minute, with A4 delivered in double that – in truth a fairly average performance for its class. However, the six-ink cache is a distinct advantage, providing a naturalistic range of colour tones. Using HP’s own branded paper, prints are also almost immediately dry to the touch, and operation is unobtrusively quiet which means you can leave it printing away in the background while you concentrate on something else. Scans can also be made without the need to hook the C5180 up to a computer, scanning direct to memory card or creating a new photographic print from an original. Using the copier facility, I also produced a reasonable-looking reproduction on plain paper, though it was slow to output. Having a built-in screen is real boon, as it also allows users to carry out rudimentary image adjustments such as rotating shots, making crops, zooming in or removing redeye. You can also add some fairly useless-looking frames or colour filter effects. Handily, there are also slots for the most common memory cards, with newer types requiring a supplementary adaptor. You also get the added ability to personalise CDs or DVDs with photos and text by printing directly onto HP CD/DVD tattoos.