HP Photosmart Printer Review

The HP line of Photosmart printers are some of the best in the industry. HP has been at the printer business longer than almost anyone out there, so you know they know what they are doing when it comes to building a quality printer.

I’ll be looking at two low cost all-in-one printers from HP: the C4680 and the C4780. Their prices range for these two printers is $70.00 to $130.00. Since I’ve been in the market for a low cost all-in-one machine I’ll be looking at these two options. Just to be sure, all-in-one printers print, scan and fax.

C4680 can be used to print photos without using the printer, just insert a memory card and you can print nice quality photos and do some editing without the need for a computer. But one of the problems with many of these low cost printers is that it just feels cheap. Another issue is the cost of ink. I really think printer companies throw these cheap printers out there for a loss and make their money on the ink.

Something to keep in mind is to check the cost of ink for the printer you are going to buy. But don’t just check the price, also see what the output rating per cartridge is. Just because a cartridge is cheaper does not mean it is a better deal if it doesn’t have a better output rating per page.

The HP C4780 is wireless, which right out of the gate is something I’m looking for. The wi-fi might be one of the few pluses of this model. Again, we have an ink price issue. The ink is very expensive for this model. Also, there are few bells and whistles in this model.

My conclusion is that maybe I’ll get the C4680, but definitely not the C4780. Although the price is around $130.00, which is fairly reasonable, the high ink price and limited functions make this a non-starter. Since the C4680 is so inexpensive and the print quality is good, it might be worth buying if it lasts a year.