HP Photosmart C6380 – All-In-One for Photography Protagonist

Pros

The budget HP Photosmart C6380 all-in-one comes with double output trays, quick output speed, wide-ranging driver software, easy Wi-Fi setup and small footprints. But what makes it popular is the fact that it is immensely easy to use.

Cons

The output quality for the HP Photosmart C6380 is really foiling.

Introduction

HP Photosmart C6380 is all what you get after stripping HP Photosmart Premium Fax all-in-one of auto-document feeder and fax machine. The HP Photosmart C6380 retains all the features that can make your photos look awesome: duple paper feed printer, 9,600 by 2,400dpi flatbed scanner, multipurpose card reader, wireless networking and standalone copier.

After spending some time with the C6380 we can say that it is a nice printer for the photography enthusiasts, though there are really lighter saturation and few hiccups than some other posh printers we have around us. But still priced at $200, the HP Photosmart C6380 hits all the right nodes and is perfect for everyone who want all-in-one printer without the hassle of fax machine and if you are a photography protagonist then it’s even better.

Design

In comparison to Photosmart Premium Fax all-in-one with curved corners and spherical shape the C6380 has got a much leaner figure. Measuring 17.79 by 15.97 by 8.17 (L x W x D) the C6380 is comparatively smaller in size and the rectangular control panel across the façade of the printer provides it the look of a classic printer with a pinch of modernization: located at the front left corner is a 2.4 inch color LCD. The LCD screen spins to and fro, and you even can adjust the screen as per your requirement in a wide assortment of positions. The onscreen menus are easier to navigate and we especially liked the fact that there is a small graphical representation indicating your exact ink level, so as to let you know when you get another cartridge.

While the other printer’s floods their control panel with different buttons and controls, the C6380 actually has a pretty simple control panel and we were impressed with its straightforwardness. The frontage of the printer contains a navigation pad and an equivalent “OK” button, there also are some photo editing shortcuts such as the red-eye removal and zoom, and then there are direct scan and copy buttons, a “print photos” button which loads the images directly from the card reader located at the base of the device. For direct printing from the digital camera there is a USB port compatible with PictBridge.

The input and output print papers in C6380 are handled by the double paper trays that are located at the bottom of the printer and on top of one another. The dual input paper tray for HP remains impressive, one can hold standard 8.5 by 11 inch paper, and another one for 3.5 by 5 inch of photo paper and eradicates the need to swap out paper. This is a really huge convenience and will save plethora of time for you during the printer’s life cycle.

System Configuration

Manufacturer: HP
Price: $199.99
Weight: 16.4 lbs
Dimensions (W x D x H): 17.8 x 16 x 8.1 in
Inkjet Technology: HP Thermal Inkjet
Printing Technology: Ink-jet – Color – Photo printer

Supported Flash Memory: Memory Stick, CompactFlash, SD Memory Card, MultiMediaCard, Memory Stick Duo, xD-Picture Card, SDHC Memory Card
Ink Palette Supported: magenta, Cyan, photo black, yellow, pigment black
Supported Media Type: Labels, Envelopes, Cards, Plain paper, Photo paper, Transparencies
Software Included: HP Photosmart Essential, Drivers & utilities
Microsoft Certifications: Certified for Windows Vista
Max Printing Speed: up to 31 pages/min (color)/ up to 33 pages/min (mono)
Connection Type:   Ethernet, USB and Wireles

Performance

We tested HP Photosmart C6380 against some of the fastest all-in-one printers that we’ve tested and the results were pretty good. Though, the HP Photosmart C6380 certainly wasn’t the fastest of the lot, but we were amazed to see it producing prints at competitive print speed. Photosmart C6380 couldn’t beat the Photosmart Premium Fax all-in-one from HP in text or graphic printing, it showed some great results in our presentation printing test and printed 4.44 pages per minute in comparison to Kodak ESP5′s 2.21 pages per minute. The same was the case for the photo printing test as well and we got the same timing for Photosmart C6380  what we got for others, except for Epson Artisan 800 which leads the race with remarkable 2.82 color pages per minute.

While the print speed results were satisfactory, we felt that there is room for improvement in the print quality. Though, the print quality wasn’t the worst we’ve seen, but it certainly isn’t the up to the mark, especially considering the all-in-ones we’ve in the market from HP. The text prints were comparatively good quality with a slight defect in the small prints, but photos and graphics were flawed with a monotonous blue cast athwart the spectrum and was clearly visible without any sort of magnification. So on a whole the print quality of the printer was pretty satisfactory for C6380, and it definitely will please casual users who just want prints for their snapshots and text. But if you want any professional print quality for your prints then you probably should keep your search on.

Support

HP Photosmart C6380 is backed by HP’s usual one-year warranty including 24-hour toll-free telephonic support and an alternative to upgrade to two years service by paying a minimal fee. Apart from this HP offers a Pick Up and Return program in which their certified courier will Pick Up your failed printer and will take it to the authorized HP-designated service centre. There also is an additional Accidental Damage Protection offered by HP. HP’s website offers plenty of FAQs, online classes, troubleshooting tips, and drivers downloads and live chat with HP sales representative for answering your questions.

Word from the Experts

HP Photosmart C6380 is a fine printer for novel photography fanatics who just are satisfied with their simple photo prints. The scanning and copying potentialities and six-ink cartridge bay enhances its versatility, even though there is a little wobble in the print quality, but the C6380 still is a worth buying computer for the money.