Just purchased a new MacBook Pro

[zim]

So I just purchased a new MacBook Pro and got the HP PhotoSmart C4680 as the free (with rebate) printer. I didn't do any research about the printer before selecting it.. didn't know that there was an epson on the list, don't think they had them in the store. And now after getting home (printer still in box), I decided to look it up and read some rather not so good reviews. Does any one have it? Like it? Should I change it? This isn't my primary printer or scanner, just the one that will be on at all times.

Thanks!

 

[Frosties]

A free printer that is good enough and nothing special, what is not to like? You miss some speed and quality for printing photos and no wifi but it was free.

Pc advisor 3/5 ”Output quality is better than its speed”
It reviews - ”Overall it's a pretty good showing”
Lyd og bilde 3/5 ”Kompakt og enkel”
Pc magazine 3/5 ”Reasonably high-quality output across the board”

 

[katyoshi]

I thought the same myself. I purchased a new 13" MBP with a free HP C4680 printer, but I returned everything because of many reasons and I plan on getting it when the back to school promotion comes out since I don't absolutely need a mbp now. Now with the Epson printer, I've heard mixed reviews. Just know that there are more support in the store for HP products, printers, and inks such as Best Buy and Walmart, they sell tons of HP printer stuff. Very few Epson products are sold. This could either mean because of HP's popularity or because of HPs massive marketing techniques. I dont know. I'm thinking of all this out of my butt. I just have scanning issues with my C4680 when I got it with my mac mini last time. I have to actually use a SD card inserted into the printer in order to scan stuff and this is a PITA to always transfer SD cards from the printer to the computer. I say its a PITA because there is an opportunity for the printer to directly input scans into your computer, but I guess compatibility issues won't allow this simple transfer of scanned images. Well its free by rebate anyway. Just keep it, see how you like it and if you don't, craiglist it for slightly cheaper and buy a new one from walmart or best buy because they well the same printers. At my university store, they sold it for $60!

 

[zim]

Thanks for the feedback!

I have an Epson, forget the model but it is rather nice. The reason why my Epson is usually offline (stored away) is due to the ink price. I also have a really nice Epson scanner, which I love, but it is usually on the self (don't have a large work area). So this scanner/printer HP sounded nice.. might do as suggested and test it out, if I don't like it then I will sell it off or maybe gift it for a family member. My current every day printer is the cannon that I got from my last laptop and apple free promo, that printer is nice but the inks are hard to find.

I was told that I could connect the HP C4680 to my AirPort Express and scan wirelessly.. any truth to that? Going to setup the laptop first and then look into the wireless scanning.

 

[katyoshi]

Thanks for the feedback!

I have an Epson, forget the model but it is rather nice. The reason why my Epson is usually offline (stored away) is due to the ink price. I also have a really nice Epson scanner, which I love, but it is usually on the self (don't have a large work area). So this scanner/printer HP sounded nice.. might do as suggested and test it out, if I don't like it then I will sell it off or maybe gift it for a family member. My current every day printer is the cannon that I got from my last laptop and apple free promo, that printer is nice but the inks are hard to find.

I was told that I could connect the HP C4680 to my AirPort Express and scan wirelessly.. any truth to that? Going to setup the laptop first and then look into the wireless scanning.

Indeed the inks are hard to find. Yes you can connect the HP C4680 to Airport extress/extreme. I have both airports and its currently connected to my airport extreme. After a few configurations, I've managed to get it printing wireless with my mac mini and 15" MBP! It's quite simple actually with minimal hassle. However, for wireless scanning, I haven't quite played with that yet. I had to hustle in getting things scanned and emailed so I used a 2gb SD card to scan all my documents, then transfer the SD card contents to my MBP since it has a SD slot. This seems to be the best and most reliable route for me at the moment.

 

[zim]

Indeed the inks are hard to find. Yes you can connect the HP C4680 to Airport extress/extreme. I have both airports and its currently connected to my airport extreme. After a few configurations, I've managed to get it printing wireless with my mac mini and 15" MBP! It's quite simple actually with minimal hassle. However, for wireless scanning, I haven't quite played with that yet. I had to hustle in getting things scanned and emailed so I used a 2gb SD card to scan all my documents, then transfer the SD card contents to my MBP since it has a SD slot. This seems to be the best and most reliable route for me at the moment.

Do you find that the prints form the HP are good? I guess that is my only real question. I don't trust all the reviews that I have read because I know that usually it is only those that have issues that speak up and those that are happy go on being happy without discussion.

 

[instaxgirl]

I got that printer free too. I chose the HP 'cause my main printer is actually HP - it's basically the same model from 2006.

This new printer's MUCH faster for basic printing but thus far the quality of the printed photos sucks balls compared to its 2006 counterpart.

I'm kinda thinking I need to mess around with the software to work out why they're so shoddy, but I probably won't bother. I rarely print photos and i have the 2006 one for when i want to. For free I'm quite happy with it.

 

[katyoshi]

I agree that there are more people posting about the negative issues than positive aspects of their products. This printer is actually pretty fast. So far it does the job. I printed photos and it came out quite alright actually, just a little pixelated thats all and because of that, I've decided to save money on ink and just print whatever I wanted from Walmart. I don't always print pictures so the printing photos deal is not really an issue for me. If I wanted something great for printing pictures, I would've upgraded the printer when I was ordering my mac. Then again, for my own use as a grad student, I don't need heavy picture printing features, just words. So despite the picture quality being lower than higher-end printers, I would say this printer is actually good and does the job. If you're a photographer, I would think you'd want to invest in something super high quality. For an average person who loves photography, still, something little better but not as high-tech as a professional photographer.

 

[lcseds]

With Costco and Walmart, etc charging 16-19 cents a print, I have no idea why folks want to print from an expensive to feed inkjet printer. Okay in a pinch if you can't wait for one hour processing and driving to the store. The longevity of inkjet printed photos has yet to be determined.
I just print regular stuff to save the color ink and upload photos to Walmart or Costco for printing. What's great about digital photography of course is you print the 5 or so that are work keeping as opposed to the 24 or so that had to be printed when using film.

 

[emptyCup]

Thanks for the feedback!

The reason why my Epson is usually offline (stored away) is due to the ink price.

Try Carrot Ink. I've been using them for years and I've never had a problem or a bad cartridge. After you buy from them the first time you will start getting emails with discount codes.

 

[zim]

Try Carrot Ink. I've been using them for years and I've never had a problem or a bad cartridge. After you buy from them the first time you will start getting emails with discount codes.

I have always wondered about Carrot Ink, good to know that they work.. I will have to check them out a bit more.

With Costco and Walmart, etc charging 16-19 cents a print, I have no idea why folks want to print from an expensive to feed inkjet printer. Okay in a pinch if you can't wait for one hour processing and driving to the store. The longevity of inkjet printed photos has yet to be determined.
I just print regular stuff to save the color ink and upload photos to Walmart or Costco for printing. What's great about digital photography of course is you print the 5 or so that are work keeping as opposed to the 24 or so that had to be printed when using film.

Very good points. I guess it is all about the convenience of being able to print at home. To be honest I never really thought about the overall long term cost. I haven't been printing as much, trying to do away with print, forcing myself to go and print or using something like snapfish more would reduce my printing even more. I am going to check out the local options.. I have a CVS and Target nearby.

I got that printer free too. I chose the HP 'cause my main printer is actually HP - it's basically the same model from 2006.

This new printer's MUCH faster for basic printing but thus far the quality of the printed photos sucks balls compared to its 2006 counterpart.

I'm kinda thinking I need to mess around with the software to work out why they're so shoddy, but I probably won't bother. I rarely print photos and i have the 2006 one for when i want to. For free I'm quite happy with it.

Good to know! Thanks.

I agree that there are more people posting about the negative issues than positive aspects of their products. This printer is actually pretty fast. So far it does the job. I printed photos and it came out quite alright actually, just a little pixelated thats all and because of that, I've decided to save money on ink and just print whatever I wanted from Walmart. I don't always print pictures so the printing photos deal is not really an issue for me. If I wanted something great for printing pictures, I would've upgraded the printer when I was ordering my mac. Then again, for my own use as a grad student, I don't need heavy picture printing features, just words. So despite the picture quality being lower than higher-end printers, I would say this printer is actually good and does the job. If you're a photographer, I would think you'd want to invest in something super high quality. For an average person who loves photography, still, something little better but not as high-tech as a professional photographer.

Good review.. I think I am convinced now.. going to break open the box and test it out.