HP Photo smart C6380 All in one Printer is both a stylish and functional  printer designed for home and official use  which would fit in equally well with a PC or  Apple Mac Installation. Following the latest trend of moving towards wireless connections for printers, the Photosmart C6380 includes what Hp refers to as Easy WI FI.

Colored in ice white, silver and light grey this all in one printer looks smart, trendy and unfussy. This model retains all the features that you need to bring your photos to life, 9,600 by 2,400dpi flatbed scanner, dual paper feed printer, standalone copier, multipurpose card reader, and wireless networking. The HP Photosmart C6380 carves out a much leaner figure as compared with the rounded corners and circular shape of the HP Photosmart Premium Fax all-in-one.

This model is 17.79 inches long by 15.97 inches wide by and 8.17 inches deep and has a rectangular control panel across the front of the device with a 2.4 inch color LCD which pops up out of the front left corner. The onscreen menus are easy to navigate; it also has an indication which shows when it is time to change the cartridge. The control panel is quite simple and very simply designed. Across the front, there’s a directional pad and a corresponding “OK” button, a few photo editing shortcuts like zoom and red-eye removal, direct copy and scan buttons, and a “print photos” button that pulls images directly from the card reader on the bottom of the device. These buttons are easily placed unlike other printer models which clutter up the control panel with unnecessary buttons and stickers. There is another added feature that this model is a PictBridge compatible USB port for direct printing from a digital camera as well.

The paper handling of this model is very basic. The main input takes about 125 sheets of plain paper. It handles inbound paper and outbound prints with dual paper trays that sit on top of one another at the base of the printer. The two paper tray is a huge convenience that will save a lot of time and hassle over the course of the printer’s life cycle. The driver assists to automatically choose the correct type of media for a particular job, but you can also manually override it to choose one yourself.

Hp has streamlined the wireless connections for all its printers and hence this model is also equipped with a small LED on the far right of the control panel that indicates connection status with a green light. There are two easy ways of getting connected to the wireless wizard. You can connect through the settings in the printer’s menu or use the driver CD to set up an ad-hoc wireless connection through USB. However if you wish to connect to the wired network, there’s an Ethernet port on the back of the printer for connection. The sockets, and a connector for the external power supply, are all situated at the rear end.

The Photo Smart Essential software is incredibly good in HP. This software is easy to install and can install in seconds during the initial set up guiding you along the photo printing process with both text and videos that clearly illustrate the directions. This software is exactly what the casual user’s need as a much simpler way to edit and alter their photos.

There are many printers which are designed to install two cartridges but HP photosmart C6380 all-in-one printer is available with five separate ink cartridges one large black cartridge for photos, and the standard black, cyan, magenta, and yellow. The replacement cartridges are reasonably priced but the high yield ones are even a better deal.

Overall it can be concluded that print quality is the only area where the hp photosmart C6380 printer needs improvement.  The print quality is not very bad, but it is not up to the mark in comparison to other Hp models. The text prints were generally very good with a bit of stair stepping in smaller fonts, but graphics and photos were marred with a dull blue cast across the spectrum and visible without magnification. If you look in greater details you can see significant graininess in large color blocks including portraits and shading. The Hp Photo Smart C 6380 is definitely good for home users ho wish to print text and snapshots but it is suggested that dedicated photographers should seek out a more professional printer. However for the home users this all in one model is easy to use, relatively cheap to run and produces high quality prints. The convenience of a wireless connection is also a bonus.

HP also offers a good service support team for all its consumers. They provide a standard one year warranty and an Accidental Damage Protection and a Pick Up and Return program where an authorized courier will pick up your failed equipment and deliver it directly to an HP-designated repair facility. You can also avail the 24 hour toll free phone support to solve your queries.

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