I bought an HP B9180.It's in the mail as I speak.Are you happy with the printer or did I buy the wrong printer? What paper do you like to run thru it? I like glossy and HP pro Satin.How does the fine art papers run and with ones do you like best? It will be running on a MACPRO and on bootcamp under in XP Pro.I'm running OS X 10.5.7 and XP Pro with service pack 3 and all software is at update level.
Thank You.
PS I already have an Epson R 2400, the thing eats ink WAY too much and I have a HP Z3100 ps GP.Too big for the house right now.
I bought a HP 9180 3 years ago and have been pleased with the output using HP professional Satin Photo Paper. I have tried other mfg. papers with less than outstanding results...ie Ilford Gold Fiber Silk. The output is a little too washed out using the canned Ilford GFS profile for this printer. The soft proofing in CS3 looks good after a minimal curves adj. but the print never matches and is washed out!
There is never a problem using canned HP profiles and paper, along with a profiled I Mac monitor and OS 10.4.11. It just works!
A few things to note: Before the recent firm ware update, you should be ok, the printer used way too much ink for its periodic cleaning. It was driving me to the poor house and after the first year, gunked up the innards so badly that HP replaced it under the extended warranty. This brings me to point 2. Get the extended warranty, at or after purchase. I am currently on my third printer under this warranty. Thank goodness, because with out it I would have spent twice what the printer originally cost me just trying to keep it clean, replacing print heads and in wasted ink.
This is the best printer I Have owned to date... and replaced my early Epson Pro 3000.
I really don't believe that the dependability of any of the printers out there are what their marketing departments like to claim. HP, Epson and cannon printers can make superb prints when new, clean and functional. The problem is keeping them that way, thus the extended warranty. I figure that if I can make prints with only a yearly printer replacement under warranty, then after 3 years of printing I will have it paid for and can move on to the next latest and GREATEST.