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Photo Speed (4.85)
Test times for photo printing on the HP Photosmart C5180 All-in-One photo printer at maximum resolution (4800 x 1200 dpi) were pretty slow. Its recorded speeds were slower than both of the other all-in-one printers in our lab, the Canon Pixma MP600 and the Kodak EasyShare 5300. Staff at printerinfo test printer speed for photos at 4x6-inch, 8.5x11-inch, and maximum print sizes on the printer's Best print settings. The HP 5180 has a Maximum Resolution setting, but since this is conducted with interpolated resolution, this setting was not used. Manufacturers' tested times will differ, as most printer manufacturers conduct their testing at draft or normal quality settings.
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Photo Print Speeds in Pages per Minute
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From Computer
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From CompactFlash
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4x6
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8.5 x 11
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4x6
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8.5 x 11
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file size
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sml
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lge
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sml
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lge
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sml
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lge
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sml
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lge
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Kodak EasyShare 5300
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2.18
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1.67
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0.58
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0.56
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1.54
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n/a
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0.56
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n/a
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Canon Pixma MP600
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1.62
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1.66
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0.52
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0.51
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0.88
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0.56
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0.41
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0.28
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HP Photosmart C5180
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1.19
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1.19
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0.29
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0.32
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0.57
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0.53
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0.21
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0.20
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Color Accuracy (2.82)
We test color performance in terms of accuracy and saturation. To gauge the color accuracy of the HP C5180, we created a digital GretagMacbeth color checker based on its known LAB values and printed it with the HP C5180 in sRGB color space. We then measured the color squares using an Eye-One Pro spectrophotometer and compared the results with the original chart.
The discrepancy between the HP C5180’s rendering of the chart and the original resulted in a 7.64 mean Delta E color error. This is not as accurate as we would have liked to see, though the overall reproduction looks decent. The printer is most errant in its blue and green tones, oversaturating both heavily. The HP C5180’s depiction of the Yellow Green patch turns almost to forest green, loosing all of its red and most of its blue tonality. There is a strong shift in a lot of the tones, but it seems like most of these alterations were intentional adjustments on the part of HP to create a more vibrant striking aesthetic. While this may appeal to some consumers, we would have preferred to see something more true to the original file.
Color Gamut (2.72)
This test compares the total number of colors a printer can create to the total number of colors in Adobe RGB space. Our chart above, created with Gamutvision, shows the color space of the printer graphically. The printer’s color space is shown as the solid volume in the chart, and the grid surrounding it is the Adobe RGB space. The more colors a printer can produce, the more saturated and rich its prints can be.
The HP C5180 could produce only 42.2 percent of the number of colors in Adobe RGB space, which is significantly less than some other printers in its price range (the Canon MP600 for example, produced 54.5 percent of Adobe colors). The HP C5180 produced more colors when printing on its proprietary paper as opposed to a third party paper, though it specifically lacked variety in dark greens.
Dmax (5.23)
In this test we measured the density of the blackest black that a printer can produce, called Dmax. Dmax is determined by the ratio of light reflected off the paper. The less light reflected, the higher the score. Since the whitest white of a print is determined by the paper, Dmax gives an indication of the full extent of a printer’s tonal range, a value similar in significance to dynamic range in cameras. The blacker the blacks can get, the more tones can be produced in the print. This has a huge impact on image quality. All test prints were made on two kinds of glossy paper, HP Advanced glossy and Ilford Galerie smooth gloss, as glossy papers tends to yield the blackest blacks.
The HP C5180 produced its best Dmax value, 2.12, using HP photo paper and the stock color profile as opposed to third party paper and a custom made profile. This is a mediocre score compared to printers in a similar price range. For example, the Canon MP600 produced a Dmax of 2.20, and top performing printers can score around 2.5 or so.
Black and White (4.00)
The low Dmax value of the A440 is reflected in the quality of the black-and-white prints that this printer produced. Our test print had an overall washed-out look, and the tonal range was obviously compressed, with blown-out whites and pale, muddy blacks. While this is not a pro photo printer intended for high quality black-and-white printing, the drab monochrome prints detract significantly from our assessment of the performance of this printer.
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