HP’s recent Photosmart C5380 is an excellent, high-quality machine, with few downsides and among the best all-in-ones for its price, and a great investment for families, too.
Not much has changed visually from the C5380’s forerunners. This device has the exact same bright white front as HP’s other inkjet devices, featuring a simple control layout plus a compact color LCD display for PC-less operation.
USB 2.0 is the only connectivity option. However, the unit does have a memory card reader, along with support for MemoryStick, SD, xD, CompactFlash cards, as well as a secondary USB port for use with PictBridge-compliant products.
What the C5380 lacks in connectivity, it more than makes up for in print quality. We’ve had quality issues with previous HP inkjet printers, but the C5380 is a clear sign of transformation in this regard. Text documents are extremely sharp and legible, and have a quality similar to that of correspondingly priced monochrome laser printers. Color documents with graphic pieces are even better, with clear text complemented by bright, accurate colours.
Images contain wonderful, vivid colours, surpassing Canon’s results. The C5380 is among the first mid-range inkjet models we’ve come across that isn’t susceptible to any banding issues. The result is excellent quality photography, without the difficulties commonly associated with inkjet printers. The only slight issue we had with the quality of the C5380 was the indications of the print roller tracking marks visible in direct light. Basically, the C5380 provides the best print quality we’ve seen for such a low price.
The C5380’s print speed is also spectacular. A draft-quality text document will print at an average of 20.6 pages per minute, with the first page available in 15.3 seconds, slowing to 10.9 ppm with normal quality. Graphics documents are only slightly slower, with draft-quality documents printing at 18.75 ppm and normal-quality documents at 6.3 ppm. Photo print speed rates tend to be somewhat slower: a standard 4×6-inch photo prints in 27 seconds and a standard-quality A4 image prints in 1 minute 14 seconds. Although these rates aren’t the fastest we’ve seen, the C5380 prints faster and more consistently than other machines. The caliber of CD/DVD printing is exceptional. Quality depends on the printable media used, but the drive was still able to produce high-quality CDs and DVDs. Colors aren’t quite as vivid as photos created by the unit, but detail levels are still reasonably high. The media we used during screening was somewhat susceptible to smearing with darker colors, but otherwise we were impressed with the results.
The accompanying software is excellent; thanks to an easy-to-follow procedure that guides the user through media selection, template styling and layout, photo and text editing, and printing options as well. There are no all-encompassing options: Canon’s proprietary software offers additional room for image and text customization; however, for most users this should not be a problem.
Despite the quality of this printer, the consumables are definitely not extremely expensive. With four high-capacity HP Photosmart C5380 Ink Cartridges, it’s not the cheapest all-in-one available, but it won’t break your budget either.
The only downside to the C5380 is its scanning. Fine details are not uncommon at 4800 dpi optical resolution, and this certainly helps for really detailed black and white scans; however, scanned images are mostly undersaturated, making images paler than their source. The C5380’s scanner can become irritating. Although the hinges on the cover will move a bit to allow scanning of thicker material, they are not adaptable enough to fit a thick book without danger of breaking.