HP tech support kills printers

[Earl from Ohio]

I recently received a great big HP PhotoSmart Pro B9180 printer based on it's great reviews in Macworld and my anger at Epson for making me throw away ink cartrdiges that weren't empty in order for them to sell more product.

I am on my third replacement printer. I have burned through 100 sheets of HP's VERY expensive top of the line photo paper. I have spent about 40 hours (seriously, I'm not kidding) with their tech support and I have ZERO good prints.

My first unit arrived with a set up guide that said to "wipe the print heads with the swabs provided" but there weren't any. So I called tech support. (my first mistake and {I realize now} my downfall) They said to just use a Qtip and water. For heaven's sake, PLEASE DON"T DO THAT. Right away I got lousy prints.

They I made my second mistake. I called tech support again.

I was told to download a firmware update from their web site.

DON'T DO It.

I am now on my third printer. The refurbished replacement that they sent me came with the latest firmware already installed. I realize now that is probably why that unit was returned and wound up available to be re-issued by HP. it printed lousy from CS3 and would not successfully complete the closed loop calibration

Today they sent a brand new replacement unit. This unit would self calibrate and I didn't wreck (i.e. try to swab) the printheads BUT it had the older firmware version.

LIKE A FOOL I updated the firmware. What a blunder.

NOW it wouldn't self calibrate, which means that it makes lousy prints from PhotoShop and HP wouldn't do anything about it.

This time I even took snapshots of the before and after and offered to send them to HP tech support. The jerk on the phone just said "That's impossible. Everyone is using that firmware and it's OK."

The TRUTH is that these units are still shipping with the older firmware and now that the set up guide does NOT say to swab the print heads.

Physically cleaning those print heads is a MISTAKE. So is running the firmware update from their website.

PLEASE don't make my mistakes. I now have a huge oversize costly boat anchor.

BTW, I have no idea if these printers are any good or not. I do know that they handle great big paper really will but will not load small size.

MAYBE if I got one more replacement from HP that was a shipping unit with the old firmware and I didn't swab the printheads it might be a good printer.

But I doubt it. With CS2, H-P distributed a plug-in that they developed with Adobe for Photoshop. From what I have heard, it corrected the kinds of issues that I was having (images of faces looked like the people were cadavers, bright images looked dim and grainy.) But H-P's tech morons CLAIM they solved all of that in CS3.

I think they're fibbing.