HP Photosmart C6180 All in One PROBLEMS

We have this weird re-occurring problem with our printer (1 yr old). We are trying to scan to PDF and have done this in the past no problem. However now it gives and error message that there is a communication problem with the printer. Tried switching both off and rebooting etc. Problem remains. Previously I re-installed the driver and the problem went away, but while when it works its great, it does not always work and it is not obvious what the problem is... Is there anyone that knows how we can best and most effectively remedy this. Is this an HP thing or something to do with the MAC setup?

Grateful for any helpful suggestions. Floor

MAC Pro, Mac OS X (10.5.3), 2Gb, 250+750+1000Gb HDD, 23" Cinema, Aperture, HDV, Apple TV

Posted on Nov 18, 2008 5:54 PM

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14 replies

Nov 21, 2008 8:27 AM in response to van D

What error msg do you get?

Have you checked HP's support pages? Here's [a page|http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/documentSubCategory?rule=28525&lc=en&dl c=en&cc=us&product=1153494&lang=en] that may contain relevant info.

See also [HP's general site|http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/product?product=1153494&lc=en&cc=us&dlc =en&lang=en&cc=us&submit=Go%20] for that product.

/p

Nov 22, 2008 6:00 AM in response to pullman

Thank you. I have tried and even downloaded the latest driver again. I have always found HP to be so reliable and the MAC but I am starting to wonder if the combination is perhaps a problem. Perhaps only with model... I will have another look at the sites you provided in case I have missed something but still hoping to hear some useful experience in correcting if anyone has any of that.

On retrying just now, a slightly different error message turned up: "Scanner could not be initialised...." can;t read it all before the unexpected quit message pops up and offers me to report ignore or relaunch...

Nov 22, 2008 9:20 AM in response to van D

for sure try a new cable simply because it may be the problem and the solution is easy if it is. I have several old hard drives lying around and would do a clean install of OSX on one of them and then an install of the HP software on it to see if it will work properly with a fresh clean install. That would tell you if it's a conflict. Another option is to use a second account on your mac and try it from there to see if the conflict is in your user account prefs.

Nov 27, 2008 6:36 PM in response to van D

I too have had the same problem with my HP6180 after updating to 10.5; today I tried a combination that has so far corrected the problem:
1. Uninstall all HP c6180 printers under system pref/print&fax
2. Uninstall Hewlett-Packard software via apps > HP directory > uninstall
3. Install Apple 1.1.1 HP software
4. Open System Prefs/Print&Fax > Install (under the default icon on the left) the HP printer with bonjour (under kind) and close; you now have one icon for HP 6180 in the list
5. Install HP software 9.7.1 for 6180
6. Run through the set up; check to skip the questionnaire at the end; skip opening the print/fax as it requests in the set up process; check registration later box > uncheck all the boxes to remind you to register later and complete the install process.
7. Now open the print/fax under system prefs and you should have 2 icons for HP 6180: the new one showing it as a fax >> close this
8. open HP device manager on the tool bar >> at the bottom, open the drop down menu and select device chooser >> choose your 6180.
9. Finally double click "scan to .pdf" (don't worry about not having anything on the scanner, we are just checking initialization); let it run through the whole scan process
10. Lastly, go to the printer and insert a paper into the top feeder and select scan option; > choose "scan to computer" (and select your computer is there is a choice; if no choice, move on to next step) >> selecting pdf to preview.

It should work. Hopefully this will continue to function and not get buggy on us.

Hope this works for you too.

Peace

Dec 26, 2008 7:31 PM in response to knightvsbishop

Hello knightvsbishop, I am trying your proposed route but in step 4 I do not see the HP printer with Bonjour to install. I click in the "+" sign but do not see what you describe, The list is empty and if I click on "+" I still have no printers to choose from. Clicking "More Printers" also does not provide anything in a list to select. I have followed all you previous steps. Can you or anyone else tell me what I am doing wrong or could try out? THANKS!

Jan 3, 2009 6:56 AM in response to van D

Van D sorry you are having troubles; I just bought a new MacBook and was reviewing this thread to install my HP onto the new notebook. When I got to step "4" and click the "+" to add a printer, again the "Photosmart C6100 series [94D900]"comes up with "Bonjour" under kind.
If you are unable to see your printer at this point, then it would appear that your printer isn't being recognized on your network. My suggestion would be to go to your 6180 and run through the menu settings and reset everything back to default values; it seems that for some reason your printer isn't able to utilize the Bonjour technology ( http://www.apple.com/macosx/technology/bonjour.html).
There may be a problem with your router/firewall technology blocking this ( http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=700851&tstart=251).
If default printer settings don't help, you might try isolating your problem by turning off anti-viral/firewall settings and trying this.
Another option I might suggest is to assign your HP6180 a permanent IP address on your network; that is what I did in addition to the other steps in the solution provided.
Hope this helps; please post a reply after you try, and let me know your outcome.
Best of luck, and Happy New Year!

Feb 22, 2009 8:15 PM in response to knightvsbishop

I've had the problem on and off since I got the HP 6180; I use it wirelessly. I love the printer, etc., but this is the #1 problem that annoys me. I believe I have found the issue. If you run Scan Pro when the printer is "asleep", you get the "Sorry, scanner could not be initialized." error. From then on, the only solution I have found is to reset the printing system and reinstall the HP drivers. Bummer, but that's the only way I know to fix things. So the work-around is to make sure the printer is "awake" before doing a scan. Hope this helps. I wish HP could fix this.

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HP Photosmart C6180 All in One PROBLEMS

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