HP C5188 Ink
Photosmart C5188 Ink Cartridges

The HP Photosmart C5188 is a basic inkjet multifunction color printer. It is another member of a long list of C5100 series printers that are virtually identical. It is designed to appease small office needs as well as appeal to home users who may not need the copy and scanning features, but would love the photo and graphics quality. The HP C5188 ink generates a resolution of 4800x1200 dpi in color and 1200x1200 dpi in black. This resolution is impressive for an older unit.

To avoid smudging or running, HP provides quick-dry Photosmart C5188 ink. They have also added two new colors of printer ink that join the standard black, cyan, yellow and magenta—light cyan and light magenta. These new HP C5188 ink cartridges add layers and shades that allow the photo to be more true to the original.

Using the drop-on-demand technology, thousands of small drops of HP C5188 ink are distributed per inch of paper. This increases the resolution which provides accuracy and precision. The copy feature produces at a resolution of 1200x1200 dpi and the scanner can reach 2400x4800 dpi. The six Photosmart C5188 ink cartridges have semi-low page yields but are not too expensive to replace.

This inkjet printer is compatible with Windows and Mac and offers multiple ports and connectivity options. It has slots for memory cards and a port for direct connection to digital cameras. It has a monthly duty cycle of 3,000 pages, which HP suggests users do not exceed without cleaning and/or changing the printheads.

Using black printer ink, the C5188 can print up to 32 pages per minute. In color, it's about 31 pages per minute. It can also produce a color photo in less than 30 seconds. The HP Photosmart C5188 is a high quality, high speed multi-purpose printer that will not disappoint.