HP 6318 Ink
OfficeJet 6318 Ink Cartridges

HP 6318 Printer Review

The HP OfficeJet 6318 all-in-one inkjet printer attempts to bring strong office features to the home user without sacrificing photo features. It is held back by mediocre output quality, however, and too many types of HP 6318 printer ink to manage. Although rated speeds can reach 30 pages per minute, average use will likely be slower.

The 6318 has a compact and well-designed frame, measuring 9.3x18x12.8 inches, and it weighs just 17 pounds even with the OfficeJet 6318 printer ink installed. A 35-page automatic document feeder gives it fast multi-page scanning capabilities, and the maximum optical scan resolution of 2400x4800 dpi delivers great results.

The control panel includes only a 2-line LCD, which is a bit disappointing, especially considering the front-mounted USB port and media card slots. With a larger screen, it might have been able to more easily handle direct printing without relying on cryptic filenames. The input paper capacity of only 100 sheets is probably a decent fit for most home users.

Where things really fall apart is in the print quality. Reviewers noted that text was very inconsistent and not particularly sharp. Graphics also showed some blurriness, and photos tended to be grainy.

Another potential downside is the need to swap the HP 6318 ink cartridges to achieve the best photo quality. Along with a tricolor OfficeJet 6318 ink cartridge, users can swap a black, photo gray, or photo color supply in the other slot, depending on the intended output. While the 6-color printing is a nice feature, many users will probably find switching out the different HP 6318 ink supplies too much of a hassle.

The OfficeJet 6318 had the potential to bridge the gap between great office features and sharp photo output. While its office features are pretty solid, it fails on the second front with middling quality, and there are better all-in-one inkjet models available in its price range.