HP Photosmart Keeps going Offline

[Dara]

I am being driven mad by the interplay of Vista and my printer, a HP 3180 Photosmart Express (basic printer/scanner/photocopier) . The printer just 'refuses' to print on a regular basis and I find I have to re-install the printer drivers from HP to get going. Sometimes the printer goes 'offline' all by itself, on other occasions the printer driver seems to just disappear!!
I have read many threads on similar topics and have tried a number of the many-staged solutions. Does anyone have a definitive answer, along with a logical explanation of why this is happenning? Given a logical explanation, any associated solution will be easier to follow.

I can't work out the sequence of events which lead to the printer refusing to particiapte, it obviously isn't randomn........

Really grateful for any adviced.

[Kate45]

I had the same problem with my D7160 HP Photosmart. However, once I uninstalled the printer I wasn't able to re-install. I've tired everything I can think of including paying Firedog to try to fix the problem. No luck. Hope you get your problem resolved. I'll be keeping an eye on your question to see if anyone has an answer.