Digital BW, The Print

I'll try some of those tricks on my 7660 and see what happens.  I'm
interested to hear how things go when you get the new cartridges and
printer this weekend.

Rad

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Mark Hahn"
<markhahn2000@y...> wrote:
> I tried both, first the max, then the best, then upsampling to 
> printer resolution... in each case it *changed* the problem, but 
> didn't get rid of it.
> 
> Anyway, after hours of frustration by myself and then two hours of 
> frustration with tech support I returned the print, BUT I ended up 
> learning a few things about these printers that may be helpful.  
> First thing, the printer's calibration routine is not that good.  If 
> you get banding after the automatic calibration, a second or third 
> calibration can make it better.  Makes me think that the calibration 
> is some sort of initial condition limited control loop cycle so it is 
> hit or miss whether one calibration will actually get you as "good as 
> it gets."  Second, there is an transparent acetate optical tracking 
> band that has to be clean so the print heads know where they are.  A 
> damp q-tip is all it takes to clean this up and it adds to the 
> printer's accuracy.  Third, hp is apparently shipping a lot of bad 
> #59 b&w carts.  After returning my 7660 to the store I went and 
> tested the floor models 7660 and 7960 just to see if there really was 
> some difference with b&w.  I used my newest cartridge which actually 
> gave horizontal banding at home and guess what, the store's 7660 and 
> 7960 both banded like old one so it seems that the real problem with 
> my printer was that I had purchased two bad cartridges (from two 
> different stores miles apart!).  As to differences, the 7960 looked 
> much worse which I think dispells the rumors that b&w is better from 
> the 7960.
> 
> HP said they will ship out some fresh carts so I am going to try 
> again with a new 7660 this weekend.
> 
> So the moral of the story is that we still don't have hassle-free b&w 
> unless we spend big bucks:(
> 
> mark
> 
> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Radimus" 
> <radimus@p...> wrote:
> > Hi, Mark.  What print quality setting are you using?  I just cranked
> > out a B&W print on HP PPPG with the quality setting at Best and it 
> has
> > what looks like microbanding going vertically across the print (the
> > print is landscape oriented).  Examining it with a loupe it is
> > actually a weave pattern.  Without a loupe it has the look that you
> > describe below.  However, with the quality set to "Maximum dpi" the
> > pattern goes away, but there is now an even finer microbanding going
> > horizontal to the print.  However, this artifact is only noticable 
> to
> > me if I practically stick my nose in the print.
> > 
> > Rad
> > 
> > --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Mark Hahn"
> > <markhahn2000@y...> wrote:
> > > Ok, ...I guess they say that when something sounds too good to be 
> > > true...
> > > 
> > > Have made a bunch of b&w prints with my new hp 7660.  All the 
> smooth 
> > > tone digital images print out near perfectly, but from film scans 
> > > the "woven" dither pattern somehow blends with the random scatter 
> of 
> > > the grain and produces a hidious pattern of perceptible soft 
> > > gridlines which almost look like microbanding.  Looking at the 
> prints 
> > > under a loupe shows that it is some interaction between the grain 
> > > pattern and the dither pattern however.  The problem manifests 
> itself 
> > > most in something like a face in a portrait or other smoothly 
> shaded 
> > > objects and vanishes in more texture rich images or grain free 
> > > images.  By comparison, the posterization issues with my 1160 
> seem 
> > > rather mild now.  I've tried upsampling to printer resolution 
> prior 
> > > to printings which changes the output, but doesn't correct it.  
> > > Anyone else seeing this?  Anyone have a solution?  Unless I 
> figure 
> > > out a work around I will be returning the printer as the output 
> from 
> > > T400CN scans are not suitible for hanging in a gallery.
> > > 
> > > thanks for any advice,
> > > 
> > > mark