Digital BW, The Print

I have BOTH an HP 7660 and the MIS inks running in EPSONs..

The HP prints look great until you compare them head to head with MIS 
prints.

If you decide to go the HP route you will almost certainly need a 7960.  
Why? It's the ONLY HP using the #59 cartridge that allows you to disable 
the HP's internal color management. If you don't disable that driver 
color management:

1)   The HP will block up your shadows and increase contrast to make the 
prints pop... If I wanted that I'd do it in Photoshop myself.

2)   Being unable to disable driver color management means that color 
images on the 7660 end up having the gamut limited twice, plus the 
possible conversion errors, if you try  building custom profiles and 
using them.

The 7660 also suffers from creating pattern artifacts in B&W when using 
the #59 cartridge, that do not similarly affect the 7960 since the 
latter's driver was updated... http://www.photo.net/equipment/hp/hp7960/

As for the 7960 it's driver oversharpens whether or not you ask it to..
http://www.photo-i.co.uk/Reviews/interactive/HP%207960/page_5.htm

Until HP updates it's driver (which I've entered a version feature 
request for with HP) for the 7660 and 7760, I can't recommend them for 
serious prints.




 
Keith Krebs

"Just some guy," caretaker of the Multiverse's largest EPSON printer 
User Community (highly recommended by Vogon Poets and MegaDodo 
Publications), at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EPSON_Printers/
and  the Multiverse's largest Canon printer User  Community at:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Canon-printers
"For the rest of you out there, the secret is to bang the rocks together 
guys"