Digital BW, The Print

In a message dated 9/12/06 10:24:31 PM, bwscans@... writes:


> Michael Reichmann has just written a review of the A3+ HP9180 pigment
> ink printer. 8 inks carts holding 27ml of ink each compare to 17ml of
> the R2400. It also has 4 user replaceable heads. $699 at BHPhotovideo.
> 
> Will this printer finally be a serious competitor to Epson's? Hope so.
> 
For Black and White? Reichman is amazing lenient on that point, noting that 
the B9180 produces "nice" b&w but with no controls or adjustments. He also 
doesn't comment on whether this printer's one gray ink is used to blend light 
grays, or whether they are built from Light Cyan, Light Magenta, and Yellow (which 
would push this printer back a generation in b&w technology). Either way, the 
idea that prints are "nice and neutral" from an uncontrolled b&w mode is 
pretty unreasonable. I can find two virtually identical papers that print 
significantly warmer and cooler than one another.   If one is neutral via a blind b&w 
mode, the other will be about 5 a*/b* points warm or cool, depending on which 
one is neutral (though I don't really expect either to be truely neutral).

Reichman also neglects to mention whether the HP export module is 8 bit per 
channel or 16. That matter a good deal to serious users looking for the best in 
detail gradation. Not being able to pick media settings and profiles directly 
in the export module will be a frustrating factor as well. So there's still 
no way of telling, until I have one of these in hand, if it will prove to be 
about equal to Epson's previous generation of printer (the 21/2200 in this 
width) or the newer 2400, with its more advanced black and white capabilities, and 
two levels of gray inks.

Either way, I'm pretty sure that PrintFIX PRO 2.0 will be a good way to 
control grayscale images on this printer, which lacks any advanced method of doing 
so. But somehow I doubt that this printer is going to replace the Canon 
iPF5000 as the best OEM black and white printer in my studio.

C. David Tobie
Product Technology Manager
ColorVision Business Unit
Datacolor Inc.
CDTobie@...
www.colorvision.com


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