Dream machines
2006-02-27 by Clarence Walker
A few of us have compiled the beginnings of a wish list regarding the features and components that might be considered desirable in a B&W and color printer. For some this might be an interesting source of amusement, but for others it is the beginning of a serious attempt to pro-actively communicate our "best of the best" wishes for consideration by the directors of the printer divisions of the major printer manufacturers. Why do I think this would be seriously considered? Because, while in the product development/marketing side of IBM years ago I once spent three months visiting IBM distributors around the U.S. asking exactly such questions. That effort yielded us "printer of the year" way back then. Your input would be appreciated. 1. truly archival pigments using ASTM standards of testing 2. capacity to experimentally use multiple printing surfaces/materials whether very thin or very thick, so a straight through paper path with the ability to handle really thick materials 3. No output rollers or pizza wheels that deface prints 4. Easy integration with Photoshop, both in color and broad range of grayscale and classic metallic tone printing requirements 5. advanced color management for ease of color and black and white handling 6. built-in media calibration with internal colorimeter hooked directly into the driver and hardware, so a test on one sheet generates a custom profile so the artist/photography does not have to stress about it. 7. Expanded color and monochrome range with inks to address true fine art printing needs 8. An easy mono+ mode to handle warm/cool printing 9. Bulk feed inking without the need for cartridges 10. The ability to simultaneously use color and grayscale inks to achieve classis effects such as platinum, selenium, palladium, piezo tones rather than just overall color shading. 11. Broader range of paper settings to utilize fine art finishes and papers with the ability to load a library of profiles 12. True WYSIWYG with intelligent previews 13. Multipass printing abilities to create collages and overlays 14. Intelligent self-diagnostic routines 15. Well written user manuals of depth detailing all hardware and software systems and processes 16. Integration between all inks, and processes between sizes 13 X 19 and wide format 17. Easy access in the event of paper blockages and to facilitate cleaning of all paper/ink systems Clarence W. Walker, Creative Expression Photography http://www.creativeexpressiononline.com Commercial, fine-art, and stock