Digital BW, The Print

The bronzing on this 1800 is driving me crazy. I've had to switch to
matte papers exclusively.  Still, even printing postcards or other non
fine art projects results in less than acceptable prints. I'm
considering getting the hp design net 130. I could use the larger
format anyway as my prints are starting to sell pretty well.

Anyone here have experience with this printer? Is is a wise investment?
I think I could pull off a trade-in of the 1800 at comp USA so I
wouldn't be out of pocket for the whole $1300 or so.

Any thoughts on this?

Tim

Hello Tim,

A couple things about the HP DJ130.

1. Poor fade resistance on matte or microporous paper
2. Waterfastness may be a problem for such applications as postcards
3. B/W printing is very problematic

I use this printer exclusively for color work on various swellable 
polymer media. Some folks say they can get excellent results using 
just HP's canned profiles, some require custom profiles, I found I 
needed a RIP with CMYK profiles to get the results I'm after.

You may want to post questions at the HPDesignjet_Printers forum to 
make sure you really want to go for the DJ130.

About bronzing on the R1800. To get bronzing-free prints I use QTR 
to apply a thin coat of GLOP over the entire print.

--nick

--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Tim 
Timmermans" <zenphoto7@...> wrote:

>
> The bronzing on this 1800 is driving me crazy.
> I've had to switch to matte papers exclusively.
> Still, even printing postcards or other non fine
> art projects results in less than acceptable
> prints. I'm considering getting the hp design net
> 130. I could use the larger format anyway as my
> prints are starting to sell pretty well.
> 
> Anyone here have experience with this printer? Is
> is a wise investment? I think I could pull off a
> trade-in of the 1800 at comp USA so I wouldn't be
> out of pocket for the whole $1300 or so.
> 
> Any thoughts on this?> 
> Tim
>

From what little I've seen, HPDJ130 looks good big and bad small. I'd
guess it's the paper. It's cheap Vs Epson, its economical to operate,
the blacks are superb, but everything else is negative. That printer's
likely at the end of its product lifespan anyway, as surely must be
that HP inkset. 

If it were me, and it's been me for a year now, I'd look for a
new/old/refurb 4000 to devote to MIS pigs ....or I'd wait for reports
on the new Canon. The 2400/4800 is no improvement whatsoever over
2200/4000, except marginally on glossy paper. From what I've seen the
1800 doesn't equal 2200 or 1280/1290 in terms of print quality on
papers other than high gloss. 

The best glossy paper (my own experience and many prints seen in print
exchanges) seems Moab Kokopelli and Costco's Kirkland (the latter is
unfortunatly only available in letter size). Both minimize, but don't
nearly eliminate, bronzing with 2200 and Epson OEM pigments... so
maybe they'd work even better with 1800. I'll be testing them with my
first MIS pigments this weekend.


--- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Nick H. Nugent"
<nghin@...> wrote:

>
> Hello Tim,
> 
> A couple things about the HP DJ130.
> 
> 1. Poor fade resistance on matte or microporous paper
> 2. Waterfastness may be a problem for such applications as postcards
> 3. B/W printing is very problematic
> 
> I use this printer exclusively for color work on various swellable 
> polymer media. Some folks say they can get excellent results using 
> just HP's canned profiles, some require custom profiles, I found I 
> needed a RIP with CMYK profiles to get the results I'm after.
> 
> You may want to post questions at the HPDesignjet_Printers forum to 
> make sure you really want to go for the DJ130.
> 
> About bronzing on the R1800. To get bronzing-free prints I use QTR 
> to apply a thin coat of GLOP over the entire print.
> 
> --nick
> 
> --- In DigitalBlackandWhiteThePrint@yahoogroups.com, "Tim 
> Timmermans" <zenphoto7@> wrote:
> >
> > The bronzing on this 1800 is driving me crazy.
> > I've had to switch to matte papers exclusively.
> > Still, even printing postcards or other non fine
> > art projects results in less than acceptable
> > prints. I'm considering getting the hp design net
> > 130. I could use the larger format anyway as my
> > prints are starting to sell pretty well.
> > 
> > Anyone here have experience with this printer? Is
> > is a wise investment? I think I could pull off a
> > trade-in of the 1800 at comp USA so I wouldn't be
> > out of pocket for the whole $1300 or so.
> > 
> > Any thoughts on this?> 
> > Tim
> >
>

On 8/11/06, Tim Timmermans <zenphoto7@...> wrote:
> The bronzing on this 1800 is driving me crazy. I've had to switch to
> matte papers exclusively.  Still, even printing postcards or other non
> fine art projects results in less than acceptable prints. I'm
> considering getting the hp design net 130. I could use the larger
> format anyway as my prints are starting to sell pretty well.
>
> Anyone here have experience with this printer? Is is a wise investment?
> I think I could pull off a trade-in of the 1800 at comp USA so I
> wouldn't be out of pocket for the whole $1300 or so.
>
> Any thoughts on this?
>
> Tim
>

  The DesignJet is a very good printer and offers relatively trouble
free prints.  It is very popular with the digital fine-art crowd and
will deliver very high dmax B&W's as well as vibrant color.  Using
HP's papers will provide you with ~100 year lightfastness.  You can
also get archival prints from other media as long as it is a swellable
polymer.

That being said, if I were you I would wait until Sept. and look into
the new HP B9180.  This is a pigment printer and will provide archival
prints on a wide range of media.  The early reviews have reported that
this printer is the best B&W printer bar none and it is equally adept
with color.  The 9180 is only 13x19 but it is rumored that larger
format printers using the same print engine will be available later
this year.

There are several new and innovative features in this printer and I
think it will be the one to beat once it gets on the market.   HP is
running ads that it will be available on Sept. 1st at a price of $699.

-- 
-Gary

Tim,

If you're making the jump to HP, you might want to take a smaller step
and try the Photosmart 8750.  This has been my main printer since
December and I've been quite satisfied with it, especially for b/w
work.  Same print size as your 1800. No hissy-fits regarding
head-clogs, and, to my eyes, no issues with bronzing. gloss
differential, or metamerism.

And, right over the horizon, is HP's upcoming B9180: same format as
the 8750, except (1) it uses larger-capacity ink carts, and (2), the
Vivera inks are pigment instead of dyes.  The dyes used in the 8750
*are* highly stable (Wilhelm gives them the thumbs-up), but they
aren't terribly waterfast.  This hasn't been an issue for me, but it
is to others.  Lightfastness is a much bigger issue for me, and the
8750 delivers on this count.  It's also awfully cheap (I got mine for
around $370 shipped, but that was over the holidays, so now it's
higher), but with robust build-quality.

(Boy, after all my years with Epsons, do I feel like an infidel!;-)


- Barrett