Datacolor User to User Support Group.

Also check out the HP 9180.
stsk

On Aug 21, 2009, at 2:07 PM, CDTobie wrote:

>
> >I'm just best guessing at what to buy.  I do like the 9500 pigment  
> inks, but reviews say that the photos lack the vivid colors and punch.
>
> Well, dye has more punch, especially for glossy prints, but for how  
> long? Pigment has the virtue of retaining its look for long enough  
> to justify selling the images. I don't know anyone willing to sell  
> dye prints as art photos any longer...
>
>
> >Do you have any suggestions for what printer I should look at?  I  
> have a bad taste with Epson with all the clogging in the past, maybe  
> that has changed?
>
> It has improved, but it hasn't gone away. The beauty of the Canons  
> is the replaceable heads. The problem with the Canons is the price  
> of the replaceable heads. Pick your poison. A close friend, who does  
> photography as a hobby recently announced to me that he was going to  
> get a Pro 9000. I had the "birds and the bees" (dyes and pigments)  
> talk with him, though it seemed to be falling on deaf ears, as he  
> didn't like the slower print time of the 9500. A week later he  
> called me to tell me he had purchased a 9500, and didn't regret it  
> one bit. Since then, he as started selling his prints at a number of  
> locations; which would be a scary thought if he had purchased a dye  
> printer. Please note, this is not a Canon issue, its a dye issue...
>
>
> C. David Tobie
> Global Product Technology Manager
> Digital Imaging & Home Theater
> Datacolor
> CDTobie@...
> www.datacolor.com/Spyder3
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bob Petruska <petruska@...>
> To: datacolor_group@yahoogroups.com
> Sent: Thu, Aug 20, 2009 11:46 pm
> Subject: Re: [datacolor_group] Re: Best ink printer to match with  
> Spyder3Print
>
>
>
> Dave,
>
> I'm just best guessing at what to buy.  I do like the 9500 pigment  
> inks, but reviews say that the photos lack the vivid colors and punch.
>
> Do you have any suggestions for what printer I should look at?  I  
> have a bad taste with Epson with all the clogging in the past, maybe  
> that has changed?
>
>
> Thanks,
>
> Bob P.
>
>
>
> At 07:11 AM 8/20/2009, you wrote:
>>
>>
>>
>> After spending all night I have decided that the newer Canon PXIMA  
>> PRO 9000 Mark II 8 color printer is the way that I'm going to go
>>
>> This is a dye printer. Haven't tested the Mark II but I never liked  
>> the first version; its grays are not at all stable, and turn  
>> terrible colors under differing light sources. The 9500's pigment  
>> inks, on the other hand, are great, though the printer is slower,  
>> due to the pigments.
>>
>> C. David Tobie
>> Global Product Technology Manager
>> Digital Imaging & Home Theater
>> Datacolor
>> CDTobie@...
>> www.datacolor.com/Spyder3
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From: Bob Petruska <petruska@...>
>> To: datacolor_group@yahoogroups.com
>> Sent: Wed, Aug 19, 2009 5:31 pm
>> Subject: Re: [datacolor_group] Re: Best ink printer to match with  
>> Spyder3Print
>>
>>
>>
>> Rolin,
>>
>> Thanks for the reply.  I was trying to imply in my original post  
>> that I have done everything that you listed.  I do have my NEC  
>> monitor calibrated with the I1D2 calibrator and my NEC is  
>> internally hardware profiled.  I would say that it is very close to  
>> being right one matching the real world.  I use Spyder3Print to  
>> calibrate my printers. I also use color management aware Nikon  
>> Capture NX2 and CS4.  And I did read that "book"!
>>
>> What I was getting at is to buy the latest printer that will give  
>> will generate printer profiles more accurately than what I'm  
>> getting now from my Canon I950 6 color printer.
>>
>> After spending all night I have decided that the newer Canon PXIMA  
>> PRO 9000 Mark II 8 color printer is the way that I'm going to go.   
>> Hopefully my Spyder3Print profiles will be more accurate with the  
>> additional 2 colors and will reduce my profile tweaking time do to  
>> days not weeks!
>>
>>
>>
>> Bob P.
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> At 01:57 PM 8/19/2009, you wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>> --- In datacolor_group@yahoogroups.com, Bob Petruska  
>>> <petruska@...> wrote:
>>> >
>>> > I currently have a Canon I950 photo printer that I'm very happy  
>>> with
>>> > the printout image quality, but it never really matches the  
>>> monitor
>>> > to where I'm extremely happy. I use Spyder3Print for printer
>>> > calibration. My NEC monitor is calibrated and the image on it  
>>> looks
>>> > extremely close to what I see in the real world. The Canon I950 is
>>> > a 6 color dye based ink printer. It is starting to give me some
>>> > trouble and looks like it is time to find a replacement.
>>> >
>>> > So my question is what is the best printer out there for  
>>> photography
>>> > work that will match my monitor as close as possible using
>>> > Spyder3Print for printer calibration? Thus I would like to print  
>>> my
>>> > targets, scan them in, and be as close as possible to the screen
>>> > colors. I really don't want to spend months of printing and adding
>>> > brightness and contrast to printer profiles as I have done that  
>>> with
>>> > the Canon I950 and I consumed a ton of ink and paper until I got  
>>> it close.
>>> >
>>> > I don't want to spend more than $500 - 700 if possible. I only  
>>> do 8X10s max.
>>>
>>> Basically what is needed is 1) a monitor that has been color  
>>> calibrated to some a standard, 2) printer color profiles that are  
>>> for the particular printer, ink and paper combination you want to  
>>> use and 3) an application that allows you to manipulate and print  
>>> your images in a color managed environment (such as Photoshop).
>>>
>>> If the monitor is not calibrated to a standard value and  
>>> maintained at the standard, then the ability to see the image as  
>>> it is going to look when printed is not possible. There are  
>>> different standards that people maintain works the best for this  
>>> but, at least for PCs, the basic one seems to be using a gamma of  
>>> 2.2 and a color tempature of 6500 Kelvin. The brigtness needed  
>>> depends on the working environment - I am finding that 100cd/m2  
>>> works for me. I use the Spyder3 Elite package to profile the  
>>> monitor but have recently started to use only the colorimeter with  
>>> the Eiso profiling software for my Eiso monitor.
>>>
>>> You will need to run an application that supports color management  
>>> and allows for "soft proofing" using profile created for the  
>>> output printer, ink and paper combination. The match will be close  
>>> but never perfect. Depending on the printer, ink and paper you  
>>> use, you will find that you have to make adjustments to an image  
>>> that looks great on the screen in order to make it look that way  
>>> on a print. For example, I have an Epson SP4000 and I print on a  
>>> non brightened,matte paper. I find that I have to add some extra  
>>> "punch" to the image to compensate for this combination - up the  
>>> brightness, contrast and, in some cases, the color saturation. I  
>>> use Photoshop CS4 to do my work and print directly from it.
>>>
>>> I use the PrintFix Pro product to create custom profiles for my  
>>> printer, ink and paper combinations. The paper vendor offers  
>>> profiles for the SP4000 printer but I decided to create my own to  
>>> get better control as while generic profiles will work, ones built  
>>> specifically for your printer will work the best. I haven't (yet)  
>>> done it but I really should rebuild the profiles for each new  
>>> batch of paper I get from the vendor if I want to be 100% sure.
>>>
>>> I also have an Epson PictureMate for doing snapshots (4x6). I use  
>>> a generic profile for the paper with it and have had good luck.  
>>> The particular paper/ink used with it requires very little changes  
>>> to account for the paper/ink as opposed to the viewed image; in  
>>> fact, there are usually no changes.
>>>
>>> One other thing. Your print viewing environment can drastically  
>>> effect how the print looks. Normal color management is setup for  
>>> daylight viewing where as most indoor lighting is not daylight. I  
>>> have an OTT-Light that does a good job of letting me see what the  
>>> print will look like under daylight as opposed to the incandesent  
>>> lights in my work area.
>>>
>>> So, the net is, in my opinion, you buy a good printer, find a  
>>> paper you like and then get the monitor profiled to a standard and  
>>> get profiles for the printer, ink and paper and it should work.
>>>
>>> Some time back, I bought the book "Real World Color  
>>> Management" (2nd Edition) by Bruce Fraser, Chris Murphy and Fred  
>>> Bunting to try to understand color management. I happen to think  
>>> it is one of the best books out there on the subject.
>>>
>>> I hope this helps,
>>> Rollin
>>
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