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Re: advice on Designjet printers

On Aug 31, 2005, at 10:52 AM, email@hidden wrote:

Has anyone used the HP Designjet printers? I am particularly thinking 

of the 90 and 130, and wondering how they compare (real-world) to the 

Epson 4800 in terms of print quality and longevity. My interest is in 

photographic prints, sometimes monochrome (so achieving neutrality 

matters to me).


For a 24" wide printer, the 130 is surprisingly inexpensive.


Hi Armand - I have quite a bit of experience with the new DesignJets, and they are impressive, given their relative affordability. However, to get the longevity that HP claims you are required to use one of their "swellable" papers, of which there are two. So media choices you could say are a little limited. If you like those two papers (which are nice) then you will be happy with the print quality. The blacks are like nothing you've ever seen, certainly better than anything you can get with Ultrachrome. They are dye-based inks, so that is where you take the hit. 

ImagePrint has added support for the new DesignJets, and even adapted their B&W technology to it. Otherwise, I would say you would probably need to create a few custom profiles. I wouldn't bother with the HP RIP that is available for the 130. It is a pretty blunt tool.

Build quality could be better, and there have been more than a few reported problems with paper loading. If the tray is slightly skewed or your paper has any curl or warping it will miss-load. Compared to an Epson 4800 it isn't even in the same league.

Long story short, if you can stand to be limited with your media, and don't mind sacrificing a little sturdiness then the DesignJet is a capable device.

Feel free to contact me off-list if you have any additional questions.

Eric Bullock

Mac Business Solutions

www.mbsdirect.com


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