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six: The HP
20ps uses six color inks-Cyan, Magenta,
Yellow, Black, Light Magenta, and Light
Cyan— for improved color gamut and
finer tonalities. We're not sure why the
M and C cartridges only hold half the ink
of the others. |
A
FAMILY AFFAIR
That's why HP's claims for these printers are
so exciting. All three Designjets ship with
a Level 3 Postscript (ps) RIPS. All use the
same CMYKcm inks (cyan, magenta, yellow, black,
light cyan, and light magenta) and six print
heads. Boasting a minimum four-picoliter drop
size and HP color-layering technology for producing
fine details and smooth tonal transitions, these
printers reportedly deliver up to 2,400x1,200
dpi resolution and a wide color range. They
also include an internal color sensor that makes
it possible to calibrate them to different media
and improve the accuracy of the provided ICC
color profiles. All three models handle up to
13x19 inch (A3+/B+) paper, have fast USB connectors,
include 16MB of RAM, and feature a large front-panel
LCD monitor that gives a clear indication of
remaining ink levels and diagnostic feedback.
The three differentiate themselves with individual
print drivers, paper capacities, and communication
capabilities. Both the 20ps and 50ps include
a network Postscript Driver and RIP that allow
you to access these printers from other computers
in a work group. (The 50ps includes Server software
for Windows NT.) While not network compatible,
the 10ps has a Postscript RIP that operates
on the host computer. All three printers include
a duplexer on the back that enables automatic
two-sided printing. When the duplexer is removed,
you can feed thicker papers (up to .52mm) through
the back of the printer without bending the
sheet. The 10ps ships with a single 150-sheet
paper tray; a second 250-sheet tray is optional
(but included on the 50ps and 20ps).
THE
PROOF IS IN THE PROOFING
The Designjet 20ps that we tested took a bit
more time to set up than a typical inkjet since
we had to install six print heads in addition
to six colored inks. The dual paper trays took
some nudging to be placed correctly in the machine.
Our first test printer was an early production
model that constantly crashed our Mac G4 computer
and eventually froze up completely. The second
unit was much more functional and only froze
the computer on rare occasions.
After
we calibrated the printer to HP's Semigloss
Proofing Media ($2.36 per 13x19-inch sheet),
we sent it several complex test pages from QuarkXPress
4.0 (a popular layout program) that included
a variety of fonts, CMYK images, and Pantone
color charts. The results were impressive even
when using the generic ICC profiles provided
by HP, and downright amazing when using the
color profiles we generated in the POP PHOTO
Test Lab. Double page spreads on 13x19-inch
media were RIPped and printed in less than 10
minutes, provided us with highly accurate Pantone
colors and CMYK photos (see color accuracy results).
Text was tack sharp and edges were extremely
clean around silhouetted page elements, allowing
us to easily spot mistakes and conflicts. As
an affordable CMYK proofing device, this printer
is in a class by itself.
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