Your Comments on Color (Photo) Inkjet printers

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

I am currently using an HP 5650 InkJet printer for my photo work. I've have
tried many different brands and grades of photo paper (ie Kodak, HP, Office
Depot, Office Max, etc. Matte, Glossy, premium, regular, etc) mostly 8 1/2
by 11.

I notice that although my pictures look good, they frequently seem darker
and not as detailed or crisp as when I'm viewing them on my screen (18" flat
panel LCD).

1. Do you have any comments on the HP 5650 printer I am currently using.

2. In your opinion what is the best printer out there for the photo size
(or larger) that I am working with at this time?


Thanks,

Jimmy

Archived from groups: rec.photo.digital (More info?)

Jimmy Smith <nospam@pleaseno.more> wrote:
> I am currently using an HP 5650 InkJet printer for my photo work. I've have
> tried many different brands and grades of photo paper (ie Kodak, HP, Office
> Depot, Office Max, etc. Matte, Glossy, premium, regular, etc) mostly 8 1/2
> by 11.

I use a 5650 with HP photo cart for casual prints (anything I *really*
like tends to be sent off for professional printing) - it's a relatively
cheap and cheerful "workhorse" printer but I've been pleased with the
photo output -- but I find it perfectly adequate for most of my needs.

Subjectively, the best results I've had are on Ilford "Galerie A4 Classic
Gloss" and "Printasia Photo Pearl" paper, the worst on Epson 167gsm
matte (which I tried as an experiment, and didn't really like the look
of). Kodak paper was OK, but the Ilford stuff just has a really nice
look to it. Entirely subjective, I know, but I think my images have
looked better on Ilford. (I think the Galerie paper is made in Europe
and the Printasia, as its name suggests, in Japan)

> I notice that although my pictures look good, they frequently seem darker
> and not as detailed or crisp as when I'm viewing them on my screen (18" flat
> panel LCD).

The colours on an LCD display are very different to a CRT and this may
be a factor - your LCD may not be well-calibrated. I certainly found that
when I first migrated from CRT to LCD at home images I'd got looking
good on screen looked decidedly odd when printed -- the colours,
brightness and contrast were all very different so what looked good on
screen did not necessarily look good on paper. A little monitor-tweaking
and I soon got to a point where what looked good on screen also looked
good on paper.

(In general, *serious* photographers still seem to prefer CRT displays
for image editing...)

http://desktoppub.about.com/gi/dyn [...] onitor.htm

and

http://desktoppub.about.com/gi/dyn [...] nts1A.html

are a few steps on the road to calibration. Note that the best monitor setup
for photo work is not necessarily good for other kinds of usage!

>
> 1. Do you have any comments on the HP 5650 printer I am currently using.

It's a cheap printer aimed more at text, colour line-art and the
occasional small inline image than serious photo printing -- I paid
about $85-$90 for mine in the UK. It'd be unreasonable to expect top-quality
results, but I'm much happier with its photo performance than I would've
expected given the price.

The drivers give you a lot of control over it - make sure you tell it
what sort of paper you're using, do invest in a photo cart as well as
the normal colour one, and make sure you're printing at high quality!
>

pete
--
pete@fenelon.com "there's no room for enigmas in built-up areas"