Week 5 Progress Report
Hard to believe it's already been five weeks plus since the arrival of the 4800. May 25th has well and truly faded into the dark corners of my highly fragmented and volatile RAM-like memory :)
So where are things at for me and the 4800?
Paper-wise I'm using Hahnemuhle Photo Rag, Canson Canvas and Epson's Archival Matte - those three cover the range of products I sell and/or am getting ready to sell.
I've settled on running matte black ink. At the end of the day I just prefer the look and feel of matte papers. Depending on what workarounds become available in the future regarding changing/using blacks I might revisit coated papers, it's a way down the list though.
Any problems with the 4800? Not to date, it hasn't missed a beat, no clogging etc. I'm still impressed by how well the printer itself is built, it's a mighty piece of hardware compared to the 2100.
I prefer the prints out of the 4800 vs the best I could achieve with the 2100, but the difference to the eye isn't huge and varies image to image. The blacks are richer, the lighter tones are cleaner - overall prints of the same files look cleaner, crisper, but not by much (keeping in mind I'm printing with MK/matte papers).
Sometimes I think we (photographers) are the only ones who look so closely at ours and each others prints, and obsess over details that don't really matter at all. I'm not sure there are huge leaps left to be made regarding print quality - weren't we gushing over quality of color inkjet prints years ago? Look how easily we can make outstanding prints today.
We might need to get used to smaller improvements as we approach digital nirvana.
posted by Pete Walsh @ 12:24 AM 7 comments
At 11:51 AM, Aubrey said...
Hi Pete I agree with your statement that photographers sometimes look too closely at equipment specifications or focus on one or two words in reviews.
The results (prints) are what count so long as the print meets the photographers expectations for quality.
At 12:56 PM, Nill Toulme said...
Long ago, in another life far far way, I used to run a hi-fi store. (Does anybody still use the term hi-fi?) Anyway, it took me a good number of years after that to get over listening to the equipment and back to listening to the music. ;-)
Nill
~~
www.toulme.net
At 1:36 PM, Anonymous said...
Hi Pete .. will the 4800 take premounted Ilford fine art/smooth pearl boards? Glad you are enjoying the printer. Have the 2400 and love it ..butr thinking of trading up to 4800 for A2 prints..
At 2:06 PM, Pete Walsh said...
Rock'n'roll Nil! Hi-fi is still in use in oz, what a backwater hey!
I really enjoyed reading the article on Robgalbraith.com re the Magnum photographer who shoots using Olympus digicams. Refreshing!
At 12:09 AM, Pete Walsh said...
I'm not sure about the boards unfortunately. I haven't tried any as yet. The specs mention it supports media up to 1.5 mm posterboard, hope that helps.
At 12:34 PM, Tom Caldwell said...
Pete
I have been printing using Canon printers (S9000 & Pixma i850) have been using Hahnemuhle "William Turner" that gives a nice textured feel. After I upgraded my A4 printer from a s840 to the Pixma I suddenly found that the heavier Hahnemuhle papers would not feed even single sheet! Bummer. On checking the manual I find that it is rated to 105gsm (unless you use Canon branded paper this is almost "tissue paper weight!"). I have found that it in fact will accept up to about 260 gsm even though it baulks at above 300gsm. that is not too bad but this printer was the "top of the range" Canon prosumer photographic printer.
Yesterday I took delivery of an Epson Pro 4800 and the difference is immediate. The change to a full commercial-level printer is like walking into a sudden ray of sunshine. Now I have to start making money out of this obsession :)
At 2:28 PM, Pete Walsh said...
Very cool Tom! I know what you mean re the ray of sunshine - I remember unpacking the 2100 and thinking it was a huge printer, now it's like a BJC3000 beside the 4800. The 4800 is a beautifully made piece of gear, sometimes I don't feel worthy :)
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