Summing up
I had intended producing a lot more Fine Art media prints, but alas I too am suffering with inks that have run out. I will publish a separate feature on HP media at a later date.
Every now and then a product hits the right note with the market, past heroes include the Leica M series cameras, Hassleblad medium format cameras, Photoshop, Canon digital cameras and EPSON with their range of pigment ink printers.
Toady it's HP's turn with the Photosmart Pro B9180 printer The printer has many advanced features, such as closed loop colour calibration, heads that service themselves, printhead's that can detect a blocked nozzle and automatically switch the output to another nozzle - white lines are be a thing of the past with this printer. Although the printhead's should last the life-time of the printer, they can be easily replaced at any time. This means if there are any major improvements in the printhead technology then you can simply swap the heads out, I like the concept of a modular printing system.
The key selling point for the B9180 printer has to be the Vivera Pigment inks. HP have gone to town with this ink, they have been refining the inks for the last 2 years (probably longer) and now we have an ink which exhibits the brilliance of a dye ink. Vivera Pigment ink is perhaps one the most stable colourants available and will outlast any art material, including traditional wet chemistry photographic prints - although a Black & White Silver print may still have the edge. We all know that one of the weakest aspects of inkjet printing was its longevity issue. Now HP openly claims a 200+ year life for prints created with recommended media and Vivera inks. A tall claim? I don't think so, it has the backing of the Wilhelm institute.
Although I have been using the B9180 for almost one year, it is only in the last two months that I have had a full production unit, albeit it was delivered in a brown box. My first B9180 printers were beta and prototype units, hence the reason why I was reluctant to publish, or make remarks on anything produced on these early model printers. The results I have obtained with the current model are outstanding, in fact it has made my life a lot harder, simply because I don't see how you can improve on a print that looks every bit as good as the best photographs I have seen. Hopefully this review has given you a good overview of what the B9180 can do, the samples I have published are scans of actual prints, but of course there is no substitute for actually seeing and holding a B9180 print in your hand.
HP has pulled out all the stops to reposition themselves as the market leader in the photographic - fine art printer market. and have without doubt succeeded. The B9180 printer will appeal to any photographer or Fine Art artist who is serious about achieving the very best quality prints. The printer is built like a Sherman tank, it will withstand daily heavy duty use in any studio environment. Perhaps the printer is not the best looking or stylish printer I have ever seen, but it has so much technology and functionality to make you forget about its looks. The B9180 has a useful top flat surface which I can put paperwork and other general desktop clutter on. At the moment I have a DAB radio located on top and the massive size of the printer it gives the Bass a terrific boost - you won't find that in the specifications page. This printer is here to stay and I shall be using it as a benchmark for all future printer reviews - well at least until Canon or EPSON come up with something better.
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The B9180 has a terrific bass response too |
Pros:
Superb print quality especially with Fine Art media
Print life - 200+ years
Eight inks and replaceable printhead's
Excellent monochrome printing
Price (£499)
Cons:
Ink availability in the UK
Glossy printing is still not as good as dye ink printers
It's big
| Print quality |
98 |
| Features |
95 |
| Ease of use |
95 |
| Design |
92 |
| Value |
98 |
| Rating |
478 Highly Recommended |
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The Golden-i award is awarded to a product that meets the needs of a
digital
photographer
and produces unrivalled excellence |
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