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04/23/2004 04:25:40 PM · #1 |
OK so I've been looking for a solution for printing archival, gallery-quality black and white and (less often) colour prints at 8x10 and 8x12 in a consistent manner. I am beginning to think that I will get acceptable results for producing portfolio and commercial prints from the new HP 7660 or 7960. I have done some research and of course there are differeces with the drivers in each, despite them having the same grey print cartridges (and thus same print head).
Here's my issue. The 7660 uses HPRetIV, with 7.2 million colours and 17 shades of grey. The 7960 uses HPRetPro, with 72 million colours and 4096 shades of grey. Now, I'm sure as hell not going to notice the difference between 7.2 and 72 million colours in colour prints. However, it's black and white that I'm concerned about. I have read reviews on photo.net by Bob Atkins saying that the 7660 output is stunning. I've also seen side-by-side scans of 7660 and 7960 output, and the 7960 looks better. However, I have no way of substantiating any claims. I have been unable to get a hardcopy print from either machine.
Bottom line...I don't want to pay for LCDs and email firmware but am definitely willing to drop the extra if it means I'm not going to get gradients in my prints. Am I going to see a difference? Any print gurus out there willing to talk me out of the 7660? It's $180 vs. $400 (Canadian) so I don't want to spend $220 unnecessarily.
Thanks in advance.
Message edited by author 2004-04-23 16:26:40. |
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04/23/2004 04:54:21 PM · #2 |
Well, I work for HP but I don't work in the consumer sales dept. However, they do have several printers set up for our personal use. The only Photo printer they have set up is the 7690 so I can't compare the quality with the 7660 but I can tell you that B&W prints are amazing! I have a total of 5 prints on my wall here at work all printed in borderless 8.5x11 (which is the largest it will print) and they are all stunning. The gray cartridge makes a huge difference for B&W prints as they really come out the way they should rather than having that slight hue to them. I don't know that the difference in total shades reproduced would be any different so maybe the 7660 is the way to go. You may also want to check out DPReview at the following link:
//forums.dpreview.com/forums/forum.asp?forum=1003
Hope this helps.
Message edited by author 2004-04-23 16:54:44.
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04/23/2004 04:59:35 PM · #3 |
I'm thinking 7660 is the way to go. Considering that I'm pretty happy with the output of the 5550 my parents have, I can say that I'll probably be more than happy with the 7660. Since it says it'll print 8.5x14 I'm also wondering whether I'll be able to get away with an 8x12 on it. Probably be OK.
Message edited by author 2004-04-23 17:06:06. |
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04/23/2004 05:06:13 PM · #4 |
Come to think of it, 8x12 shouldn't be a problem since it can go 8.5x14 max. I incorrectly mentioned that it only goes up to 8.5x14 in my earlier post. By the way, I know you've probably made up your mind already but there is some good info on this site:
//www.photo-i.co.uk/
scroll down and you'll find a very good review on the 7960.
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04/23/2004 05:09:49 PM · #5 |
Thanks for the help. I'll pick the 7660 up and report back on my satisfaction level...
Jmaes.
Originally posted by K-Rob:
Come to think of it, 8x12 shouldn't be a problem since it can go 8.5x14 max. I incorrectly mentioned that it only goes up to 8.5x14 in my earlier post. By the way, I know you've probably made up your mind already but there is some good info on this site:
//www.photo-i.co.uk/
scroll down and you'll find a very good review on the 7960. |
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