Re: [APML]: Digital Printers

[Chris Vedeler <cvedeler@ix.netcom.com>]

I've tired the Epson Photo printer and now have the ALPS 2300.  The Epson
did not have the color saturation and dynamic range that the ALPS has, but
the ALPS has some slight banding which can be a bit distracting when
carefully examining the print.

Apart from the banding the ALPS looks absolutely like a photograph even
under a loupe.  It is a true continuous tone printer (like those expensive
dye-subs) unlike the injets that dither the dots to give the illusion of
continuous tone.

I'm glad I ended up with the ALPS all in all as the banding issue is not
nearly as distracting to me as the pixelation issue of the Epson.

The ALPS tends to print a fair amount darker than what I see on the
screen.  I have played with the monitor gamma and brightness to match the
printer, but it still seems darker.  Knowing this however, I can simply
adjust the brightness of the image on the screen and it prints out fine.

Hope this helps,

Chris Vedeler
http://www.isomedia.com/homes/cvedeler/space.htm
Tucson, AZ

Michael Stecker wrote:

>
> I am tired and broke from using those expensive service bureaus to
> output my digital files.  I would like to get one of those "photographic
> quality" printers.  It would also be nice if I could use it for text at
> a reasonable cost.  I have heard both good and bad about the HP
> Photosmart Photo Printer, Epson Photo Printer and ALPS Photo Printer.  I
> did get a demonstration of the HP in a store and the photos they made
> with the HP Photosmart looked pretty good.  From the same file (Vela
> SNR), they also showed me a photo made with the HP 722C printer.  The
> brightness and contrast were very different between the two so it was
> hard to compare.  Actually, the HP 722C looked more like the image on my
> monitor than the HP Photosmart Photo Printer.  One of the down sides of
> the HP Photosmart is that it does not use black ink.  The salesman said
> that it would not be economical to use it for text.  I was told that the
> Epson model was not quite as good as the HP and had a fading problem.
> Is this true?  I also heard that the ALPS had a banding problem.  I did
> not see any banding from the two HP photos.  Any comments or suggestions
> about these or other printers would be appreciated.
>
>                           Michael Stecker