Digital Prints

3. What’s the Print Quality?
In a nutshell, any of the newer “photo” inkjet printers can produce stunning prints. Inkjet
output is now as good as—and in some respects, better than—traditional ways of printing
images. High-quality, continuous-tone digital printing has finally become a reality.
Here are three quality features to consider when looking at printers (keeping in mind what
I said in Chapter 2 about image or print quality resulting in the combination of many factors,
not just these three).
Printer Resolution: Each printer manufacturer highlights different features to help tell
its marketing story, so don’t worry too much about the “Battle of the Resolution” claims.
The difference between 1440 dpi, 2880 dpi, 4800 dpi, and 5760 dpi is hardly discernable
to the naked eye, and most newer printers are more than adequate in terms of printer resolution.
Maximum dpi resolution, however, can be used to compare different models of
the same brand.
Number of Colors: When possible, go for at least six colors for desktop inkjet printing
(some black-and-white printmakers feel that four is all you need for multi-tone black-andwhite
printing). The extra two colors (usually a light cyan and a light magenta for
CMYKcm) will smooth out subtle gradations, color blends, and skin tones. Four-coloronly
printers with lower resolutions tend to show grain in highlight areas. Epson, HP,
Canon, and Lexmark all have six-color desktop printers. The seven-color Epsons 2200,
4000, 7600, and 9600 (CMYKcmk) have an extra low-density black to reduce graininess
and improve the neutrality of grays. Epson’s R800 has eight “channels” but only six colors:
CMYK with a selectable Matte Black plus extra Red and Blue inks (see Figure 6.1).
This printer doesn’t need the lighter colors for smoothness since its dots are so small; it
takes advantage of using other colors to increase its color range. The Canon i9900 has
eight true colors: CMYKck plus an additional Red and Green. The HP 7960 also has eight
colors with three blacks for excellent grayscale (black-and-white) printing.
Chapter 6 ■ Selecting an Inkjet Printer 187
Figure 6.1 The Epson Stylus Photo
R800 with six different colors in eight
channels. This was Epson’s first printer
with Red and Blue inks and a separate
“gloss optimizer.”