e_dawg
Storage Freak
Just wanted to pass on my satisfaction with the HP Color LaserJet 1600 and its ability to print photos. Printed out a bunch of 8x10 photos and compared them side-by-side with my calibrated BenQ 24" LCD and Epson Stylus Photo R1800 inkjet printouts.
The HP used 24 lb plain paper and Auto Color Management (built-in profile designed to match files calibrated to sRGB standard), and the Epson used Ultra Premium Matte paper with Epson's premium ICM profile (which is actually pretty good).
Initially, I was completely shocked how good the photos were from the HP, especially the colour accuracy. On the landscape pics, except for the shade of the sky, I had to specifically look to see the differences from the Epson printouts. It was that accurate from the shadows to the midtones to the highlights.
Further testing with portraits and people pics revealed that subtle gradations with skin tones were not handled as well, but it was still quite acceptable -- I would have no problem showing them to anybody except for photographers or people who have a critical eye for this kind of stuff.
The main area of disappointment was with wildlife. High resolution pics revealed that this printer just did not have the resolution and tonal gradations to produce fine details like fur properly. If I look back to the people portraits, I can notice that fine hair is not properly resolved either.
There was a very faint colour moire pattern on the fur from the D40's sensor that happens to be more apparent on the HP's printouts than on the Epson's and on screen.
Overall, I would say that the HP's photo quality was quite good up until this point... in fact, downright excellent for a laser printer! Now for more testing.
Viewing the printouts from the HP in other environments with different lighting sources revealed a slight weakness that did not show up with incandescent lighting. Up until this point, I had used two different incandescent light sources for viewing printouts: 3200 K halogen lamp and a ~4000 K "daylight/full-spectrum" incandescent lamp.
With 5000 K "sunlight" CFL lighting and ~5000 K sunlight through windows that have a very faint green glazing, the laserjet printouts displayed a little more metamerism than the inkjet printouts. The Epson inkjet printouts usually look different as well -- everything looks a little cooler in the daylight as is to be expected, however, the shift in the colour balance of the laserjet printouts was not only a bit greater than with the inkjet, but more green as well. A subtle effect that you wouldn't notice unless you compared the two printouts side by side, but if you have a critical eye, you can tell.
Anyways, I still consider it a very good printer overall, and I am still quite surprised at how good of a photo printer it is for a colour laser. You can use it for proofs and non-critical printouts with plain paper to give out to friends or coworkers instead of spending a fortune on premium paper and ink from your photo inkjet printer. Mind you, the colour laser toner isn't exactly cheap, but the per print cost is definitely lower, especially when you throw the paper into the equation.
Just tell your friends to view your printouts under incandescent lighting or outdoors
The HP used 24 lb plain paper and Auto Color Management (built-in profile designed to match files calibrated to sRGB standard), and the Epson used Ultra Premium Matte paper with Epson's premium ICM profile (which is actually pretty good).
Initially, I was completely shocked how good the photos were from the HP, especially the colour accuracy. On the landscape pics, except for the shade of the sky, I had to specifically look to see the differences from the Epson printouts. It was that accurate from the shadows to the midtones to the highlights.
Further testing with portraits and people pics revealed that subtle gradations with skin tones were not handled as well, but it was still quite acceptable -- I would have no problem showing them to anybody except for photographers or people who have a critical eye for this kind of stuff.
The main area of disappointment was with wildlife. High resolution pics revealed that this printer just did not have the resolution and tonal gradations to produce fine details like fur properly. If I look back to the people portraits, I can notice that fine hair is not properly resolved either.
There was a very faint colour moire pattern on the fur from the D40's sensor that happens to be more apparent on the HP's printouts than on the Epson's and on screen.
Overall, I would say that the HP's photo quality was quite good up until this point... in fact, downright excellent for a laser printer! Now for more testing.
Viewing the printouts from the HP in other environments with different lighting sources revealed a slight weakness that did not show up with incandescent lighting. Up until this point, I had used two different incandescent light sources for viewing printouts: 3200 K halogen lamp and a ~4000 K "daylight/full-spectrum" incandescent lamp.
With 5000 K "sunlight" CFL lighting and ~5000 K sunlight through windows that have a very faint green glazing, the laserjet printouts displayed a little more metamerism than the inkjet printouts. The Epson inkjet printouts usually look different as well -- everything looks a little cooler in the daylight as is to be expected, however, the shift in the colour balance of the laserjet printouts was not only a bit greater than with the inkjet, but more green as well. A subtle effect that you wouldn't notice unless you compared the two printouts side by side, but if you have a critical eye, you can tell.
Anyways, I still consider it a very good printer overall, and I am still quite surprised at how good of a photo printer it is for a colour laser. You can use it for proofs and non-critical printouts with plain paper to give out to friends or coworkers instead of spending a fortune on premium paper and ink from your photo inkjet printer. Mind you, the colour laser toner isn't exactly cheap, but the per print cost is definitely lower, especially when you throw the paper into the equation.
Just tell your friends to view your printouts under incandescent lighting or outdoors
