Photosmart Pro B9180 from HP

Hewlett-Packard has introduced its Photosmart
Pro B9180 pigment printer, an 8-color
unit (CMYcm, plus matte black, photo
black, and light gray) that will replace the
company”?s Designjet R30. The printer utilizes the company”?s
Vivera inks to produce prints up to
13 x 19 in. It can handle media including
canvas, photo rag, watercolor paper, film,
and other media up to 1.5-mm thick.

The Pro B9180 features 4 dual-color
HP printheads (8448 nozzles in all) and
boasts a print speed of 25 pages/min
(color, draft mode). HP reports it can produce
a 4 x 6-in. print in 50 sec (normal
mode; 70 sec in best mode; 10 sec in
draft mode). It can hit a maximum resolution
of 4800 x 1200 dpi (“optimized”?).

The newly released pigment-based
Vivera inks come in 27-ml cartridges.
The inkset provides both photo black (for
high-contrast and deep, rich blacks) as
well as matte black; the gray ink allows
for smooth transitions in black-and-white
prints and subtle neutral tones. For
enhanced productivity, the printheads
and single ink cartridges can be replaced
individually as required.

The Pro B9180 also features:

• An electrostatic drop weight detection
  system that automatically compensates
  for a nozzle not working, alerting
  the user when the printhead needs cleaning
  or replaced;

• An HP Pro print plug-in for Photoshop
  that automatically synchronizes Photoshop
  and the printer driver for single-user
  interface and color management; and
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• A variety of ICC profiles in the printer
  software.

Estimated street price is $699.

HP has also introduced a variety of new
media at the show including: four digital
fine-art papers”?Watercolour, Aquarella
Art, Smooth Fine Art, and Artist Matte
Canvas; an Advanced Photo Paper, in glossy and satin-matte versions; and a
self-adhesive photo paper.

HEWLETT-PACKARD
www.hp.com