Quote Originally Posted by Bruce Watson View Post
The thing is, a higher quality output would get me to take notice. Sharper, wider gamut, better shadow detail, more versitile with use of substrates, faster, ... that kind of thing.

But you don't seem to be saying that it makes a better print. Just that the printer is cheaper. This doesn't make me go "WOW WOW" unfortunately. One of the worst and most overused phrasing is marketing is "just as good as" if you know what I mean.

That said, I look forward to a complete review. Maybe better prints or better printing will be in there somewhere.
Are we talking about the same HP9180? It seems you are talking about a recent release, but I bought mine a year ago in Sweden. Is it only now available in the U.S. market? The hp.com site lists my same model, so I can describe a year's use. I print only 5-10 prints per week, both in A3 and A4 format.

Bruce, I purchased the printer after reading an article by Joel Meyerowitz in a 2006 American Photo magazine. He was reprinting his negatives with a Design Jet 130 and although he didn't use WOW WOW he did describe the better color range of the DJ130 with Vivera pigment inks on HP's Advanced Photo Paper. In his humble opinion the new HP printers were superior to any he had used in the past and superior to traditional chemical color printing. If it is good enough for Joel, I figured it was good enough for me, especially for the price (WOW WOW). After reading reviews and seeing samples of the DJ130 and the B9180, I concluded the B9180 was as good if not better and I have been a happy user.

Like:
1. absolute color consistency (after a few mishaps). I now use only Advanced Photo Paper (not the HP glossy which HP claims is a better paper) and Hannemuhle Smooth Fine Art for B&W. Other papers will not give the same performance (an advantage of the Epsons)
2. it is cheap, all things considered
3. built in color monitor
4. Excellent software/drivers

Dislike:
1. the ink is expensive. Each print, considering paper + ink has averaged about 4 dollars US per A3 print over the last year.
2. if I don't use it for about a week, I will get banding or incorrect color handling. A simple nozzle cleaning fixes it, but it is annoying to waste the expensive pigment ink.
3. it is big, heavy and rattles my sturdy table when printing
4. In Europe it is very very difficult to get the HP38 ink. Fortunately, I travel, and when I find it I stock up on 2 full sets. Ordering inks from my local stockist is always a special order and takes about 30 days.

Learnings:
1. I let Photoshop handle the color (perceptual) and turn off all printer and windows color calibration. I feel this is a must.
2. I do not let the printer start printing until my PC has spooled the entire print job. There is an option to turn this off. It freezes the PC for a minute or two, but if you don't do this you will often get banding, sufficient to ruin the print (My 30USD print then costs me $10, a serious hit to profit)

The above sounds more negative than positive, but I am just highlighting the negatives for anyone hesitating to buy. I absolutely love this printer and would recommend it for anyone printing in both color and black and white. For color (comparing to a friend's prints on his R2400) I absolutely prefer the detail, tonal range and consistency of the HP9180. However, I have to admit my friend's Epson 2400 prints B&W which are more... "print like". My blacks are as detailed and "black" as his, my highlights are smooth and crisp, and I have no color casts, but his Epson seems to handle overall contrast in B&W with better smoothness. Sorry I can't describe it technically and I don't have one of his prints in front of me, but his B&W on the Epson is superior (although a very close call for anyone interested in printing frequently in color)

-- Just my two cents.