Resolution of prints HP vs Epson

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MikeM

I have an Epson RX510 and am thinking of getting a HP 3110. The
resolution of my Epson is 5796 x 1440 and the HP is 4800 x 1200. How
does the appearance of prints from the HP and Epson compare with
regards to resolution?

Thanks
Mike
 
I have an Epson RX510 and am thinking of getting a HP 3110. The
resolution of my Epson is 5796 x 1440 and the HP is 4800 x 1200. How
does the appearance of prints from the HP and Epson compare with
regards to resolution?

Thanks
Mike
Click to expand...

Resolution usually doesn't mean a thing!!!

What matters in pic quality is the dot size (volume or diameter)
....and ink saturation.

Old and some new printers can't print bright colours without visible black
dots in shades. Thats why the dot's must be kept to a minimum or using
separate low grade graphical black (or both)

Then you must afford proper papers.

Morgan O.
 
MikeM said:
I have an Epson RX510 and am thinking of getting a HP 3110. The
resolution of my Epson is 5796 x 1440 and the HP is 4800 x 1200. How
does the appearance of prints from the HP and Epson compare with
regards to resolution?
Click to expand...

Resolution is mostly a marketing number, akin to MHz for processor
speed. It is relatively meaningless as an indicator of print quality.
Your best bet is to get a print from each printer you are interested in
and compare them.

Regards,
Bob Headrick, MS MVP Printing/Imaging
 
For practical purposes reasonable quality and up photo printers all print at
+/- 300dpi in terms of pixel count. The rest is marketing.
There are real differences in the way the various inkjet and dye sub
manufacturers have devised to physically deposit ink or pigment on paper
that account for the substantial differences in appearances of prints from
different printer brands and technologies.
Those differences can only be appreciated if the same image is printed on
the same type of paper with different printers using color management.
Unfortunately magazines and websites are unable to reproduce these
differences.
The single thing that will improve the quality of one's prints, unless you
are using a really bad printer, is not a new printer but understanding color
management.
Epson color management, in my experience, is more reliable than HP or Canon
at the less than professional giant printer level. Color management is also
easier to implement and experiment with using Epson printers because of the
variety of paper surfaces Epson makes and the reliable profiles Epson
supplies for those papers.
 
Hi Mike,

Don't let these numbers confuse you. They have little reality to the
real resolution of the printed page these days.

There are MANY variables that determine the quality and resolution of a
print. For instance, how much dot gain is there from the ink paper
combination? How accurately can the head place the ink dots? How many
dots are required to create a color other than the actual ink colors
(how large a matrix is used)? When the image is rasterized in software,
what resolution is actually used?

The numbers you are seeing usually indicate the number of locations
where the head can place a dot, but that doesn't mean it can or will.
In fact, if the heads actually placed 5796 dots per inch, they would be
covering one another, because they are too large to all fit.

Also, realize that the way these positions are created is usually
through overprinting on a second, third, forth or more pass of the head.

As an example, Epson printer drivers raster the image in 360 or 720dpi
for the large carriage models and 720 or 1400 dpi for their desktop
models. You can use higher resolution, but the actual image is not
refined to that level.

So, what's my advice? Try to get print samples of your own image on the
paper type (glossy, matte, etc) you prefer and do an A:B comparison,
using similar resolutions. If you cannot do that, at least try to get
similar sample types between the brands you are considering.

Use your eyes over the specs. The places where specs (if accurate) may
be helpful are: print speed, permanence of ink, yield of cartridge and
cost of cartridge, variety of inks or papers available. Try not to get
too bent out of shape by the resolution spec numbers, as they are easily
hyped up.

Art
 
Hi Mike,

Don't let these numbers confuse you. They have little reality to the
real resolution of the printed page these days.

There are MANY variables that determine the quality and resolution of a
print. For instance, how much dot gain is there from the ink paper
combination? How accurately can the head place the ink dots? How many
dots are required to create a color other than the actual ink colors
(how large a matrix is used)? When the image is rasterized in software,
what resolution is actually used?

The numbers you are seeing usually indicate the number of locations
where the head can place a dot, but that doesn't mean it can or will.
In fact, if the heads actually placed 5796 dots per inch, they would be
covering one another, because they are too large to all fit.

Also, realize that the way these positions are created is usually
through overprinting on a second, third, forth or more pass of the head.

As an example, Epson printer drivers raster the image in 360 or 720dpi
for the large carriage models and 720 or 1400 dpi for their desktop
models. You can use higher resolution, but the actual image is not
refined to that level.

So, what's my advice? Try to get print samples of your own image on the
paper type (glossy, matte, etc) you prefer and do an A:B comparison,
using similar resolutions. If you cannot do that, at least try to get
similar sample types between the brands you are considering.

Use your eyes over the specs. The places where specs (if accurate) may
be helpful are: print speed, permanence of ink, yield of cartridge and
cost of cartridge, variety of inks or papers available. Try not to get
too bent out of shape by the resolution spec numbers, as they are easily
hyped up.
Click to expand...

Also, HP's PhotoRet overlays dots to increase the number of colors per
'pixel'. That can give the same effect as a higher resolution.

To be honest, with most printers today, the quality of the paper and
original source will have a more noticeable effect than resolution.
 
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