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The PhotoPlus Expo in New York City (October 20-22, 2005) brought together many photo and imaging companies and as usual, there were scores of new announcements. After three days on the show floor and in a number of excellent seminars, here are a few items I'd like to comment on from the show.
Inkjet-related Goodies
Two inkjet papers that were shown at the Expo
and that stand out for me are Premier Imaging
Products' Premier Art Luster Rag and Hahnemühle
Photo Rag Satin. I have posted a few messages
online about how much I like Luster Rag after
testing the paper, and it recently became
available for purchase. Luster Rag and Photo Rag
Satin are similar in appearance (like fiber-based
heavy darkroom papers--think Portriga), but
Luster Rag has a heavier base and is smoother
than Photo Rag Satin, which has a visible paper
texture like that found on many cotton inkjet
papers. I was also able to get more detail and
density from PremierArt's Luster Rag in my
initial tests. These are not your run-of-the-mill
inkjet papers and each should be seen to be
believed. They use some type of new coating
technology, and I recommend spraying both papers
with something like the PremierArt Print Shield
spray for even better density and to reduce the
slight gloss differential sometimes seen with the
Epson prints that use UltraChrome inks. The
newest Epson printers with UltraChrome K3 inks
have reduced this gloss differential issue almost
entirely on all the semi-gloss and glossy papers
I have seen from Epson and third-party vendors.
These include Epson Premium Luster, Epson Premium
Semimatte and Oriental Graphica Fiber Base Glossy
Museum Weight Paper.
Here are some links to find out more about the papers above: www.inkjetart.com and www.atlex.com carry PremierArt, and www.lexjet.com carries the Photo Rag Satin.
Another paper which is similar in some ways to the two just mentioned is a new paper from Crane's (I believe it is called Silver Rag). It is quite different (shinier, with ink that is more "on-the-surface" in appearance) compared with the other two I mentioned, and I believe it looks best with B&W work, though color inkjet output from an Epson 4000 was extremely saturated and sharp--more vibrant than any matte inkjet I've ever seen. Their new Museo II and Museo Max printed samples had very good density and sharpness, and I look forward to printing on the samples I received. www.crane.com is probably the best place to inquire about Silver Rag.
Moab Paper showed a new range of Chinle folios,
books and archival boxes. The new Chinle digital
edition book v2 series now has two sizes and
accepts two paper sizes: 8x8 and 12x12 inch. A
number of pre-drilled two-sided Moab papers are
available for purchase separately. What really
caught my eye was their new slipcase for the
12x12 book. They have a cutout in the center
that makes it look very distinctive and allows
for the books to be easily taken out of the
cases. Kokopelli Studio Semi-Gloss, a double
sided heavyweight paper, was also added to the
Moab line and can be purchased for use in their
Chinle digital edition book v2. The product info
should be available soon at www.moabpaper.com.
Apple in the Big Apple
Apple Computer's Aperture is truly impressive. I've never seen a product so well-suited to selecting and organizing photos. Seeing 2-200+ images across two 30'' Cinema Displays with a film-strip view across the bottom (with the screens either mirrored or in dual mode) was incredible. One of the most unique features of the program is the ability to batch adjust JPEG and TIFF files (using Aperture's color/contrast/levels tools) just like RAWs (essentially by adjusting one and stamping the adjustment onto the balance), which I believe was only available before by writing an action in Photoshop. I'm not sure how the edits are actually exported out. I doubt they can get around the issue of saving a jpg over a JPEG, but I'm sure the JPEGs can be converted to TIFFs to avoid that loss of quality. www.apple.com/aperture has more info.
ABOVE: One of the 30-minute classroom sessions for Aperture in the Apple booth.
By the way, as I was looking for some company URLs, I realized again how frustrating it is to search around looking for manufacturers' web sites. Google searches almost always bring up dealer and store links, and not all companies have their name.com as their URL. B&H Photo has an excellent directory here that I use a lot: http://tinyurl.com/98h96
Color Management Corner
GretagMacbeth's new scanning ruler and foldable backup board for use with their Eye-One Pro Spectrophotometer (accelerated and previous version) is very nicely designed and appears to significantly cut down the time necessary to make a custom profile. In my tests, moving the handheld Eye-One Spectro across the patches of the target was more fluid using the new Ruler and foldable backup board compared with the plastic ruler that was used in the past, and that should translate to fewer errors. Their automated iO table was also on display (it also holds an accelerated or previous version of the Eye-One Pro Spectro), and it was churning out 700+ patch charts in just a few minutes (I don't have the exact times handy, but it was fast). They also came out with a nice carrying case (size of a small backpack) that I would love to have to replace my Eye-One's aging cardboard box. I was told that the case and new ruler together will sell for about $100. www.i1color.com is the link for more info.
ABOVE: GretagMacbeth's Eye-One iO automatic scanning table.
Photo courtesy GretagMacbeth.
Colorvision came out with an interesting new handheld Spectrocolorimeter called PrintFIX PRO. It has an MSRP of $549 and requires a patch-by-patch measurement that takes about five minutes to read (125 patch target), depending on the speed of the operator. www.colorvision.com is the link for more info. They were also showing their hardware and software for calibrating projectors, which I've tested with very good results.
Other Goodies
Sinar-Bron showed some new products, such as their new autofocus Zeiss lenses for the Sinar M camera, and Sinarback e-Motion22 digital camera back. Their web site is www.sinarbron.com. I recently wrote about their new Ringlights with optional grids available in Digital Imaging Techniques magazine. Here's the link to that info, as well as a number of other articles: www.imaginginfo.com/di/index.asp (choose "The Cutting Edge" for the product info). There is also an article at that link filled with info on bags for photography, iPods, etc, as well as a review that I recently wrote on the HP Designjet 90.
HP's Special Event at PhotoPlus
On Friday evening I attended an event sponsored by HP that was fantastic. Three legends of photography (Elliott Erwitt, Douglas Kirkland, and Joel Meyerowitz) came together to tell some stories about their work and distinguished careers. In my opinion, there's nothing like hearing about the story behind great photographic images. They also spoke a little about how they've been using HP's printers, and Douglas Kirkland and his wife Françoise showed some stunning prints made on their Designjet 130, shot with a Canon 1Ds Mark II in China. Earlier that day, I also had an opportunity to meet with Joel Meyerowitz, who described his experiences with the HP Designjet 130. It was great to hear that major collectors, galleries and curators have reacted very favorably to his digital prints. He showed me a dye-transfer print next to an HP130 print, output on HP's Premium Plus Photo Satin paper, and the two had a very similar look and feel. The evening's Emcee, Harald Johnson, did a fine job as well and should consider taking over for David Letterman when his contract is up! For HP printer info: www.designjet.hp.com.
Andrew Darlow is a photographer and digital imaging consultant based in the New York City area. He is Editorial Director of Digital Imaging Techniques (www.imaginginfo.com), a magazine that reaches 25,000 professional photographers, art directors and others in the graphic arts community. He conducts seminars across the country and has taught extensively at the International Center of Photography in New York on topics ranging from color correction to fine-art inkjet printing. He publishes the Inkjet & Imaging Tips Newsletter, available free to subscribers on his website, www.andrewdarlow.com.
Part II
by Harald Johnson
A few added notes...
More on the HP Special Event and Gallery: I don't know about taking over for David Letterman (!), but I did enjoy my Master of Ceremonies' role for HP's Friday night event: "Photo Stories: An Intimate Conversation with Three of Photography's Icons..." Like Andrew says, there's nothing like listening to master photographers tell behind-the-scenes stories of some of their important work as it's flashing up on two large projection screens. Each of the three speakers (Douglas Kirkland, Elliott Erwitt, and Joel Meyerowitz) had their own presentation styles, but I was especially struck by Erwitt's dry humor, which had the 550-strong audience roaring with laughter. There were some parts of the evening that didn't go according to plan, but that only added to the spontaneity and fun of the event.
ABOVE: A capacity crowd at the HP Special Event. Seated from left: Douglas Kirkland, Joel Meyerowitz, and Elliott Erwitt. Photo: Copyright © 2005 S.LIU.
Galleries Galore
Related to the HP Special Event was the HP Gallery that was located in the Seminar Hall. The gallery showcased inkjet print work (Designjet 130, Photosmart 8750, Photosmart 8250) from the three speakers plus Magnum Photos, The Ansel Adams Gallery, David Saffir and Jim Goldberg.
ABOVE: The HP Gallery in the Seminar Hall.
And there were plenty of other print galleries in the booths on the main exhibit floor. All the obvious vendors (Epson, Canon, HP) had print galleries, but it was interesting to see others as well, whether from a camera or color management company. See just a few examples below...
ABOVE: Print galleries - Epson (left) and GretagMacbeth
ABOVE: more galleries - Canon (left) and Olympus
Liquid Laminator
Over at the LexJet booth, I saw a cool 18-inch liquid laminator by Neschen Accutech. Prints go in one side and come out the other with a perfect lacquer coating (gloss or semi-gloss). The prints dry while they're riding on a cushion of air so there's no scratching. The laminator is not cheap but useful for high-production print environments or if you're tired of spraying your prints. Handles prints from 5x7" to 18x24". For more info: www.lexjet.com.
ABOVE: The Accu-18XE fully automated liquid laminator for prints.
And of course, there were lots of good seminars, parties, and book signings (see below). More than enough to keep a digital imager and printmaker happy!
ABOVE: Author Harald Johnson (left) signs copies of his latest book in the Thomson booth.
Harald Johnson is a digital printing and imaging consultant and the author of the books Mastering Digital Printing, Second Edition and Digital Printing Start-Up Guide, both published by Thomson-Course Technology. He can be reached at harald@dpandi.com.
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2005 SHOW DETAILS:
PhotoPlus Expo
Jacob Javits Convention Center
New York, New York
October 20-22, 2005
2006 DATES: November 2-4, 2006
(same location)
www.photoplusexpo.com
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