The only printer reps I’ve ever talked to at a trade show that cared about art printer’s opinions were the Barcelona guys from HP. They were great and took notes from our informal discussions and asked lots of questions. The Epson people were always kissing up to ad photographers and the Canon people just seemed confused. HP was the only company that I saw sending out their smart people, but that was 10 years ago, who knows where they are now. I know one thing, all of the sales people I’ve met were not worthy of representing their engineers. In the case of the HP guys, we were talking to the engineers, the guys who designed the system.
quote author=MHMG link=topic=124790.msg1052778#msg1052778 date=1530327255]
I've always been curious how Epson, Canon, and HP or for that matter media manufacturers like Hahnemuhle, Canson, etc., identify their "industry influencers" and take into account said expert opinion as they go about designing next generation printers, ink sets, and/or media.
With respect to ink and media longevity objectives, it has only been in the current calendar year 2018 that any major printer or media manufacturer has ever bothered to contact Aardenburg Imaging & Archives. I totally get it that I haven't gone out of my way to cultivate those relationships, and sure, I also totally get who normally gets those calls, but seriously? Why wouldn't any manufacturer cast a slightly wider net to get some more nuanced opinions about what the next generation printers, inks, and media should aspire to give to one's most demanding customers? LULA's Printers, Paper, and Inks forum and the regular cast of informed endusers who regularly participate here is a great resource for them. I hope the vendors lurk here. I know some do.
all the best,
Mark
http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com[/quote]