Sorry, I have one more basic confusion about the purpose/use/value of the Z3100 Spectrophotometer...
I keep reading (in these wonderfully instructive forums) about HP sending current Z3100 owners new profiles. So, to echo Rosolo's part of a related post, why does HP need to send out profiles when the printer's big differentiator is making profiles?
Is it that HP is experimenting with firmware modifications which changes how profiles are created/interpreted and thus sending out profiles that simply couldn't be created without their new firmware?
OR is it that the user's arbitrary (and confusing) choice of "paper type" before profiling makes such a huge difference that people are doing it wrong (without any other recourse) and that HP are making profiles based on diff paper assumptions?
OR is that HP is using other, non-Z3100 profiling tools to make the new profiles based on things like a given paper's ink absorption qualities that the built-in profiler can't take into account?
--> if that's so, then doesn't that hugely diminish the Z3100 spectro's usefulness and may as well just get specially made profiles for given printers?
OR is the spectrophotometer really more about keeping the printer calibrated/linearized (I assume the two are the same thing?) to keep the color consistent given a set profile?
Also, how does the QUALITY of the built-in spectro compare to stand-alone device (ie, often times even if from the same vendor - as I understand the spectro is from Xrite - the OEM'd versions are not fully featured, lower quality, and/or not easily upgraded)?
Lastly, any thoughts on whether it's better to have an integrated unit (that theoretically is streamlined into the process, covered under same warranty, no multi-vendor finger pointing) or a standalone unit (that may be used outside just the Z3100 - ie, on other printers, displays, LCDs, etc.)?