... But the big problem in my opinion with the new Zs was removing the light light gray. I wanted them to add one more light gray for a true quad inkset ( and could have done that by removing only the light magenta while improving their dot placement a tiny bit, but they went in the other was for super speed, which for me is going backward not competing with Epson and Canon in the high end photo realm.
It's really hard to know what kind of B&W or color print quality the Z9+ is capable of merely by reading the specs and the gushing promotional literature on HP's new "pixel control" technology. On the face of it, I agree, removing the light channels, especially the light gray, sounds like a big step in the wrong direction for highest quality photographic tone reproduction. That said, HP scientists would have had a few variables to play with in the new printer design that might even the score or perhaps improve B&W, dare we hope, compared to the older Z3100/Z3200 series. One of those variables is, of course, the smaller drop-size nozzles in the new head design. A second variable is the pigment density levels. For example, HP scientists could have moved the Z9 gray pigment concentration levels closer to Z3200's light gray pigment concentration level such that when printing through the finer nozzle pattern, HP could recover or possibly gain on both color and B&W output "continuous tone" quality. High gray component replacement (GCR) as was done with the older Zs would still have to factor heavily into the new "pixel control" screening patterns to get wonderfully neutral gray scale ramps as would use of extended patch count profiling charts over and above the basic chart used by the "easy profiling mode' of the HP color utility menu.
All that said, we just don't know much about the highest attainable print quality from this new printer compared to other printers, especially the older Z3200, even though the Z9s have been on the market for several months now. The lack of positive commentary on the internet about Z9 print quality does seem bewildering no matter how you look at it. The few folks who claim to own one have to date revealed almost nothing about their satisfaction with the Z9 print quality and printer reliability. Colourgeek's comments over on the dpReview printers and printing forum about his new Z9 are notably subdued. Moreover, samples distributed by HP marketing seem to have disappointed discerning printmakers who've seen them, but that isn't a definitive ruling. So, the jury is still out, IMHO, but it's not looking good.
Lastly, for folks like myself who are enjoying the advanced measurement capabilities of the built-in spectrophotometer on our Z3200 printers, the fact that HP appears to have crippled the spectro capabilities on the new Z9 is a huge disappointment
I was hoping the Z9 would be a pathway forward for me when it comes time to retire my Z3200. One can only hope that HP might decide to reinstate the advanced spectro measurement abilities in a newer version of the Z9 color utility.
kind regards,
Mark
http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com