|
| |
Detail Performance Summary |
|
 • The B8850 had deep blacks
• Color gradeints were smooth
• Fine details are well reproduced
|
 |
Color Performance |
Page 6 of 13 |
Inks & Media |
 |
Depth of Blacks (7.57)
The depth of the blacks in prints produced by printers is a critical factor: the deepner the blacks the printer can produce, the better the prints look. The B8850 certainly wasn't lacking here: we measured the dMax (the maximum density of the blacks) at 2.34, which is very good. This was borne out in our test prints: we saw deep, dark blacks and accurate greys with plenty of detail. For more details on how we test the depth of blacks in prints, see here.
| HP B8850 DMax comparison |
 |
Detail (11.0)
We do a lot of testing on how well the printers we look at reproduce fine details, as these are vital to accurately portraying the story that your photos tell. Firstly, we look at how well the printer reproduces shades of the four primary colors: cyan, magenta, yellow and black.
| |
HP B8850 Detail Comparisons: Gradients |
| |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
| |
Original Image |
HP B8850
|
Canon Pro 9000 Mark II |
Canon Pro 9500 Mark II
|
Epson R1900
|
| Cyan Gradient |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Magenta Gradient |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Yellow Gradient |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Black Gradient |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
There are a couple of quirks here. In the Yellow gradient, the B8850 is using another color to increase the darkness of the yellow at the darkes points on the gradient, and it is doing a similar thing with the Cyan, using some black to increase the darkness of the cyan in the middle of the gradient. But neither of these are particularly gratuitous, and the transition is smooth; you are not likely to see any evidence of banding or blockiness in subtle color changes in real photos. there is anso no noticeable transition between the two different black inks on the black gradient, so the B8850 seems to be doing an excellent job of blending the ink dots from the two different inks together.
Next, we look at how well the printer reproduces a number of real-world examples. Click on any of the scans to see the full high-resolution (3200dpi ro 6400 dpi) scan.
| Canon Pro 9500 Mark II Detail Comparisons: Photo Edges |
| |
|
 |
 |
| Original Image |
HP B8850
|
Canon Pro 9500 Mark II |
Epson R1900 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
As you can see from these scans, the B8850 did an excellent job overall: fine details are well rendered, with edges remainign sharp and subtle details still in there. On the Alice scan, you can still make out the cross-hatching on her cheek and the details of her hair, and the reflective highlights of our Rosie the riveter action figure are also still there. On the slatned edge, you can also see that the edge is prtty sharp, although you can see how the areas fo solid black are not completely solid; there are gaps between the black dots. There is some minor loss of detail on the dog phot, though; the white spots on the muzzle are a little lost
Printing Modes
Ther B8850 offers 4 print quality modes: Fast Draft, Normal, Best and Maximum DPI. As the scans below show, the Maximum DPI is the best quality mode, but it is also the slowest. The Fast Draft mode is definitely fast, but it's also very poor quality; it just isn't worth the speed. Our reccomendation for general use would be Best mode, with Maximum DPI for producing prints that you want to show off.
HP B8850
Detail Score Comparison |
 |
|
