How is the DesignJet 30/130’s paper handling? Can you use canvas? How thick can the paper be? Is the colour gamut wide enough? These paper and ink-related questions are the subject of our last article in the series on the DesignJet 30/130. In this last article the focus lies more on photography and art than on colour proofing, our main focus so far.

The DesignJet 30/130 handles paper well. Although it might lack a laser-guided system to “see” if a sheet is lined up properly, I have yet to witness serious paper jams with these printers. It really all depends on what type of paper you use. First of all, from the point of view of artists, these printers are not very generous when it comes to paper thickness. Do not expect a maximum thickness of 1.5 millimeter like the maximum thickness you can use in an Epson 4000. Asked about the limitation of 0.4 mm for the DesignJets, HP replied these printers are not positioned for the same, broad market as the Epson 4000.

Instead, the DesignJet 30/130 is aimed at the photography and proofing markets. Users in these markets don’t care all that much about thick paper, is the reasoning, and if they do, they can opt for a higher-end DesignJet. We should indeed not forget the Epson 4000 is 1.5 times as expensive as the DesignJet 130! Hence, the requirement for artists to buy a higher-end DesignJet if and when they need a larger choice of papers and media all-round to print on.

For the average artist, the photographer and the serious amateur, the DesignJet 30/130 offers support for a decent selection of papers. Certainly the DesignJet 130, which supports more types than the model 30, allows photographers to print on a large number of photo papers---even on a roll. I tested the DesignJet 30 with HP Premium papers such as the glossy type and the satin type. Both are photography papers and both offer excellent quality. Especially when you combine them with the EFI Designer RIP, you get a lot of control over ink coverage and other important print parameters.

I also tried the DesignJet 30 with a number of paper types that are not explicitly supported by the printer. For example, Hanhemuhle makes a number of inkjet photo and specialty papers that are officially not supported by the DesignJet 30. If you feed these papers sheet by sheet, I could find no reason why you should not use them. Most of these papers will get you paper jam, if you load the paper tray with more than one sheet. The same holds true for CD-labels, for example. I tried printing on glossy labels and was foolish enough to load a pack of ten in the paper tray, and the whole thing was picked up at once by the paper guides. The result was not a paper jam, mind you, but one label completely ruined because the underlying ones---which came through as well---worked like a sort of “slider” that prevented the top label to load properly. At the end of the print job, I had one ruined label and nine labels that came out unscathed and in pristine condition.

With such labels as well, the message is: load one at a time. Of course, all these preventive measures are completely unnecessary with HP’s own Premium specialty papers. I did not try printing on canvas because Hanhemuhle’s specially coated canvas was too thick for the printer anyway. For the same reason I did not print on any paper above 300 g/sq.m.

For photographers, HP’s Premium Glossy Paper ensures a high reflectivity and a very close to silver-halide look. The inks are a crucial component in this photographic look, and as the inks are largely responsible for the colour gamut, I was particularly interested in the printer’s gamut. The DesignJet 30/130 has one of the widest colour gamuts I’ve ever seen. It is capable of a very large range of colours, ensuring not only brilliant photos but also very smooth transitions and gradients. The only aspect that is a little bit disappointing is the granularity of the blacks. This is hardly noticeable in colour prints, but it is somewhat noticeable in black and white prints.

Nevertheless, the gamut is exceptional, and according to some photographers whose discussion threads I read on Roger Galbraith’s site, it is even wider than the Epson 4000’s.

The conclusion of all this is that the DesignJet 30/130 is a very strong offering, not only for proofing purposes, but most certainly for photography as well. Artists with a crave for specialty printing media are better off with the Epson 4000 or a high-end DesignJet.