DesignJet 455CA makes it big - HP's large-format color inkjet printer - Software Review - Evaluation

HP DesignJet 455CA 4 (Very good)

Hoping to expand its large-format printer market, Hewlett-Packard Co. has released a new large-format, color inkjet printer. The HP DesignJet 455CA comes in 36- or 24-inch widths ($4,195 and $3,195, respectively), has a resolution of 300 dpi, and includes a software-based, Level 2 PostScript RIP. Sporting Ethernet connectivity, the fully networkable printer is aimed at designers and graphic artists who need high-quality, large-format output but don't have the production demands of a larger organization. The DesignJet 455CA fits this bill very well, although the software could be friendlier.

We tested the 36-inch model, which measures 52 by 9 by 13 inches and weighs 75 pounds. The printer's boxy design is nothing special to look at, but the printer is well-constructed and its hardware interface well-planned.

Separate CMYK cartridges are small and easy to insert in the printer's ink carriage. The 455CA accepts media in rolls or sheets; both are fed from the front of the printer, which makes media-loading a snap. However, front-loading means there's no straight-through paper path for thicker media and that all media makes a tight turn around the printer's roller.

Sheets are simply fed into the printer's paper slot, while rolls are attached to a spindle, which snaps easily onto the front of the printer. Roll media must be aligned by eye, a process that can take several tries when using such wide paper.

The 455CA includes both parallel and serial cables, but it connects to a Mac through an Ethernet connection facilitated by an HP JetDirect EX print server, a small box that attaches to a printer's parallel port. From it you can run a regular 10Base T cable to a network hub. To attach a Mac directly to a printer, you can use the included cross-over cable to plug into the Mac's 10Base T port.

Software

The RIP software is a single application that is both a Chooser-level PostScript RIP and a download utility. You can't print directly to the printer; instead, you must print to a PostScript file and download that file to the printer using the RIP's download features. Or, if an image is saved in any of a number of formats including TIFF, JPEG or EPS, you can download those directly using the RIP application. The program can queue documents for printing. The printer will wait for each document to dry before it cuts the paper and continues.

Because working with 36-inch wide, 300-dpi images is impractical, you should create smaller files and scale them up using the RIP. Through the RIP's scaling options the printer can automatically scale an image up to the width of the currently loaded paper, scale by percentage, or scale to a user-specified size. Unfortunately, like most of HP's software interface, all scaling is done numerically - a fairly straightforward procedure, but we'd prefer a graphical interface.

The HP RIP includes simple color calibration controls that let you choose among a generic, automatic calibration setting, or calibration files created by HP for specific HP scanners. Needless to say, the selection is a bit limited.

Output

When you see the DesignJet 455CA's output, you may not believe it came from a $4,000 device. Although HP labels its higher-end, 600-dpi DesignJets as "photographic quality," it has withheld that description from the 455CA. But despite its lower resolution, photos printed on the 455CA look very good. When printing on HP's High-Gloss photo paper ($274.95 for a 100-foot roll), you'll be hard-pressed to find pixels. From its fine details to its subtle color shadings, the DesignJet 455CA lacks the dithering of many large-format printers.

Color contrast was occasionally a bit flat. We improved this somewhat with the RIP's color controls but had better results by changing the original files.

And we were amazed at the longevity of the 455CA's 45-milliliter ink cartridges. HP claims you can get 30 to 35 2-by-3-foot, 100-percent-coverage prints with 40 percent density from a set of cartridges, but this might be a bit conservative. Although the 455CA lacks the larger ink capacities of HP's more expensive printers, they should be fine for those who only need a few prints per day.

Unfortunately, there's not a software-based ink gauge. You must rely on the somewhat unreliable windows on the front of each cartridge, and you can't replace cartridges in midprint.

The 455CA's prints are rated for a year indoors before fading, and three months outdoors. The UV-resistant inks available with HP's more expensive printers are not available for the 455CA.

Conclusions

The 455CA is a great piece of hardware, hampered only somewhat by its average software. While the output is impressive, we'd like to see a number of software changes, ranging from interactive scaling and page layout to a curves interface for color correction. None of these problems are serious enough to keep you from getting great output, though.

With its combination of print quality and price, the 455CA is a great choice for small design firms, illustrators and photographers.

Hewlett-Packard Co. of Palo Alto, Calif., is at (800) 851-1170; fax (800) 231-9300; http://www.hp.com.

Score card: HP DesignJet 455CA 4 (Very good)

Hewlett-Packard Co.

List price: $4,195

Hits: Excellent output; easy set-up; well-designed.

Misses: Software's interface could be more interactive; no straight-through paper path.

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