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Test prints made from a variety of scans
of 35mm and 120 film sizes, including transparencies and
color negatives, yielded uniformly rich print images that
faithfully replicated the original reproducing ideally
the values in each subject.
Photos © 1999, David B. Brooks, All Rights Reserved
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Although ink jet photo printers
have been at the forefront of photographers' attention lately,
the requirements of professional print output still demand the qualities
only dye sublimation printing can achieve. In Sony's latest printer
for the professional market, the SpectaPix, improvements and refinements
over previous models make it ideally suited, even to the precise and
subtle reproduction expectations of quality portraiture. In addition,
the SpectaPix will produce self-laminated prints that are durable as
well as long lasting, and with several surface texture options, without
the hassle of changing media. In addition to the new SpectaPix (UP-D70A)
printer, new and improved media accompanies it offering greater print
resistance to wear and longevity, along with improved saturation and
color accuracy. This professionally competitive printer and media from
Sony are list priced at $6700, and media cost ranges letter size at
$1.86 to A4 Plus at $2.07 per sheet.
The Sony SpectaPix is designed to be used by the Apple Macintosh system
as well as Windows 3.X, 95, 98, and NT. Connection to the computer is
through a Parallel data port or SCSI interface. The latter should be
recommended as data transfer from a computer to the printer using the
parallel interface is much slower. Software support, with my testing
of the printer with two different Windows machines, consists of a system
level driver as well a Photoshop Plug-In (the latter only supports a
SCSI connection with Windows 98 and NT).
Setting up the printer, which is a robust, solid, yet compact desktop
machine, is very slick and straightforward. The paper supply tray design
is very accessible and easy to load, while installing or changing the
ribbon is as easy as loading a 35mm film cassette in a point-and-shoot
camera. Software installation and setup is also simple and straightforward.
I did, however, have to query Sony on using the Photoshop Plug-In with
Windows 98 and Photoshop 5.0.2, which is not covered specifically in
the printer's documentation. But, I'm sure that will be
covered in an addendum soon. The Sony SpectaPix fully supports color
management with .ICC/.ICM profile files for each media type, and I found
it effectively functional printing from Photoshop.
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Printing With The Sony
SpectaPix UP-D70A. Sony sent along with the printer a package
of paper and ribbon, which I found will produce 100 prints. The first
I made was from an IT-8 color reference file which I had adjusted and
measured against Kodak's aim points so it was optimized as displayed
in Photoshop 5.02. This image was the subject of my first print. The resulting
print was as close to an exact visual match of an Ektacolor IT-8 reference
produced by Kodak as I've seen yet. This was an auspicious beginning,
and indicated if anything Sony was understating its claims for color accuracy
and quality as part of the SpectaPix performance capabilities.
This first test print encouraged me to test the SpectaPix with a wide
range of images in my archives of diverse subjects. I thought for good
reason I should have high expectations, and to a large extent the first
few prints were the best quality reproductions I'd seen from a desktop
printer. But, I was also a little disappointed in a couple of them. I
don't know what led me to reexamine these images in Photoshop, but
I did and found by tightening up the levels adjustment, tweaking the saturation
a bit, as well as shifting the color balance a couple of points, a second
print of these disappointing images revealed everything I would hope for.
From there I continued to make test prints from scans of 120 film, 35mm,
slides, and negatives, from old images and ones recently exposed. And,
with each I first checked the Levels, Saturation, and Color Balance in
Photoshop to be sure the color correction was optimal. The results did
not involve any more disappointments, and soon I acquired an acute eye
as to what to look for on-screen in image values that would make the best
print of each photograph.
About halfway through the supply of paper and ribbon I moved the SpectaPix
to another computer, also running Photoshop 5.0.2 with a calibrated but
different monitor, and continued the series of test prints. It took a
few prints to re-tune my eyes to tweak the image files so they would print
ideally, but once that was accomplished the print qualities fully matched
those of the first set. With the paper and ribbon used up, and almost
100 exceptionally fine quality prints as a result, I am thoroughly convinced
Sony has in the SpectaPix achieved an extraordinary level of performance
in photographic reproduction. Many of the images I test printed had been
reproduced by various professional custom labs previously for clients.
I now wish those prints I'd delivered in the past had been as fine
as those I just printed with the SpectaPix.
For more information about the Sony SpectaPix UP-D70A dye sublimation
printer, contact Sony Electronics Inc., 1 Sony Dr., Park Ridge, NJ 07656;
(800) 342-5721, (201) 930-1000; or visit their web site at: www.sony.com/professional.
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Technical Specifications
Power Requirements: 120v AC, 50/60Hz
Power Consumption: 2.4 AMPS at lOO-I20v AC, Maximum 270w
Dimensions: Approx. 493.8x176x468.8mm, (191/2x7x181/2"
)
Weight: Approx. 19kg (42 lbs)
Printing System: Dye transfer sublimation thermal printing
Thermal Head: 2560 elements, 11.8 dot/mm (300dpi)
Gradations: 256 levels each for yellow, magenta, and
cyan
Maximum Picture Size: Letter size: 254x203.2mm, (10x8");
A4+ size: 297x215.9mm, (11/4x81/2")
Picture Elements: Maximum, letter size: 3000x2400 dots;
A4+ size: 3508x2550 dots
Printing Time: Approx. 85 sec per page for color printing
(300dpi); Approx. 115 sec per page for laminate printing (300dpi)
Picture Memory: 30MB
Interface: SCSI x 2, (Amphenole 50-pin connector), Parallel
Data In x 1, (Amphenole 36-pin connector)
Accessories Supplied: Ink ribbon holder (1); Paper tray
(1); Paper cover (1); Fan cover (1); Bottom cover (1); AC power cord (1);
Operating Instructions (1); Warranty Card (1); Registration card (1) (only
UP-D7OA); CD-ROM (1)
Optional Accessories:
Color Printing Pack UPC-8811
Color Printing Pack UPC-8817
B/W Printing Pack UPC-8821
Self-laminating Color Printing Pack UPC-8841
Self-laminating Color Printing Pack UPC-741
Self-laminating Color Printing Pack UPC-747
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