European Imaging Oscars awarded for 2006

Best A4 Multifunction Photo Printer - Epson Stylus Photo RX640

The Epson Stylus Photo RX640 is a combination of photo quality printer and a 3200 dpi scanner with built-in transparency unit. Scanning is enhanced with Epson’s Easy Photo Fix technology, which automatically restores colour to faded photos and film. Easy Photo Fix also includes a dust and scratches removal function for negative and positive film scanning. To make printing easier than ever, Epson’s PhotoEnhance technology automatically detects the image type and adjusts image brightness and contrast accordingly. The high definition 2.5 inch PhotoFine LCD monitor also ensures easy direct-printing from memory cards and PictBridge-enabled cameras.

Best A3 Photo Printer - HP Photosmart Pro B9180

The HP Photosmart Pro B9180 is an A3+ Photo Printer designed for professional photographers. With 8 individual pigmentbased HP Vivera Inks it achieves a high print capacity. Four HP 70 dual-colour printheads feature 8448 nozzles for precise, consistent drop placement and enhanced colour accuracy. According to HP, some prints resist fading for up to 200 years, which is a new benchmark in photography. The HP Pro print plug-in for Adobe Photoshop and ICC profiles in the printer software allow predictable and consistent colour quality. A dedicated raster image processor (RIP) software for professional colour management is also on offer for the B9180 as an optional extra.

Best Large Format Printer - Canon imagePROGRAPH iPF5000

Canon's imagePROGRAF iPF5000 is a pigment ink large format printer, designed to produce professional prints. It offers a wide choice of media and archival image quality, made possible through the 12- colour inkset of Canon«s new Lucia pigment inks. The printer employs 2,560 nozzles per colour for rapid print speeds, a maximum resolution of 2400x1200 dpi, and a 4 picolitre droplet size. Depending on the media chosen, the iPF5000 printer switches automatically between regular black and matte black ink. A plug-in for Canon Digital Photo Professional software allows users to directly process and print RAW image files in 16-bit RGB images for improved image quality.

Best Independent Inkjet Paper - Innova Art FibaPrint Gloss

While inkjet colour photo printing has reached or even surpassed the quality of traditional silver halide photo prints in the last few years, black & white inkjet photo printing remained a challenge. Fibrebased silver halide B&W prints are still considered to be superior in quality by many, but this may change with the introduction of Innova Art FibaGloss paper. When used with the latest matt black pigment inks, this paper shows an incredibly high DMax of 2.7; greater than traditional fibre-based silver halide papers. This allows for for extremely smooth tonal gradations and deep, rich shadows full of detail.

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