Media Edit Pro
Company: macXware
Price: $79.99
OS X and OS 9 compatible (despite the Company name)
Reviewing a program like Media Edit Pro is a tough slog. Not because of any shortcomings of the program but because it was completely different from what I expected. Perhaps a brief description of the review process is in order. What I review is stuff that interests me, and I’m interested in Movies. So when I saw a press release for Media Edit Pro I thought “Hey, Here’s a movie editor more robust than iMovie but cheaper than Final Cut Express, that’s something I’d like to try.” A couple of e-mails later and I had a copy. I installed Media Edit Pro (which is growing tiresome to type so I’ll truncate the title to MEP in future references) with no problems. then I downloaded and installed the update. Still a problem free experience. Found some footage to play with and fired up the program to give MEP it’s first test run. Big Problem.
The problem wasn’t with the program, it just wasn’t what I was expecting. I expected a simple but more robust movie-editing program, I was wrong. The program is called Media Edit Pro for a reason and the reason is that MEP is not just a movie-editing program (one assumes the author put more thought in the title than I did when I read it) but also a full-fledged media-editing program (hence the text). That means pretty much any media you care to mess with. I only care to mess with video stuff so I’m sticking to the video side, but from the little I know about audio and stills it seems that MEP would be quite capable in that department. Let’s hit the easy stuff right now, MEP includes plenty of effects and transitions and you do have complete titling control. But there’s more to MEP than being just a beefier copy of iMovie, much more.
Say you want to pull off the effect from the beginning of Saving Private Ryan/ Gladiator. You remember that extra violent fog-o-war feeling. You can’t do it with iMovie, it’s just not possible out of the box. It’s no big trick with MEP. To be honest there’s not a lot you can’t do to video footage with MEP. You can do titles any way you wish, move the audio around, add a single frame or a thousand, paint. Paint? Did I say paint, let’s look back… It appears I did say paint. Well that’s okay because you can paint directly on your video using the painting tools. It’s a more useful feature than you might think. This might have you wondering “If I can paint, does this mean I can apply other image editing techniques to my movie?” Wonder no longer, the answer is yes. You want to mask the video? No problem. You want to apply an effect to just a region of the movie (you know a specific selected area)? Again no problem. Think of it, you can add cool effects to just, say, half the visible video. People familiar with imaging editing programs will be able to go nutso crazy with the included tools and mere mortals like I can still have a pants load of fun.
How powerful is MEP? I don’t know. I know it can handle anything I can throw at it but I only have limited video editing experience. Could a super slick director take MEP to its limits? I would bet the answer is yes. At least I think they could, you see MEP also includes brush editor to make your own brushes. These aren’t just static brushes, these are special cool movie brushes. Even more intriguingly MEP includes something called RBscript. This is well beyond my ability to use but I suspect that in the right hands it could be a very powerful tool. With the ability to script stuff I conclude that MEP is limited more by the user than the program.
The last question to ponder: what do I give up if I ditch iMovie and start using MEP? Well, MEP does everything iMovie does as well as plenty of other neat stuff I haven’t mentioned (for example: you can set the dimensions of the movie). MEP offers a great deal of creative control and for those of you who don’t want to shell for Final Cut Express but need more than iMovie this is the best alternative I’ve run across. MEP is very powerful, very original and very very cool. In addition to all the aforementioned goodness MEP includes a printed manual (becoming a rarity, but helpful with a program as original as MEP) and a very cool sticker.
MacMice Rating: 5 out of 5
Pros: Powerful Video Editing
Cons: None
The Mouse
Company: MacMice Workspace Products Co.
Price: $39.99
http://www.macmice.com
A mouse is a mouse is a mouse, no? Well, no, not really. Everyone reading this probably has a mouse nearby, even if you are using a Trackpad on a PowerBook. But there are times, especially graphic manipulation, where using a mouse is simply easier and more accurate. And as we all know, Apple makes a decent mouse that ships with the Macintosh. Rugged, stylish, and easy to use. But it does have one problem; it has only one button!
Mac OS X is all set up for a dual button mouse, as well as a scroll wheel mouse. Some people have never tried a multi-button mouse, as hard as that is to believe, because they simply like the feel of the oblong Apple supplied mouse. Honestly, these people don’t know what they are missing, as a two-button mouse is simply a must-have, as is a scroll wheel. But do you have to sacrifice your Apple mouse feel to move up to one of these dual-scroll-Mouse? Not any longer.
Named simply The Mouse, this new mouse has all the features you want in a better mouse; two-buttons, a scroll wheel, optical, and a cool, read glow emanating from under the unit. And at first glance and feel, you would almost think this is indeed an Apple built mouse. It looks very much like the standard Apple mouse, is just about the exact same dimensions as a standard Apple mouse, and even feels like an Apple mouse in your hand.
And in some respects, therein lies the problem. MacMice did such a good job of making The Mouse feel like a stock Apple mouse, that it is too easy to remember this is a two-button mouse. Thus I have been accidentally right-clicking everything, all the time, without meaning to. Will you have this problem? It could be that my hand simply has a mind of its own, and when it feels an Apple standard mouse, it knows how it is suppose to click. And this after using The Mouse in preparation for this review for a month. I simply cannot get over that this is not an Apple mouse, but a third-party one. Again, it could simply be my hand is too confused.
What can you really say about a mouse? It works fine. No skipping. No tracking problems at all. The left and right button work fine, as does the scroll wheel. But wait, what’s this? This is a THREE-button mouse! The scroll wheel itself is a button as well? How cool is that?
After a month, my opinion is very high on The Mouse, except one small, but important, detail. The Mouse clicks loud. Too loud, I think. It is louder than a standard Apple mouse when clicking, at a higher pitch. My wife does not like it, as the sound of The Mouse clicking carries further than an Apple standard mouse, and WAY louder than my Logitech MouseMan Optical Dual Sensor.
When comparing The Mouse, at $39.99, to the OEM Apple mouse, it is a clear winner, as long a loud clicking is not a problem for you. When I compare it to the Logitech MouseMan, however, it falls far short. Tracking on the Logitech MouseMan is much more accurate, it is more ergonomically in every way, it is at least 200% quieter, and it has a thumb button.
But putting aside how far superior the MouseMan is, at twice the cost I should say, The Mouse is still a good, well-built mouse. Definitely an upgrade from an OEM Apple mouse, and it comes in both white and black. (Update, the Black model has sold out.) If you want a three-button mouse, and want the feel of the OEM Apple mouse, this is far and away the mouse for you. If you simply want to upgrade to a better mouse, and cost is not an issue, there are a ton better mice on the market.
MyMac rating: 3.5 out of 5
“On January 24th, Apple Computer will introduce “Macintosh”, and you’ll see why 1984 won’t be like “1984”.
-Closing line from Apple’s famous “1984” commercial, which starred Anya Major, and which was directed by Ridley Scott.
With the twentieth anniversary of the Macintosh upon us, I felt that this would be an appropriate time to tell “my story”, of how I came to be such a fan of this computing platform. Heck, everyone has stories, right?
As it says in my profile, my first exposure to a computer was my high school’s Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-11, way back in the dark ages of the early 1970’s. It was pretty cool. Up until that point, computers, at least to me, had been the stuff of Saturday afternoon science fiction movies, where white-coated scientists were always trying to either save the world, or blow it up. School authorities kept the PDP-11 locked in a room, with only a few teachers being allowed access to it, but on occasion, some of us students got to see it. A big deal for us students was to get to see the teacher in charge of it actually start it up. True excitement among 70’s high school geeks! The room where students were allowed to actually work on the computer was just an ordinary classroom, normal, but for the Teletype terminals, mounted on pedestals, around the room. To all you younger readers, that means they looked like fancy typewriters, with little ball shaped gizmos that traveled back and fourth, printing code and whatnot on yellow paper. And yes, even back then, there was games, mostly written in BASIC. There was even a pretty cool Star Trek game, where two players on different terminals could play against each other. (Gasp!)
Fast forward to the early 1980’s. At this point, I had been in the work force for a few years, laboring away as a test technician. One of my earliest jobs involved testing and troubleshooting printed circuit boards at a mid-size company. Here, I used computers on the job. Automatic test equipment, or A.T.E. was coming in big time, and it demanded techs that were “computer literate”. We had moved away from the Teletype interfaces, and now had monochromatic terminals. So, I found computers to be useful, and even fun to use on the job. But to actually own one? You had to be kidding. They cost thousands, and what would anyone do with one? The answer was no. I had heard about some hobbyists cobbling together some home computers, but my interests at that time were elsewhere.
I started reading about this company called “Apple Computer” in the various technical and business magazines. They were making lots of headlines, as innovators of new stuff, and for the company being a “cool place to work”. The Apple II computers were turning up on desks here and there, and everyone raved about “how much more fun they were than those IBM’s”. I noticed something: Anyone who used an Apple II, whether that person was a secretary, or a techno-whiz kid, was always smiling and enjoying whatever it was they were doing. Okay, that’s nice, but still, my interest in computers was strictly as an on-the-job tool, nothing more. National Semiconductor made an ATE system called the “Starplex”, and a Massachusetts company called Genrad (shortened from “General Radio Company”) made a huge system for PC board testing. It had a vacuum system, with a “bed of nails”, where the PC card, small or huge, got sucked down onto the nails, made it’s electrical connections (hopefully), and the computer ran the test program. I won’t go into any dull details on that, but any test tech who ever used this system is probably rolling his / her eyeballs right about now. Yeah, it was like that. Let’s just say that Genrad should have shipped a large supply of aspirin with each system. When they worked, they worked very well, and when they didn’t? Well, you had better have been blessed with a great sense of humor. Opinions differ as to whether or not I have this particular gift.
In December of 1984, I went to work at RCA, on second shift. It was here where I first started noticing the little beige boxes called Macintosh on desktops, and in some lab areas. I had heard of it, they came from that Apple Computer Company. I had heard how revolutionary it was. I had not put my hands on one. That was soon to change. One of the things I had to do was write some notes on what had been accomplished during the course of the shift. The reports didn’t have to be long or involved, but a reasonable account of the nights transgressions. Not too bad, I thought, I’ll use the VAX system. (Anyone remember the good old VAX?)
Well, after a few nights of dutifully typing out some notes on what happened, I came in to work one afternoon, and my supervisor said that the VAX system was down, and would not be up again that night. He pointed to one of the little beige Macs and said, “Use one of those for your report”.
Thus, it began for me, on a late night in 1984, in a darkened office area, with a cold December wind howling outside. (They turned off the lights in office areas, except for “night lights” at 9 PM) I sat down at my first Macintosh. Small, rather simple looking, with a cable exiting from a port in the back, and going to a printer that looked enormous. A little keyboard, and the “mouse” which I had heard about. I had no clue as to where to begin, so with the Mac already powered up, I started poking around with the mouse. And…. AMAZING! This is awesome, I thought. But what the heck was that “KA-Klunk” noise I heard here and there? It sounded like someone banging on a tin can with a small hammer. Another tech, watching me play said, “I think that means you’re doing something wrong, or something”. Okay, fair enough. It was funny, but for a few moments, I could not determine that the noise was coming from the Mac.
After a few minutes of marveling at the graphical user interface, I found something called “Macwrite”, and clicked on it. Hot Damn, this is just too cool! Very soon, I had typed out my evening’s report, and figured out how to print it. Nice! And I never even cracked a manual. So, this is what this Apple Computer is all about, making it fun, as well as interesting.
More and more of the little Macs started appearing all over the place, and even in some more lab and shop areas. Most people really loved them; with “They’re so easy to use” being heard constantly. It was right along in here, when I encountered my first “Mac basher”. I won’t hash this up again, other than to say that here was a man who apparently could not stand the fact that a company had made using computers not only simple, but also fun. His favorite expression: “They’re so stupid”! I’m sure you’ve all met at least one of these. I’m not sure where they come from. My best guess would be a toxic waste dump.
I continued to work with the Mac, and it got even better when I learned that you could use “Mac Draw” to do up some pretty decent mechanical drawings. Professional applications for this purpose started appearing, and it was even nicer. Macdraft continues to be a favorite of mine.
Time did what it always does, it marched on. Processors got faster, demands went up, and the Mac evolved. Other types of desktop computers evolved as well. The “PC Genius” seemed to be everywhere, and appeared to be the choice of those who considered themselves to be “more computer literate” than Mac users. By the early 90’s, I found myself actually wanting to own a personal computer. I wanted a Mac of course, but buying a new one was out of the question. No dice, not on what technicians were paid. But, I got an even deeper appreciation for the Mac, when I was hit with a long stretch of unemployment from ‘91 to late ‘92. General Electric had bought out RCA, and GE handed me a nice layoff letter. But, they provided an outplacement office, which was well equipped with Mac IIs, and early laser printers. I was able to build a most excellent resume’, and get it just right, thanks to those Macs. While the PC’s in the outplacement office were coughing along with early versions of Windows, (Lots of crashes, and problems which no one knew how to solve) the Macs made like the energizer bunny, and just kept going and going. With so many people now out of jobs, there were usually lines of folks waiting to use those Mac IIs. No waiting for the PC’s, even if they were up and running.
I realized that I was hooked on these computers, and that was that.
In late 1995, I finally purchased my first Mac, a Performa 6360, equipped with OS 7.5 I know, not one of their better products, or operating systems. (Boy, don’t I know it!) A lot of the problems with this box went away when I installed 7.6.1 on it. Now it worked fine. Maybe not the fastest around, but I loved it just the same. (I still have it.) As most people know, this was Apple’s worst time as a company. I felt it was important to stick with them, and to keep buying their products, despite so many saying that the company was going to disappear any second. It was during this time, that I knew that I was truly a “Macaddict”, and no, I was not about to apologize. People kept saying negative things about Apple, and my response was simply, “Just wait awhile”. When the company was reorganized, and Steve Jobs returned to the helm in 1997, I knew things were going to start happening, and probably fast.
As most of us know, and as some of the more hard-line PC zealots will admit, (albeit grudgingly) the waiting has paid off, and I would say it has paid off big time. We have hardware and an operating system we can truly be proud of, and some applications that are nothing short of awesome. Apple continues to develop technologies which are generations ahead of everyone else, and which are the envy of the industry. (Despite the best efforts of some naysayers to put “spin control” on it.) The iPod is a classic example of this. How many imitations of the iPod are there now anyway? And would anyone care to bet how long it will be before Dell’s cases and internal designs start to bear a strange resemblance to the G5s? (Look Mike, no cables to clutter things up! Hard Drives you can install and remove without tools! Better get busy Mike.)
Question: What do you call the R & D department at Dell?
Answer: Apple Computer.
I know, I know, lots of pompom waving here. The answer to the question you want to ask is no, I don’t think Apple is perfect by any means. I don’t agree with all of their decisions. They’ve had a lot of successes in recent years, and some failures as well. The failures are getting fewer and father between.
Twenty years of being a Mac Fan. Yeah, it’s a long time, and I’m amazed at how far we’ve come, with technology and everything else. Are you looking forward to the next twenty? I know I am.
I salute the Macintosh on its twentieth birthday! I am damn glad to have been along for the ride, even if there have been some “potholes” here and there.
Oh, and if anyone out there knows where I can grab that “Ka-Klunk” sound, or the “monkey squeal” sound, drop me a line here at MyMac.com.
So, what’s your story?
by John Nemerovski, with help from David Weeks
Two categories of new products have become ubiquitous during the past year: rugged, comfy laptop backpacks, and small, speedy external hard drives. Nemo and Weeks are big fans of both classes of items, and the good news keeps getting better.
Willow Design sent us a lean, mean, versatile case for a monster portable computing machine, the 17” PowerBook. PK-12 Garibaldi at well under $200 US is attractive, strong, and easy to use. Nemo carries a ton of computer equipment with him in Willow’s original 15” TiBook case, working all over town every day. His recommendation remains highest for road warriors who need maximum security and minimum bulk. Garibaldi holds a 17” PowerBook and just the right amount of gear to function efficiently. You want to climb a mountain and bring your MegaBook along? Ubetcha.
Nemo’s favorite feature remains the clever way Willow places straps and handles within and on the backpack, turning it into a briefcase when appropriate. Many other comparable, creative components come as standard issue in Garibaldi and the entire range of Willow Design products.
When your portable computer costs several thousand dollars, don’t be stingy when choosing a case or pack! Depending on your need for additional storage, you’ll agree with our rating of between:
MyMac Rating: 4
A very decent product. Worth the time and investment, but look for competing products.
–and—
MyMac Rating: 5
Fantastic product! Well worth your money and investment. The best of its kind.
At the other end of the size/weight scale is WiebeTech’s slim, speedy MicroGB800 Portable Disk Drive, featuring combo FireWire (800 and 400) plus USB (2 or 1) ports, utilizing bus-powered or electric-powered operation, as appropriate. Weeks did initial tests on our review unit, a 60GB/7200 rpm drive, and MicroGB compares favorably with other FireWire 800 drives evaluated previously.
It’s small and it’s fast, it’s stylish and it’s lightweight, it comes with all necessary cables plus an on/off switch. DO NOT DROP! is printed on the disk’s label, so please treat MicroGB with care. From our personal experience, it’s fairly rugged, but don’t push your luck.
WiebeTech continues to add speed, design, and miniaturization throughout their entire line of products, with regular price reductions. Customer service is first-rate, and on a first-name basis, with efficient repair or replacement when a drive fails within your warranty period.
Nemo uses WiebeTech external drives for desktop and mobile data storage, with ease and reliability. If you find competing products that are either cheaper or more robust, I won’t give you an argument, but for best value and data transfer response, WiebeTech remains at the top of our list.
MicroGB comes in a range of disk sizes and speeds, and is easy to recommend, receiving a rating between:
MyMac Rating: 4
A very decent product. Worth the time and investment, but look for competing products.
–and—
MyMac Rating: 5
Fantastic product! Well worth your money and investment. The best of its kind.
SmartWrap
Selznick Scientific Software
$18.00 shareware registration
Here’s a quick review of a small piece of software that performs a single task very, very well.
Do you often have text like this:
>The Unix foundation of OS X brings with
>it all the power
>and complexity of
>multiple users and account settings.
When what you want is:
“The Unix foundation of OS X brings with it all the power and complexity of multiple users and account settings.”
Do you need to re-wrap email text to eliminate quotation marks and hard carriage returns to get better control over your formatting? Do you need eliminate hard returns from text copied from word processors or Adobe Acrobat?
Selznick Scientific Software’s SmartWrap does this task quickly and efficiently. I get lots and lots of emails, and when I reply, Eudora 6 (my long-time favorite email application) inserts > marks before each line to indicate a quotation of the text that I am replying to. Moreover, the word wrap is usually incorrect.
SmartWrap instantly removes the quotation marks, and removes any hard carriage returns so the text will wrap appropriately.
SmartWrap, an $18 shareware application, comes in both OS X and OS 8/9 flavors. I tested the OS X version. Installation went quickly and uneventfully; a “SmartWrap” command appears in the Service menu. Eudora users can also install a SmartWrap plug-in that can accessed via the Eudora toolbar.
Paste affected text where you wish, choose “SmartWrap” from the Services menu (or Shift-Apple-A) and the text is de-quoted and de-carriage returned. That’s it!
I copied hard-wrapped text from PDF files, Microsoft Word files, and plain text. SmartWrap worked flawlessly all the time.
SmartWrap’s one drawback is that it’s a bit pricey for a single-task shareware application. But there’s lots to be said for a program that is well crafted, and does its job quickly, easily, and reliably.
MyMac Rating: 4
From our archive pages comes an Apple Holiday piece. From Susan Howerter, Apple Eve! Sung to “Oh Christmas Tree” (or, ‘O Tannenbaum’ in German.)
Enjoy, and have a Happy Holidays from all of us here at MyMac.com!
Take Control of Users and Accounts in Panther
Kirk McElhearn
TidBITS Electronic Publishing
http://www.tidbits.com/takecontrol
US $ 5.00 online purchases only
Take Control of Users and Accounts in Panther (TCUAP for short) is the latest addition to the TidBITS publishing roster, and it’s as good as its predecessors. If you use Mac OS X 10.3, aka Panther, and have any questions about the subtleties of users and accounts, then you need this 64-page ebook. Much of the material is relevant to earlier versions of OS X, if you haven’t Pantherized your Mac.
The Unix foundation of OS X brings with it all the power and complexity of multiple users and account settings. Apple has done a great job of reducing that complexity to manageable level, but the OS X documentation fails to tell the average user how to best understand and configure Users and Accounts. I’m quite sure the run of the mill OS X’er has no idea why you may wish to have a test account, or how to set up a Mac for family use; Apple never tells you!
Kirk McElhearn is an accomplished writer, and he lays out the facts you need with just the right amount of detail. TCUAP’s 64 pages will not tell you all the down-and-dirty details about file permissions, but it tells you what you need to know to understand how best to set up your OS X powered Macintosh.
TCUAP plunges right into the various types of users (root, administrator, regular, managed, and simple) and the differences between each type. You get a pithy description of what actions each type of user may perform, so you’ll know who should get what level of access.
Fast user switching is a fine addition to Panther, but some gotcha’s do prowl the jungle. McElhearn covers the memory usage and preference problems that the uninitiated may encounter if Fast User Switching is enabled.
Do you wonder what the difference is between a Startup Item that runs at system startup, and one that runs at login? TCUAP will straighten you out. Also, you’ll learn when and how to disable them for troubleshooting purposes.
TCUAP closes with a splendid section on how to share files between different users. For me, this was one of the best parts of the ebook, particularly the tip about how to share iPhoto libraries.
Take Control of Users and Accounts in Panther won’t make you an expert on every detail of Users and Accounts. It WILL give you a solid foundation of understanding of a core OS X concept, and very useful real-world techniques to apply that knowledge.
A clear and concise writing style, coupled with clear graphics and notes, makes reading easy on the eyes and brain. TCUAP is no boat anchor; it weighs in at only 628 KB, so this download won’t strain your modem. Nor will the 5 spot it costs strain your wallet. Each member of the TidBITS Take Control series gives a huge information return on your investment.
MyMac rating: 5 out of 5
HP DesignJet 120 large format printer HP’s new DesignJet 120 is the best printer Nemo and Weeks have ever used or reviewed. We have some concerns regarding hardware and software, but all our comments on print quality are glowing with praise.
PLEASE NOTE: This review was done using both HP’s included CD software (OS 9.2.2) and web download driver (OS X/Jaguar). Our observations mention certain problems, many of which are supposed to be fixed by now for OS 9 and X/Jaguar, with newer drivers available from HP’s web site. Panther drivers should not display any of the bugs we encountered. Please keep all this in mind as you read our remarks. JOHN NEMO SAYS
I wish I had a video of me hauling the unit’s casket-size carton into my home office, and then setting up the very large DJ120 by myself. Readers fortunate enough to have a similar opportunity are urged to get assistance from a strong, smart person.
Dozens of friends, students, and colleagues have seen both the printer and its stellar results during our three-month evaluation period. Every person has said more or less the same thing: “Those pictures are gorgeous, Nemo. Where’s the printer? Oh, wow! That thing is *%#+!/¶? gigantic.”
Here’s a photo of HP’s printer next to a life-sized version of the friendly shark featured in “Finding Nemo.”
Company: Hewlett-Packard
Price: $1295.00
http://www.hp.com
Bruce Fraser’s Macworld magazine review of DJ120 appeared in the October issue, and I read it not long after creating my initial test prints on a comparable printer. Bruce is the best in the business, and without implying any criticism, I wish his commentary was a bit longer and more subjective. It’s only by working with DJ120 day after day for months that its complete set of assets and range of use become evident.
Not many reviews followed Bruce’s. Why not? Perhaps DJ120 has yet to find its following. Very serious graphics professionals may consider it too much of a “lightweight,” being misled by its modest price. Ordinary people and digital artists may think DJ120 is priced too high, with more attributes than they can justify. Wrong, and wrong, says Nemo.
On a per-print basis, ink and media costs are reasonable, with exceptional value considering the modest initial price of DJ120 hardware. Only a couple of purchase upgrade options make a buying decision easy: if you need a roll feeder, buy one; if you need RIP capability, get it.
Speaking of printing media, we continue to be mightily impressed by Ilford’s Printasia line of premium inkjet papers, reviewed not long ago. Ilford supplied several packs of large-format Printasia glossy and satin to help us evaluate DJ120. Results are consistent, stellar, and eye-catching. If you have not yet done so, buy or order some Printasia today, then send us a thank you note afterward. The satin finish is our overall favorite.
JOHN NEMO’S SETUP AND INSTALLATION
Let’s rewind to my installation and setup of HP’s DesignJet 120. Our review model is the basic unit (minus roll-feed or RIP) which we connected via USB to two different G3 iMacs and a G3 PowerBook running OS 9.2.2 (not all at once), and to a G4 TiBook running OS X/10.2.6.
Unpacking DJ120 wasn’t easy by myself, and I managed to accomplish it using a couple of small tables to balance the monster printer without having it crash to the floor. Following the universal installer chart (which was not thorough enough) I installed all six-color individual ink units and print heads, plugged in DJ120, waited for its ink to be charged, affixed the paper tray, and loaded some ordinary inkjet paper.
Software installation from the included HP disk took a few seconds, followed by my first test prints using automatic settings. My notes from four months ago remind me that my reactions at the time were “slow” progress and “heavily inked” colors, with printer doing a “shake and shimmy” and a lot of “chirping and grunting” during the “long wait” for prints to be completed.
I commented that I “don’t like the setup info,” although once DJ120 was fully ready its prints are “quite accurate and neutral” in color realism, and “very good” using generic normal settings. Prints on photo paper using BEST mode are “superb.” I summarized that initial hour with DJ120 by scribbling: “good printer; huge paper options; very affordable; start to finish printing time acceptable for the size and quality.”
My questions (and answers) then were:
Two months later I compiled Nemo’s personal list of plus/minus for HP’s DesignJet 120, with most important items having a *** indicator.
In no special order, they are:
MINUS — Paper type and quality settings don’t stick from print to print, but paper sizes do, on successive prints and saved Photoshop files.
MINUS — Landscape mode settings don’t work at all using the CD software that ships with DJ120, which I discussed with my HP contacts. (Should be fixed in updated drivers.)
PLUS — Ink quantity display is good, and ink usage is thrifty. ***
MINUS — Universal setup instructions are still frustrating. ***
PLUS — Print quality is consistent and excellent on all photos and art images. ***
MINUS — Text printing is slow, with acceptable quality.
PLUS — Page setup paper choices are extensive. ***
MINUS — Either or both printer and/or computer can appear to freeze with original printer drivers, when sometimes a print is being processed and sometimes a restart or reset is required. ***
MINUS — DesignJet’s original CD software locks the computer for an extra minute or two during every startup, with no indication of what is happening. Computer takes much longer to enter Sleep mode in OS 9.***
MINUS — The remaining page countdown is not operative when making multiple prints.
PLUS — HP’s affordable proofing glossy stock is easy to use and versatile.
PLUS — Paper quality and type presets are easy to create. ***
PLUS — Start-to-finish printing is speedy and efficient for large format output. ***
PLUS — Manual paper ejection is required for largest sheets, to avoid paper crumpling upon release from printer’s jaws.
PLUS — Full range of paper size markings in manual and tray feed hardware. ***
PLUS — Easy manual or automatic front loading, or manual rear paper feeding. ***
MINUS — Custom user-defined paper sizes don’t print consistently.
PLUS — Ink is quick-drying, but users are advised to let it try completely before handling finished prints.
PLUS — Approximate per-print costs for HP ink and paper are very affordable, and users will spend at most (in US dollars and inches): $2 per 8 x 10, $4 per 11 x 14, $6 per 13 x 19, $8 per 16 x 20, or $10 per 18 x 24. ***
PLUS — Total six-cartridge ink replacement costs are under $200, with sufficient quantity for 50 to 100 large-format prints (mileage will vary depending upon ink usage). Ink replacement is effortless. ***
When weighing the plus/minus ratio and determining which factors matter most, the emerging punch line on HP’s DesignJet 120 is: splendid prints, affordable hardware and ink, potentially tricky setup, idiosyncratic software, multiple paper loading options, noisy but not loud, fussy paper path, versatile product overall.
Do you remember our recent review of HP’s home office color laser printers? At the time we considered the LaserJet family to be the best printers we had the pleasure to use. DesignJet 120 surpasses that standard, especially with its stunning exhibition-quality photos and artwork results. (We did not address the issues of archival ink and paper during the course of our review.)
Specs? Interested? Visit this URL or go to HP.com and do a search for “designjet 120″ (quotation marks not necessary). All of the following are linked from the same web page: product information, overview & features, specifications & warranty, supplies & accessories, printable data sheet (.pdf), request a print sample, and technical support.
The basic sheet-feed model costs around $1200 US, and the networkable roll-feed DJ120 costs around $1800 US. I predict prices will remain steady until an upgrade or replacement model is released.
For demanding color matching and professional use, our HP representative explains:
There is good reason why an optional RIP is available. HP wanted to make the printer affordable and bring large format abilities to a new audience (especially one that may not need such strict color requirements, such as at home designers or amateur art/design students, architects). For graphic design professionals that need a very high level of color management, the optional RIP is available and recommended.
Basically, HP didn’t want to penalize or overload/overprice those not needing or wanting such color control (they may just not need it for their everyday use). This is also why there is a model with and without a roll feed. These advanced features are examples of how HP is trying to accommodate a wide range of
users. They firmly believe large format capabilities should be available at a nonprohibitive price (for the base model). What this says to me is that the printer’s quality is extremely high (amateurs are getting top notch, professional quality) and just a couple distinguishing options (roll feed model and optional RIP) bump up the product to meet that top level of professional use.
MyMac.com Publisher Tim Robertson worked with HP’s RIP while testing a different printer. His comments may be helpful.
DAVID WEEKS SAYS
The MyMac tag-team review process got underway when I showed up at Nemo’s to beat on the HP DesignJet 120 printer. Good OS X printing compatibility sometimes takes a bit of extra time, and we wanted to see how well HP had written the OS X drivers for this wide-carriage USB printer.
I had no trouble finding and downloading the latest version of Jaguar driver installer from the HP web site. The testing started auspiciously when the software installed without a hitch.
My test print was a high-resolution image taken with my Fuji FinePix 601, 3 megapixel camera. I opened it with Photoshop Elements, and printed it with no further tweaking.
The standard OS X print dialog appeared, with the expected addition of the DesignJet 120 options in the pop-up menu for print settings. This printer has LOTS and LOTS of options: dozens of paper types, paper feed options, and more. Make sure you know the difference between HP Proofing paper, and HP
coated paper!
The main difficulty with using the printer comes from the fact that there are a plethora of settings, and few of them “stick” between print jobs. If you use a non-standard print size (we used 13″ x 19″ sheet-fed paper), be aware that the paper size is NOT retained from print job to print job; you’ll need to reselect it each time.
Nor does the paper type “stick” between print jobs, so you need to scroll through the extensive list of paper types each time.
Finally, Nemo and I discovered that a bug in the OS 9 driver got carried over into the OS X driver; choosing Landscape orientation does not work correctly. After choosing Landscape, you can Print Preview and view your image in Landscape, but it prints in Portrait orientation. This is quite frustrating. We could reliably work around this problem by rotating our photo 90 degrees, but this is clearly a bug, and needs fixing. It’s not a deal-breaker, but it does add to the complexity of the printing process. (See comments below regarding updated software.)
The final annoying discovery came when I was unable to create a usable preset for the various test settings of paper size, type, and margins. Try as we might, I could not get the paper size choice to stick when I created and chose a preset. I continually had to reset the correct paper size.
Once you’ve set your options, and checked and doubled checked them (wasting a big sheet of expensive paper and lots of ink drives me crazy!) the actual printing goes normally. The output is excellent.
My conclusion is that the basic functionality of the Jaguar OS X driver is okay, but HP needs to work on properly implementing the finer points of the software to eliminate repetitive setup chores each time printing is done. It’s easy to forget a setting, and then waste money when the print comes out looking great, but with the wrong orientation.
HP tells MyMac.com:
The options of the driver are the result of the versatility of the HP DesignJet 120 D-size printer that has roll, tray and manual and rear paper feed. And also the paper type options reflect the media flexibility of the printer.
If you keep the same document open and reprint, you don’t have to reselect the paper size. However once you reopen the document or open a new document you will need to reselect the paper size again. The application is the owner of the Page setup dialog and it is out of the driver scope to retain any paper size settings.
The “stickiness” of the print dialog settings is also out of scope of the drivers. Mac OS X doesn’t let the driver implement this “feature.” You can use the Presets to save your most used printer settings.
In Mac OS X, you cannot include any settings from the Page setup dialog in the Presets. “Presets” is a feature of the Print dialog and you can only save settings that belong to it. Once you enter into the Print dialog box the page size and margins have already been defined, so your printing settings are independent to the paper size, margins and orientation.
We have currently a known bug in the Presets functionality of the driver. The workaround is to manually reselect the Preset, which then will apply the saved settings correctly. We address this in the next release.
BACK TO NEMO
Representatives from HP assure me that updated OS 9 and X/Jaguar drivers will be available by the time you read this review: easy to download, install, and use. Improvements will correct most of the problems we encountered. Panther has all necessary DJ120 drivers pre-installed, so most of the glitches and bugs we experienced should not be evident in future.
Do yourself a favor and buy a second set of ink cartridges. When one of them hits low level on the indicator panel display, DJ120 becomes inoperative. I had just finished printing an edition of twenty-three 16 x 20 exhibition prints for my daughter’s night photography show, and the final picture brought DJ120′s magenta cartridge into REPLACE ME NOW OR ELSE mode. I was stuck with a really large paperweight or desk ornament until the replacement cartridge arrived.
How did the exhibition photos look? Great! So did the botanical prints I did for landscape designer Carrie Nimmer.
Over the Thanksgiving weekend I printed an extensive range of final demonstration photos and artistic images on DJ120, including a creative, textured-scan of a woman’s sock, done by my sister-in-law. She tells me: “Your HP printer is terrific, John. Fabulous detail. I scanned a sock and printed the image as an 18×24 inch photo. When framed, my friend, upon seeing it, had to go up and touch it because she thought it was knit and three dimensional. Details too small to see on the computer monitor emerge with amazing clarity.”
How will we rate HP’s DesignJet 120 printer? Let’s be totally honest, and divide its components into three:
PRINT QUALITY = 5 out of five
SOFTWARE AND INTERFACE = 4 out of five
SETUP AND PHYSICAL CONFIGURATION = 3 out of five
OVERALL = 4 MAC MICE out of five, based on Nemo’s MyMac.com “Q/D/S/V Standard” for all product reviews:
Q = QUALITY, including ease of installation, performance, stability, and general happy relationship with everything on my system;
D = DOCUMENTATION, both printed and electronic, plus appropriate website material;
S = SUPPORT, in the form of email, phone, and web updates;
V = VALUE, which includes both original cost and subsequent expenses.
MyMac Rating: 3 out of 5
Shows promise! Could be better, but a product worth watching.
MyMac Rating: 4 out of 5
A very decent product. Worth the time and investment, but look for competing products.
MyMac Rating: 5 out of 5
Fantastic product! Well worth your money and investment. The best of its kind.
A weekend spotlight at MyMac.com! Need something worth reading? Check out THIS article.
Welcome to the first of what I hope will be a weekend tradition for years to come. I call it Weekend Archive, in which I showcase an article from the past here at MyMac.com. With over eight years worth of history, we have an extensive historical archive of content we would like to share with you. (With more being added from our old archives to our new format every day!)
This weekend, we take a look at an article from September 9, 1999, by Derek K. Miller. The article is "Why the obsession with market share?" While the article is over four years old, it strikes me just how much some things change, and some things stay the same.
An excerpt: "Market share alone is pretty meaningless. If Apple can manufacture, market, and sell each of its computers at a profit, then whether it has 2% of 15% of the market doesn’t matter at all to whether the company is financially healthy."
Read Derek’s article here, and feel free to discuss it in our Forums aferwards!
Tim Robertson
Card Photo Printer CP-200
Company: Canon, Inc.
Cost: $160 – $190, street
http://www.powershot.com/powershot2/cp300-200/index.html
My “dream photo printer” turned out to be one that was not even on my mental radar screen.
I was making my bimonthly visit to Office Depot the middle of November, and as usual, I check over the bargain table, just in case there is a deal too good to pass up! I have been casually watching for an ink jet printer that would satisfy a need for an occasional photorealistic printer for such times when I didn’t want to wait for professional prints to be ordered and mailed to me. But, having had quite a bit of experience with ink jet printers, and being spoiled with the speed and overall quality of my Xerox Phaser 860 DP solid ink printer, it’s been difficult talking myself into spending even a modest $200 for a top quality photo-ink jet printer from HP, Epson, or Canon. My main issues have to do with speed (or rather the lack thereof) and the hassle with ink cartridges. It’s also very hard to guestimate what it will cost per photo or to know when how much ink to stock up on for a given job. I was tempted by the open-box Canon i960 at our local Office Depot, and went back two or three times to examine it and think carefully as to whether I could justify the thing. I really wanted something portable, and had even been tempted by the snazzy little Canon i70, but I knew, in the back of my mind, they would ultimately disappoint me. I didn’t need their text printing capabilities; and the larger, more capable i960 is not portable at all, whereas the portable i70 would be slow and produce marginally acceptable photo comps. Besides, I really only need a method to produce 4×6 prints; not 5×7 or 8×10 or larger, as I prefer to use a professional service for those situations.
As it happened, I glanced through the advertising circular on the counter on my way out and saw a little photo printer advertised which was not on display! I asked about it and the staff person said they had just received them and they hadn’t had time to get one set up. I asked to see the box and we opened it up and read the manual. It appeared to be just what I had been looking for, at a price I could live with!
The printer is called a Card Photo Printer, as in post card printer. The CP-200 is the model indicating it’s a significant upgrade over the older CP-100. It’s about half the size of the older model, weighing in at 28 ounces, and roughly 4x6x2 inches. It is a 300 dpi dye-sublimation printer, which means that it prints with a thermal (heat) process using a roll of film to apply yellow, magenta, cyan, black and a clear overcoat in repeating processes, steadily building up the photo in separate passes. It prints a 4×6 photo in 85 seconds. It’s a real photo, folks. Actually, it’s better than a real photo. A 300 dpi dye-sublimation printer will outperform a 4800 dpi ink jet for color photos any day of the week. Plus, the photo is waterproof and fade-resistant, just like a modern, professional photo by Kodak. When it prints, it’s dry and ready to use! And, the back side of the photo is an actual post card. All that’s needed is a stamp, your message, and an address.
The way this works is quite novel for the ink jet owners out there. Basically, you purchase the media in a box that includes the film cartridge for that number of boxed media. The printer comes in a box with a supply of five post cards and ribbon to match. A box of 36 photo cards (they are a post card, with glossy side for accepting the print and the other side looks just like the address side of a post card — room for a message and an address) with the ribbon cartridge included costs $18 at Office Depot. Excluding tax, it costs about $.50 per print. Not bad for instant gratification.
How instant? Well, in case anyone is wondering, many of the newer digital cameras can print directly to this printer. It comes with two USB ports, one for the standard connection to a computer, and one to connect directly to the USB port of a digital camera. With my Canon EOS 300, or the S50, or the s400, I simply take the shots, connect to the printer, and from the menus I can crop, adjust exposure, and send an image to the printer very easily. Since there are a precise number prints allotted with each ribbon cartridge, I don’t have to guess how many prints I will be able to generate, nor how much it will cost per print!
There are basically three options at the present time for print media: the 4×6 photo post cards I mentioned above; a credit-card sized photo card OR sticker (4 per sheet); and mini-labels in 8 per sheet. These can all be printed either edge to edge or with a border.
There is a model CP-300, which is identical to the CP-200 but with a rechargeable battery which allows the printer to function when no power is available. An optional car battery adapter is also available to purchase. Detailed specifications can be found here.
The printer comes with software drivers for Mac OS 9 or X. Installation was a snap! The diminutive size solid construction make it a natural to pack on extended vacations. Send personalized photos to friends and family! I love the ease of use, not to mention the superb quality of the prints! Friends and family have been blown away by how quickly and simply this works!
The main disadvantages to this package are:
- 1) proprietary paper/ribbon requirements; i.e. regular 4×6 bulk print paper will not work here and, besides, the ribbon cartridge can only be purchased with the exact supply of media. If you are ordering online, you might want to check for local availability of the media. I get mine at Office Depot.
2) its small size means it’s not able to do anything larger than 4×6 photos. If you want similar quality, i.e. dye-sub quality, and reasonable speed in larger formats, I suggest the Olympus P-400/440 8×10 printer which can print a full bleed 8×10 in 90 seconds. I’m seeing them listed in the $400 range at present.
3) the printer is not suited for large bulk output of dozens and dozens of photos. Fortunately, the worst that happens is the automatic heat sensor can tell it’s getting too hot and will put it into a rest/pause mode while it cools for 20 or 30 seconds and then resumes printing. I needed to print 40 copies of a photo for my wife and it had to pause after 25 or 30 prints for a brief spell until it cooled down a bit. (If you need the ability to print in bulk, I’d suggest taking a look at the products from www.hitouchimaging.com.)
4) it’s so small you might accidentally leave it in a hotel room! Okay, that’s not really a disadvantage! But it is compact! It is definitely going with us on all our vacations!
It’s not a perfect printer, but for what I need, it’s prett darn close, and it fits in a Christmas stocking! Imagine — the ability to create an instant postcard of yourself wearing the new tie your grandmother knitted for you — which you can mail to her the day after and will, thus, be able to store that sucker (er, the tie!) away and out of sight until her next visit!
MacMice Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Comments. Be heard!