New imaging products at Macworld Expo

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In this story: New printers New scanners from Nikon Canon's new camera New displays RELATED STORIES, SITES

by Joe LiPetri

(IDG) -- Ink-Jet printing appeared poised for the age of wireless networking at this week's Macworld Expo San Francisco as Hewlett-Packard and Epson showed prototypes of AirPort-compatible print servers that they plan to release later this year. Both companies were part of a crowded field of manufacturers offering new digital imaging products at the big Mac show.

HP's wireless 802.11b/AirPort-compatible print server, expected to be comparable in price to the $249 Jetdirect 300X, will work with HP 900 series printers and the 895 model, said a rep in the HP booth at Macworld.

Epson, too, showed a prototype of its 802.11b wireless print server, demonstrating in its booth how an AirPort-enabled PowerBook could send documents to the new Stylus Color 880i ink-jet printer. Expected to ship in the second quarter, the wireless server attaches to the parallel port of Epson's networkable ink-jet printers. The system is expected to be compatible with the Stylus Color 980, 880, 870 and 1270 printers.

Each company also unveiled new printers. Epson's four-color Stylus Color 83 and Stylus Color 880i feature a maximum resolution of 2,800 by 720 dpi, four-picoliter ink droplets, print speeds of up to 9 pages per minute (ppm) in color and 12 ppm for black-and-white output and a USB port. The printers use a less-noisy print engine that employs Epson's Micro Piezo and AcuPhoto Halftone imaging technology.

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The $199 Stylus Color 83 has a clear case lid with dark turquoise buttons and paper trays to complement the Power Mac G4 Cube. You can redeem coupons in the box for a $30 mail-in rebate and a free matching printer stand. The $149 Stylus Color 880i model has an "ice-colored" case design with a transparent graphite lid. Both printers come with Epson Film Factory digital-photo library software and Trellix Web, which can create personalized Web sites. Also included are ArcSoft's Photo Impression 2000 image editor and Photo Montage. The printers are available now.

HP's new $699 LaserJet 3200m combines color laser printing and sheetfed color scanning capabilities, along with stand-alone faxing and copying. It scans at 600 dpi and prints at 1,200 dpi, with an output speed of 9 pages per minute (ppm), an 18-second first-page-out speed, and a 7,000-page-per-month duty cycle. It works with legal-size-and-smaller papers, envelopes, and media ranging from 2 by 3.5 to 8.5 by 35 inches. It connects to Macs via USB and includes Adobe PostScript Level 2 emulation for users requiring PostScript compatibility. Copy features include automatic collation, page reduction and enlargement, and the ability to print up to 99 copies. It can store up to 300 fax pages and 275 speed-dial phone numbers.

"One-touch" controls in HP's Director software let you send documents directly to e-mail addresses and Web pages. The 3200mm also has document management software developed by HP for the Mac, and ReadIris Pro for OCR scanning. The LaserJet 3200m ships with 16MB of memory (upgradeable to 80MB) and a USB cable. It can be networked using the Jetdirect 300X external print server.

HP also previewed a new printer based on its 990-series four-color ink-jet printers. It sports a new silver case design, 2,400 by 1,200-dpi resolution, and print speeds of 13 ppm in color and 17 ppm in black-and-white. The $399 printer will be available later this year at the Apple Store.

Minolta-QMS showed its new magicolor 2200 color laser printer, which features print speeds of five pages-per-minute in color and 20ppm in black-and-white. The 2200 N, priced at $2,199, is the base model featuring 600-dpi output, which can be increased to 1,200 dpi by doubling RAM from 64MB to 128MB. The magicolor 2200 EN, $2,999, adds a 2.2GB hard drive, while the $4,199 magicolor 2200 DP has 256MB of RAM, an extra 500-sheet lower paper tray( a $499 option for the other models) and auto-duplexing (another $499 add-on). The printers handle paper up to legal size and come standard a 500-sheet paper cassette, 150-sheet auxiliary tray and 10/100BaseTX Ethernet card, which provides Mac connectivity. The magicolor 2200 provides PostScript Level II, PCL 6 and HP-GL emulations, and also directly produces PDF files. The included CrownView software allows users to check the status of print jobs, configure the printer and review toner levels through a Web browser.

The printers also feature automatic ICC-based color matching and a closed-loop color calibration system to maintain color consistency. Options include RAM expandability to 384MB and a stacked "mailbox" bin for $599 that separates printouts. Each of the five 50-sheet mailbox trays are addressable and can separate print jobs for individual users or workgroups.

Brother showed the $599 HL-1650, a 16-ppm USB laser printer that offers 1,200 by 600-dpi resolution, built-in automatic duplex printing, 8MB of RAM, and PostScript 3 support if you include the optional 10/100BaseTX card. The $749 HL-1670N includes 16MB of RAM and supports IrDA printing.

The Nikon CoolScan 8000, with 4,000-dpi resolution, is aimed at graphics pros

Nikon unveiled a new line of desktop film scanners, the Coolscan IV ED, Super Coolscan 4000 ED and Super Coolscan 8000 ED. Aimed at photo enthusiasts, the $895 Coolscan IV ED is an entry-level 36-bit model with an optical resolution of 2,900 dpi that can scan files up to 68MB. Capable of scanning a 35mm color slide or negative in about 42 seconds at the maximum resolution, the scanner connects to Power Macs via a USB connection. Expected to ship in March, the scanner will be bundled with Adobe Photoshop 5.0 LE, a film strip adapter that holds two to six film frames, slide mount adapter, and a holder that accepts one to six frames of film.

Designed for photo professionals and graphic designers, the $1,695 Super Coolscan 4000 ED features a 42-bit color depth and an optical resolution of 4,000 dpi, and can digitize a 35mm slide or negative in 38 seconds. Also expected to ship in March, it is bundled with a FireWire interface card for high-speed connectivity, and includes the same film holders and slide adapter that come with the Coolscan IV ED.

Aimed at graphics pros, the $2,995 Super Coolscan 8000 ED features the same 42-bit color depth and 4,000-dpi resolution, but works with a wider range of media: 35mm and medium-format (120/220) negatives and slides up to 6by9cm, 16mm film, slide glass, and electron microscope imagery. It's bundled with a FireWire card and 120/220 film holder, in addition to the standard 35mm film holders and adapters.

All three scanners provide automatic and manual focus, a Nikkor ED lens that features extra-low dispersion glass for enhanced image sharpness and color accuracy, new CCD imagers to improve overall image quality, and LED technology that allows the CCD to run at a lower sensitivity to reduce image noise.

The new Nikon Scan 3.0 scanning software now has a scene analysis function that automatically corrects tone and color in negatives. The software also works in tandem with the included Digital ICE3 image-correction modules that can be used to correct surface defects, reconstruct original color, and reduce grain details in the original film image. Nikon Scan 3.0 also provides ColorSync-compatible color management that allows users to scan and deliver images directly into Photoshop in a choice of 10 color spaces. The scanners will also ship with Altamira's Genuine Fractals 2.0 for image scaling and lossless compression.

Epson used the show to introduce its Expression 1680, a new flatbed scanner that offers 1,600 by 3,200-dpi hardware resolution, 48-bit color depth, and 3.6Dmax in configurations starting at a price of $799. The scanner was one of 10 new products to receive MacWEEK's Best of Show Award.

Canon launched the PowerShot Pro90 IS digital camera, which has a 2.6-megapixel resolution, 10X zoom lens with image stabilization, and a USB port. Featuring a sleek SLR-like body design, the PowerShot Pro90 IS has a large ergonomic handgrip, flip-out/swiveling color LCD viewscreen, and dual storage slots for CompactFlash (CF) Type I and II cards (including IBM Microdrives).

Expected to ship this month for $1,299, the PowerShot Pro 90 IS sports a 3.34-megapixel CCD that captures1,856 by 1,392-pixel (2.6-megapixel) color and black-and-white photos, as well as images at 1,024 by 768 and 640 by 480 pixels. All files are captured at 10 bits per RGB color and output in a 24-bit RGB format.

Images at all three resolutions can be captured using three (Superfine, Fine and Normal) levels of JPEG compression. The 1,856 by 1,392-pixel images can also be recorded in Canon's "RAW" file format, which features low compression and the ability to adjust white balance, contrast, sharpness and color saturation in the camera and apply the settings to images upon upload to a host Mac.

The 10x (37-370mm equivalent) telephot lens offers an f/2.8-3.5 aperture range (exposure sensitivity is equivalent to ISO 50-400). The lens also incorporates a user-selectable optical image stabilization (IS) feature, which allows users to capture sharper images at shutter speeds up to two full steps slower than that achieved in normal "hand-held" shooting conditions, Canon said.

Other features include: shutter speeds from 8 seconds to 1/1000 second; built-in flash with five settings; flash exposure compensation; three-shot auto-bracketing with a single press of the shutter button; and an "electronic" TTL viewfinder with dioptric correction. The camera also has manual controls to adjust shutter speed, aperture size, focus and light-meter patterning.

Automatic "program" modes provide pre-defined focus and aperture settings for portrait and outdoor photography. In Night Scene mode the camera correctly exposes a foreground subject with the flash while setting a slow shutter speed for properly exposed backgrounds. A Stitch Assist feature helps users create panoramic images by using the LCD monitor to align images during shooting. For sequence shooting, an internal memory buffer allows the camera to capture up to 10 consecutive 1,856 by 1,392-pixel images in Fine JPEG mode when the LCD monitor and flash are turned off. The PowerShot Pro90 IS can also capture 30-second, 320 by 240-pixel AVI video clips (at 15fps) with audio that can be viewed on the camera's LCD, a TV, or a Mac using QuickTime 4.0 or higher.

The PowerShot Pro90 IS ships with a 16MB CF card, wireless remote control, a lithium-ion battery that can be recharged in the camera, USB and AV cables and an AC adapter. Accessories include a wide-angle (30-296mm equivalent) lens converter, lens hood, semi-hard camera case, and ), and EX-series Speedlites--220EX, 380EX, 420EX and 550EX models--that mount on the camera's hot shoe.

Bundled software for the Mac includes Adobe Photoshop 5.0 LE, ImageBrowser 1.5 and PhotoStitch 3.1. In addition, a Mac connected to the camera via USB can use Canon's RemoteCapture 1.2 application to adjust camera settings and capture images directly to the hard drive.

On the display side, LaCie premiered its new flat-panel LCD monitor, the photon18blue, which features a bright 18-inch screen with a maximum resolution of 1,280 by 1,024 at 60Hz, .28 dot pitch, and a side-to-side viewing angle of 160 degrees. Enclosed in a dark-blue casing, the screen can be pivoted between portrait and landscape viewing modes, and a display driver rotates the on-screen image. The base also offers screen height, tilt and swivel adjustments.

Beside brightness, contrast and image-position controls, the display allows individual red, green, blue, cyan, magenta and yellow colors to be adjusted. The monitor provides dual analog connections (15-pin VGA and DVI).

Aimed at content creators, the photon18blue is equipped with a hood designed to block light reflection and shadows. The hood can be used in landscape and portrait mode. The display is expected to begin shipping at the end February for $2,699.

NEC-Mitsubishi announced several new flat-screen CRT monitor lines. Aimed at graphics professionals, the new NEC MultiSync Flat Professional (FP) monitors consist of the MultiSync FP955, MultiSync FP1355 and MultiSync FP1375X models, which replace the older FP950, FP1350X and FP1370 monitors. Expected to ship next month, the monitors feature new cabinet designs, shorter footprints, vertical cable connections to free up desktop real estate and integrated USB hubs.

The 19-inch (18-inch viewable) MultiSync FP955 features a .24 dot pitch and maximum resolution of 1,920 by 1,440 pixels at 73Hz. The $529 monitor has dual analog connections for DVI and 15-pin VGA. The 22-inch MultiSync FP1355 and MultiSync FP1375X feature a .24 dot pitch and maximum resolution of 2,048 by 1,536 pixels at 75Hz. The $999 FP1355 has dual analog connections while the FP1375X, priced at $1,199, provides hookups for dual analog (DVI and 15-pin VGA) connections, as well as a digital input.

The company is also showing the new Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 920 and Diamond Pro 2060U, 19- and 22-inch models, which replace the Diamond Pro 900U and Diamond Pro 2040U. As with the new MultiSync displays, they feature a new cabinet design with shorter footprints and vertical cable attachments.

Now available for $479, the Diamond Pro 920 is a 19-inch flat-screen CRT model with a .24 dot pitch and a maximum resolution of 1,600 by 1,200 pixels at 85Hz. The 22-inch Diamond Pro 2060U has a 2,048 by 1,536-pixel maximum resolution at 75Hz, and a .24 dot pitch. Priced at $999 and now shipping, the 2060U also has a self-powered USB hub.

NEC-Mitsubishi also announced an upgraded line of business-class CRT monitors, the NEC MultiSync Flat Enterprise Plus displays, which are now shipping. The MultiSync FE700+ features a 17-inch (16-inch viewable) flat-screen CRT with a .25 dot pitch and a maximum resolution of 1,280 by 1,024 pixels at 70Hz. This model is available in a black or white cabinet color for a street price of $279. The $319 MultiSync FE700M+ has the same features but includes a built-in speaker in the base. The MultiSync FE750+, priced at $349, offers a maximum resolution of 1,600 by 1,200 pixels at 75Hz and a .25 dot pitch. The $449 MultiSync FE950+ is a 19-inch model with a maximum resolution of 1,792 by 1,344 pixels at 68Hz and a variable .25 to .27 dot pitch. The FE950+ comes in either black or white cabinet colors. The 22-inch (20 viewable) MultiSync FE1250+ has maximum resolution of 1,920 by 1,440 pixels at 72Hz, and a tighter .24 dot pitch. This model is priced at $899.

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Epson addresses photo print problem
(Macworld)
Bluetooth makes appearances in networked printer settings
(IDG.net)
Hi-res printing with Gimp-Print
(LinuxWorld)
Lost in the ozone: Epson photos fade
(PCWorld.com)
NVidia GeForces its way into Mac
(PCWorld.com)
Expo keynote winners and losers
(Macworld)
Macworld news roundup
(Macworld)
Top 10 scanners
(PCWorld.com)

Hewlett-Packard
Epson
Minolta-QMS

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