HP 5500 dye vs pigment color gamut

[vladio]

Hello, I have a small in-home printing shop and, up until the economic meltdown, did relatively well. I'm currently using an Encad/Kodak 8-color, novajet 850 60" printer. My supplier told me a year or so ago that they will no longer sell the ink for it (GX) and once supplies are gone, that's it. I stocked up on inks but will be out within a year or so. I've begun the process of researching a replacement. I do 99% of my printing for indoors - mostly posters and mounted prints with trade show graphics and pop up displays also. As I work in my home and don't do much outside printing, I would like to stay with aqueous inks. Right now I can't afford any of the "new" printers so I"M thinking of a HP 5500 - my paper supplier said they have a few that are coming in but I was considering going with pigment inks so I have the option of doing short-term outside printing. My question is, is there a big difference in the color gamut of the dye and pigment inks on the HP 5500? Years ago I had tried both the dye and pigment inks in a encad I had and the pigment inks were really wash-out looking. I'm hoping the new inks have gotten better. Also, if someone has HP's with both inksets, I'd be willing to pay you to print a sample file with each inkset so I could take a look.

I'm also kicking the idea around about Epson. As I don't do much that requires super high res, the inks seem a little expensive for what I do.

Any suggestions are appreciated,
Joe

 

[Bly]

The 5500 pigment inks give great colour with the right profiles.
Forget their dye inks unless you want really short term output.
On quick dry papers especially the dye inks fade very quickly.

 

[Jackpine]

Pigment ink is better. Look at the Epson 7700/9700.

 

[vladio]

I need at least 60" so the 7700/9700 aren't going to work.

I like the Epson but like the HP too. It looks like it'll be one or the other. I don't do large runs so I don't need something that's super fast. Color's a big deal though as some of my customers are really picky. The novajet 850 I have, using 8 colors, does a really good job with Onyx PosterShop. Adding the ability to print short-term, water resistant outdoor prints will open up a whole new avenue for me and allow me to build up to a full-blown solvent printer.

Thank you for your reply, fella's! Anyone else, feel free to chime in if you have experience with the HP pigment inks. Like I said above, the Encad pigment inks looked really washed out and I'm hoping the HP's aren't.

Thanks again,
Joe

 

[jens]

normaly, Dye inks have a bigger gamut than Pigment inks. But dye inks fade and are for verry short use.