DreamColor Technology: Worth the Hype?
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After two years of collaboration, Hewlett-Packard and DreamWorks animation debuted the new DreamColor Technology at the NAB (National Association of Broadcasters) on April 14, 2008. The Las Vegas unveiling prompted press releases and plenty of technical color talk. Two years in the making, DreamColor is now available to one and all. Was it worth the wait?
HP: A Dream of Color?
Offering a full spectrum of colors (and some shades that only DreamWorks can invent), the HP DreamColor Technology offers beautiful displays in a widescreen LCD (liquid crystal display). The technology is said to offer the color reproducibility of a CRT screen, backlit with LCD. The new displays are supposed to offer accurate colors and an easy color-management process for consistency. DreamColor offers 30-bit color in a range of 1 billion different shades, made especially for film/video post-production, broadcast, and animation and graphic arts of all kinds. In other words, you’ll get absolutely dazzling images in more colors than you can even begin to count with DreamColor technology.
What does this new, much-touted technology mean to the average computer user? All technical talk aside, the DreamColor displays are supposed to offer a consistent and true color spectrum both in on-screen displays and in the finished product after the pictures and images are printed. The possibilities for graphic arts are almost unlimited with DreamColor‘s range and scope. If you’ve ever tried (and failed) to capture that strange shade of blue in the sky, the subtle difference between Kelly green and lime green, or the delicate nuance of gold and umber, DreamColor technology just may be for you. But…can you afford it?
DreamColor Products
Hewlett-Packard offers several products featuring the new DreamColor technology. The products are available to anyone who wants to take their own color experiences further. But for which customers were these products actually created?
HP Designjet Z2100/Z3100 Photo Printers
These desk-sized photo printers are capable of printing high-quality photos, and (thanks to DreamColor technology) a full range of true-to-life colors. However, the ink cartridges alone for these photo printers cost average consumers around $60 (USD) apiece. The Z2100 itself starts at $2,895 (USD), and the Z3100 can’t be purchased for less than $3,395 (USD).
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