Some time ago I also found out that Canon also implies that the Absolute Intent is the best one:
"Absolute RI Algorithm... When used with basic 4-colour printers, this mode has a tendency to produce ‘choppy’ gradations that results in visible banding. However, with 11-ink printers such as the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-500, the banding effect may not surface due to the printer’s extremely large colour gamut. Depending on the image and printer, photographers may find that the Absolute RI algorithm produces more colour accurate photos.
...
In summary, any photographer looking at producing fine art prints should understand their colour reproduction needs. If colour accuracy is important, it pays to invest in a printer with a very large colour gamut like the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-500 and print in Absolute rendering mode. If colour accuracy is not the paramount concern, the Perceptual mode, when coupled with a competent photo printer, will produce visually satisfying results".
https://snapshot.canon-asia.com/article/eng/introduction-to-fine-art-printing-part-3-colour-profiles-and-rendering-intentsThis is unfortunately one of those things where you will find that opinions are a dime-a-dozen. Your reference is from Canon. Here's one from Epson:
"Absolute Colorimetric:
This setting renders an image by maintaining an absolute color range so that there is a 1-to-1 ratio of absolute lab coordinates. This setting is not recommended when printing photo data and normal conversions."
https://files.support.epson.com/htmldocs/pro78_/pro78_rf/softw_4.htmNow my take... Absolute is the same as relative except that relative adapts all colors to the white point of the paper. Absolute basically alters the color of the paper (by putting some ink on it) so that the paper essentially becomes the same "white" as the white point of the image (usually D50). In doing so, all other colors are shifted as well to match the new "paper color". So the odd part that I was referring to is printing with absolute and then not caring about the border color or that the border color is undefined and won't match anything in the image. Since handling of the white point is the only difference, printing in absolute colorimetric is not usually a fix for "dark and dull". If your images look dull and dark in relative colorimetric, you may have other issues that are just masked by using absolute.
Absolute is the most useful when doing proofing under controlled lighting where you are trying to reproduce the output of one device on a different device. Canon (in your quote) hinted to one of the problems with absolute colorimetric intent. Because all colors are being shifted to simulate a white point that is different than the white of your paper, some of the printer's gamut is "used" to simulate that shift which necessarily reduces the usable color gamut of the printer/inks you are using. The other issue with absolute is that you can produce an "absolute" match but if you aren't viewing the results under perfectly controlled and neutral lighting, it still isn't going to be "accurate".
Regards,
Mike