Luminous Landscape Forum

Raw & Post Processing, Printing => Printing: Printers, Papers and Inks => Topic started by: Mike Raub on January 21, 2012, 03:12:16 pm

Title: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: Mike Raub on January 21, 2012, 03:12:16 pm
My preliminary calculations suggest a large tax refund this year and I'm considering replacing my trusty DesignJet 130 with a HP Designjet Z3200 (24" model) to give more paper options. Reading reviews here and elsewhere indicate from a quality standpoint HP, Epson or Canon would serve my needs. I'm leaning toward the HP because of its inexpensive to replace printheads. Since I'm a just an amateur photographer sometimes a month or more passes between printing sessions and I'd hate to face the costs of replacing the much more expensive Canon or Epson printheads.

As far as cost goes, it looks like I can get the Z3200 for about $3K, perhaps a few hundred less than a comparable Epson or Canon. The HP's operating expenses seem to be perhaps slightly less than the competition, though that's not a deal breaker.

Most of my prints are 20" X 30" from Canon 5DII raw files.

Many here are much more familair with wide format ink jets than I am and I'd appreciate any comments or critisims of my proposed purchase. Also recommendations of good on-line dealers would be helpful. It's easy to find sellers and prices with search engines, but they don't always give you enough data to select an appropriate seller.

Thanks,

MIKE
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: Rocco Penny on January 21, 2012, 05:22:55 pm
I only read what I am repeating here
May or may not be true according to who you read
HP is shedding its hardware production,
so maybe not specialized niche production,
but as a hardware producer HP is a dead end for now.
Canon & Epson seem the assured next generation printer manufacturers.
The 8300 doesn't seem to have as many clog complaints on this forum at least.
I suspect there are many more epsons, and the ink costs of the cleaning is what drives those complaints.
Seems like the printing experience can easily be made better by firmware updates and so on.
If HP isn't building a new LFP I'd personally choose Epson or Canon.
I had my mind made up on an Epson myself,
but with the experiences of so many weighing in my decision,
I'm going to have to say the Canon would be the clear choice today(if I was purchasing new)
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: Mark D Segal on January 21, 2012, 09:12:12 pm
This is the kind of request that will get a real p....g-match going between adherents to different printer models. All I am going to say is the following:

All pigment ink printers clog; they only differ in how they handle the clogs.
Epson print heads don't get changed. The print head is the printer; when it's gone, which has never happened to me in 12 years that I've been using Epson professional printers, [nor to many other people as far as I know], you buy a new printer, by which time there will be new and improved models.
All of them can make fine prints. More depends on you the user knowing how to work-up your files and get colour management right.
Epson and Canon are very robust companies that are apparently in it for the long haul. No rumours they intend to vacate this business.
HP is a late entrant to this segment of the pigment printing market and they are a very troubled corporation with senior management churning and uncertainty about their future direction, which means that their sustainability in this market niche may be at higher risk than for the other two - I say this because of the on-and-off we've seen about their future in the consumer computer business; but the future of their various hardware lines is not clear at this time. You need to do your homework on after-sales service and support. Epson has never let me down, and I understand Canon has improved, but I have no direct experience of it.
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: chez on January 21, 2012, 10:22:26 pm
I have two z3100 printers, 24" and 44". Clogging is non existent. I leave them on all the time and they do their cleaning cycles. Very frugal with ink. The built in calibration system makes trying new papers effortless. who cares about what future models from HP will look like. You are purchasing and using the current model which continues to make great photos for me on different media without any maintenance issues.
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: Mark D Segal on January 21, 2012, 10:43:05 pm
For clarity, the point I raised about the future for HP has nothing to do with new models; it's about the possibility of any differential risk of the company exiting that line of business, and if it were to happen, any conceivable implications for the longevity of future support to existing models.
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: Ernst Dinkla on January 22, 2012, 05:36:03 am
For clarity; HP's printer market share in desktop models is still the largest of all, the Designjet models in CAD and COPY environments probably too and the industrial printers, Scitex etc heritage, is way bigger than both Epson and Canon have in that segment. In the art and photography segment there have been new models the last two years like the Z6200 and Z5200, not 12 ink channels but very capable and fast machines. What this year brings is unknown but it is a Drupa and Photokina year, HP will be on both events. I do not see that company leaving the printing market and if it does the division has enough aboard to compete head on head with Canon which is the real competition in most market segments.

For someone that will not use a wide format often the HP Z3200 with its 130 ML carts is a good candidate. Bringing the print jobs to a good shop may still be wiser though. Replacing heads will not be needed for years considering the volume you print and the printer keeps the heads in good condition if kept powered on in a regular scheme. Some exceptions may exist but the 5 years of my Z3100 and the 3 years of my Z3200 counted two head replacements in total, sum less than 100 Euro. And banding or clogg issues can be counted on one hand. I can start a job on Monday of 300 2x3 feet prints and sleep well tonight, the printers will run like they did on a similar job two weeks ago. Keeping inks fresh (RGB hues for example) on 12 ink models may prove to be more expensive so do not order more than one cart in your case despite the lower price of twin packs. The other Z model features are well known and the price for all that integrated hardware and software is quite good. If your print volume would be higher then the Canon iPF8300 should be considered too.

met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst

Shareware now:
Dinkla Gallery Canvas Wrap Actions for Photoshop
http://www.pigment-print.com/dinklacanvaswraps/index.htm
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: John Nollendorfs on January 22, 2012, 02:28:56 pm
Ernst has pretty much said it all regarding the Z3200.

One thing he didn't mention is sheet paper handling. The HP is not very user-friendly in that regard. Works really well with roll papers though!
Also, if you like doing B&W prints, the HP is champ.

I'm on nearly 4 years on my Z3100. One change of print heads.

Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: BarbaraArmstrong on January 22, 2012, 05:01:32 pm
Just how bad is the HP with sheet paper handling?  The great bulk of the printing I do is sheets.  I'm considering a large format printer (now have Epson 3880 and 4900 and formerly had two 2200's).  I've liked the Epsons, and loved the output.  Sheet handling is important to me, but I live on an island, and the stories about repair problems with Epson's larger units leave me thinking about Canon or HP.  So, just how bad is sheet handling with either of these alternatives? --Barbara
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: Mike Raub on January 22, 2012, 05:19:23 pm
Thanks for the comments. I'm not too concerned about HP leaving the market, and even if they did and stopped selling the ink, I'm sure some third party supplier would step in. I've had to replace a number of heads on the DJ130 because of nonuse, but now leave the printer on at all times and haven't had head problems since I've done that. I use roll paper exclusively, so the sheet feeding problems are of little concern.

Can anyone recommend a good US dealer? Or does it make any difference and maybe I should search for the best price and buy from whatever soarce is cheapest.
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: namartinnz on January 22, 2012, 08:28:50 pm
The Z3200/3100 only allows for individual sheet feeding. Every sheet has to be fed thru, then the  printer asks to align the sheet properly. As I only do occasional sheet feeds and mainly use rolls this hasn't been an issue.

I own the Z3100. The printer has been generally trouble free. When I did need to fix it (replace carriage belt and starwheel lifter motor) I had all the information I needed to fix it and easy access to purchasing parts. Saved having a tech travel two hours with associated charges for mileage and time.

Probably changed each head at least once over its near 5 year period and virtually no issues with head clogs. It may not have the best colour gamut of the latest printers but is perfect for my needs.

Neal
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: abiggs on January 22, 2012, 10:12:55 pm
Just how bad is the HP with sheet paper handling?

Pretty bad, in my opinion. The king of the hill with regards to sheet paper feeding on a large format printer goes to the Epson 7900/9900 models. Simple and extremely easy to use.
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: KenBabcock on January 22, 2012, 10:53:41 pm
I've got to agree with Andy.  Epson is king.  I've owned many professional Epson printers in my 10+ years and I would buy them all over again.  Canon may have challenged Epson with their 8300, but Epson still produces the best print and reigns supreme.

Buy an Epson and don't look back!
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: Geraldo Garcia on January 22, 2012, 11:53:55 pm
Just how bad is the HP with sheet paper handling?

Terrible.
The loading is difficult, the precision (or lack of) on the alignment is awful and the exaggerated and uneven margins are a pain.
Don´t get me wrong, I love the printer! The image quality is superb, the print permanence is wonderful, the Black and whites are incredibly neutral, it never clogs, heads are inexpensive and easy to substitute, the built in spectrophotometer is everything I ever wanted... And the list goes on. If I needed to replace my printer today I would buy another Z3200ps 44".
But sheet loading is terrible.

Best regards. 
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: Geraldo Garcia on January 23, 2012, 12:04:10 am
Can anyone recommend a good US dealer? Or does it make any difference and maybe I should search for the best price and buy from whatever soarce is cheapest.

I can´t, as I don´t live on the US, but I would advise you to don´t do that.
Instead, search for the local/closest dealer that has the best customer service, even if you have to pay a bit more for it. Having someone close that can help you on simple problems or even intermediate a conversation between you and the manufacturer on more complicated problems is far more important than saving a couple of dollars, in my opinion. 
 
Best regards.
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: Ernst Dinkla on January 23, 2012, 03:24:24 am
Terrible.
The loading is difficult, the precision (or lack of) on the alignment is awful and the exaggerated and uneven margins are a pain.
Don´t get me wrong, I love the printer! The image quality is superb, the print permanence is wonderful, the Black and whites are incredibly neutral, it never clogs, heads are inexpensive and easy to substitute, the built in spectrophotometer is everything I ever wanted... And the list goes on. If I needed to replace my printer today I would buy another Z3200ps 44".
But sheet loading is terrible.

Best regards. 


I have two Z printers and their back is not against a wall, the left side is against the wall and I can go round both printers easily. That takes about the same space as two printers would take when placed against the wall.

It is not the best sheet loader around. You got two choices: load with a skew check and load without a skew check. The last is for papers with deckled edges but can be used for other sheets too if for example you want to print on two sides in register. I seldom use the sheet loading tray/lid. They should remove that part in my opinion. I keep a spindle with a paper roll at the back and have a siliconised paper sheet hanging over that roll, on that sheet I lay the sheet to be inserted and guide it along the left spindle flange. That goes quite well, the printer will accept 50% right away. If the rate is lower with thinner papers I will deliberately insert the paper at a wrong angle or too far to the right and the printer will ask right away, after pulling it in, to align it to the blue lines. That is also what I do when I align the sheets to tabs at the blue lines for registering.

More on sheet loading:
http://www.pigment-print.com/review/Z3200FirstPage_5.htm


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst

Shareware now:
Dinkla Gallery Canvas Wrap Actions for Photoshop
http://www.pigment-print.com/dinklacanvaswraps/index.htm
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: Damir on January 23, 2012, 05:53:42 am
As Ernst said, just load the sheet through the path in which you will normally load the roll. I use that whenever I need to load sheet, it works trouble free, most of the time.

I am using sheets only as samples when I need to decide will I or will I not buy new kind of paper. Last week I loaded 12 sheets with 100% successes. I needed to replace the roll, and decide to try samples I collected. As a new roll was loaded sheets of paper slip in printer effortlessly, over the roll, aligned to the left edge black plastic wheel.

When roll is not new, but at the end it doesn't work so good, obviously angle at which paper is going into the printer is different.
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: artobest on January 23, 2012, 09:50:21 am
Ernst's 50% doesn't sound so good to me. I use the standard rear tray to load, have Skew Check On, and get about an 80% success rate. It is all about practice ...


In any case, load failure simply means an annoying beep and the necessity of aligning the sheet manually to the (admittedly somewhat imprecise) blue line. Not so bad, and I have only ever had one (1) occasion where the manual alignment was rejected.
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: Ernst Dinkla on January 23, 2012, 12:02:15 pm
Depends on the variety of papers you handle, most what goes as sheets into the printers here are waste pieces from the rolls for proofs, not always with a good square cut and often with some curl left. The rate goes up when I load offset paper sheets for book dummies. Art papers are basically rolls here. If the user buys HM Photorag papers in sheet boxes it will go much better but I do not think the Z's are then the wisest choice.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst

Shareware now:
Dinkla Gallery Canvas Wrap Actions for Photoshop
http://www.pigment-print.com/dinklacanvaswraps/index.htm

Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: Foto_Geek on January 23, 2012, 01:55:59 pm
I just replaced my HP Z3100 after three and a half years of light use.  After my experience with this printer and HP customer service I have vowed to never buy from HP again.

The printer worked flawlessly for the first three years of use.  Then the carriage drive belt started to crumble leaving bits of rubber in the print path.  The bits would get printed over and then later fall off leaving white spots on the image.  I had the belt replaced at considerable expense and the printer performed like new again.  For a few months.  It was a downward spiral after that with various obscure error messages that required calling HP customer support (they charge for support calls if you are out of warranty).  I ultimately decided that it was costing too much money to keep the printer on life support.

Other things I disliked about the Z3100 include difficult paper loading, ridiculous single sheet handling, and inks that expire.  WRT the latter, my dealer never told me about ink expiration and happily sold me a load of replacement cartridges, only to have them expire before they were ever inserted into the printer.  The Z3100 is frugal with ink, I will say that much.

I just replaced the printer with an Epson 7900.  I am impressed by the overall build quality of the machine.  It seems sturdier than the Z which would rock back and forth with the movement of the carriage assembly.  It is also faster and quieter than the Z, after the initial start-up period, that is.  The fine print detail clearly exceeds the capabilities of the Z as well.  And paper loading, both roll and single sheet is a dream compared to the Z.  Only time will tell how happy I am with the reliability of the 7900.

In any case, no matter what you buy, I would seriously consider an extended warranty.  So you may want to price that into your purchase decision.
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: Garrick L on January 23, 2012, 01:57:04 pm
Thanks for the comments. I'm not too concerned about HP leaving the market, and even if they did and stopped selling the ink, I'm sure some third party supplier would step in. I've had to replace a number of heads on the DJ130 because of nonuse, but now leave the printer on at all times and haven't had head problems since I've done that. I use roll paper exclusively, so the sheet feeding problems are of little concern.

Can anyone recommend a good US dealer? Or does it make any difference and maybe I should search for the best price and buy from whatever soarce is cheapest.

Check out Atlex.com they provided the best package price with media and liftgate delivery.  I purchased an Epson 7900 which with two 24" rolls of media and liftgate delivery was $400 less than the HP Z3200 alone even with my HP employee dicsount.

The sheet feeding is superior on the 7900 over ANY of the competition and it can be placed up against a wall which you can not do with the Z3200

Cheers,

Garrick Liddell Photography
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: Geoff Wittig on January 24, 2012, 06:56:07 am
I've owned large format printers from all three big vendors, including an HP Z3100 and (now) a Canon iPF6300. I think there are two good arguments for the HP printers, and several strikes against them. The built-in profiling system is very easy to use, and permits you to make pretty good profiles for any paper. Not fabulous, Eric Chan quality profiles, but good enough for me. And the HP is simply fabulous for black & white. Absolutely rock-solid neutral greys, a visibly deeper D-max especially on matte papers, and a usable black & white mode that permits decent toning of shadows & highlights.

On the negative side, the HP was in my experience a finicky & delicate device. Mine required a head carrier replacement due to sensor failure about 6 months out. It had ink overspray all over the place inside the thing requiring periodic 'decontamination' to avoid steaking and random spatters on prints. Formatter/hard drive failures are very common over time, and the drive belt requires replacement as it disintegrates after a couple of years. So budget an ongoing maintenance contract, or you may be sorry. I got so frustrated with mine that I eventually junked it rather than sinking more money into it.

My old Epson 7600 was built like an anvil and rock-solid reliable for years. It still works, though I've sold it. But newer Epsons sure seem to have lots of clogging problems. My current iPF6300 by contrast has been completely trouble free. But it still makes sense to budget for an extended warranty, unless you plan on just replacing it when it breaks.
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: petermarrek on January 24, 2012, 10:24:08 am
I purchased a z3100 (44inch) 4 years ago. I live in Canada and every year have gone south for the winter. I store the printer at a friends's house where it does not freeze, plugged in to a large BUPS. It just sits there for 5-6 months and in the spring I bring it home and it always started right up and worked . Peter
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: Chris_Brown on January 24, 2012, 10:35:35 am
Can anyone recommend a good US dealer?

I purchase printers, paper and ink from Lexjet (http://www.lexjet.com/). Shipping is fast (printer shipping was free because we have a loading dock) and there's a good variety of papers and substrates to choose from.

As with any major purchase though, educate and inform yourself in order to ask good questions and ferret out the marketing hype from the facts.

One thing I've not seen posted in this thread is the efficacy of the printer driver. Depending on what hardware platform and OS you use, you may have, or develop, a preference for one company's printer driver over another (e.g., Canon's iPF export plug-in).
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: Roscolo on January 24, 2012, 02:02:39 pm
My preliminary calculations suggest a large tax refund this year and I'm considering replacing my trusty DesignJet 130 with a HP Designjet Z3200 (24" model)

Many here are much more familair with wide format ink jets than I am and I'd appreciate any comments or critisims of my proposed purchase. Also recommendations of good on-line dealers would be helpful. It's easy to find sellers and prices with search engines, but they don't always give you enough data to select an appropriate seller.



Excellent choice, but also depends on what you print. If you print black-and-white, the HP is a no-brainer. If your work is color critical, HP's built in spectrophotometer and "push button" automatic paper profiling is a major time and labor saver. I've been printing on my 44" z3100 in a commercial environment for almost 5 years now. In all that time, no clogs. Back when I had Epsons I spent a lot of time and a ton of ink just dealing with clogs. The HP is a dream come true in regard to complete absence of clogs ruining prints. The printer is frugal with ink, and the ink isn't priced through the roof.

Almost no problems in almost 5 years. Print software / driver is kinda quirky sometimes, but effective. If your z3100, or for you, z3200, has been sitting for a few days or week without printing, I recommend powering off the printer, unplugging it for a few minutes, and powering back on before printing. Seems to solve any of those quirky problems.

I do not print much on sheets, but I've not had the problems others seem to have had with loading sheets. If you are going to print on sheets, you just need to go into the menu and disable some of the more annoying functions that make the printer very "skew sensitive" regarding sheets. Once those options are disabled, loading sheets has been no problem for me.

Now, the biggie: After using my z for almost 5 years, would I buy it again? 100% yes. Probably the single best purchase I ever made for my business or my work as an artist. Actually watching / waiting for a price drop or rebate deal on a z3200 as my printing volume has increased to the point I could use a second one.

I purchased my z3100 printer from Newegg. Inks and papers I get mostly from IT Supplies.

Good luck!
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: deanwork on January 24, 2012, 04:39:51 pm
I have had great dependable results with my Z3100 for almost 5 years now also, and I've used the hell out of it. It can handle just about anything. Personally I've found their support people and techs to be very good, at least in my area.

The Canon 8300 I"ve had for about 8 months has been flawless from the moment I plugged it in, and a whole lot faster than the HPs and has a better paper cutter and MUCH larger ink tanks. It is also twice as heavy and no fun to move. No onboard eye one spectro with the Canon.

The HP inkset is 2-3 times more permanent than the other two brands with the best media.

I find the Canon providing a little better BW on gloss fiber out of True Black and White software and it is only using gray and black inks for neutral bw, The HP is a little better on matte rag primarily due to better dmax on those papers. But BW is good on both for a color inkset.  Color is not much different really on any media. Reds are better on the Canon.

The new Epson 9890 I've had for a couple of months has already shown  a totally missing nozzle when I went to change MK to PK that took all day to clear and wasted a lot of ink. I hope this is not a sign of things to come. It still drive me nuts that they still make you waste ink doing that. Mine is going to stay with MK.

Output on all three is excellent. Epson has the best sheet paper handling, much better than HP, and a slightly better dither than the other two and is super fast like the Canon.  Personally I wouldn't get near the 9900 though, but that is just me. I've had too many friends experience total disasters with that series and I don't have the stomach for that anymore in my life.

All of them need to stay in warranty as long as you have them, whatever it costs.

john

Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: Mike Raub on January 24, 2012, 07:59:32 pm
Wow, thanks for all the helpful advice.

A couple of additional questions.

1. How loud is the Z3200 when in idle mode (not printing)? The DJ130 has a rather loud fan than runs anytime the printer is on.

2. Any problem with the OS X Lion software or driver? HP is apparently not going to release the Printer Utility software for the DJ130 to be Lion compatible.

3. Any good rebate deals or sales on the horizon? I think last year HP had a deal on for trade ins of older DesignJet printers. I don't know if this is kind of annual thing for HP or a one-off deal.

Thanks,

MIKE
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: BarbaraArmstrong on January 24, 2012, 09:50:25 pm
I would like to add my own thanks for the comments, very helpful, following my question about sheet paper handling.  These are the most specific I've seen on this issue over quite a period of time on this forum, and because of their specificity, especially helpful.  Thanks again, --Barbara
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: Roscolo on January 25, 2012, 04:37:22 am
1. How loud is the Z3200 when in idle mode (not printing)? The DJ130 has a rather loud fan than runs anytime the printer is on.

3. Any good rebate deals or sales on the horizon? I think last year HP had a deal on for trade ins of older DesignJet printers. I don't know if this is kind of annual thing for HP or a one-off deal.


The z is pretty silent when not printing. It will wake up a few times each day for about less than 1 minute each time to perform nozzle maintenance.

I'm hoping there are some deals on the horizon as I would like to get another z.
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: Damir on January 25, 2012, 07:17:00 am
Depends on the variety of papers you handle, most what goes as sheets into the printers here are waste pieces from the rolls for proofs, not always with a good square cut and often with some curl left.

Good point Ernst, when I think back, whenever I had problem with load it was not original sheet of paper.
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: abiggs on January 25, 2012, 07:20:18 am
My Z3200 is quite loud when not in use.
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: Ernst Dinkla on January 25, 2012, 07:41:35 am
My Z3200 is loud too but the Z3100 not, on both the reports vary so you have to be lucky which Z3200 you get. Mine are in the workspace not near my desk.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst

Shareware too:
330+ paper white spectral plots:
http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: Chris_Brown on January 25, 2012, 09:07:06 am
My Z3200 is quite loud when not in use.

I can't tell if you're joking, but I laughed anyway.
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: abiggs on January 25, 2012, 09:29:33 am
Unfortunately I am serious. I am glad that my LF printers are in another room that is separate from my work area, because it would drive me nuts if I had to listen to the fan noise all day long.
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: dunesurfer on January 25, 2012, 04:43:41 pm
Got a Z3200 PS 44 inch.Other then problems with colour management with it,in coreldraw,no problem.Slow on printing,but hey,quality is very good.I would however recommend the extended warranty.Do not go without it.Dont know why people complain about noise.Mine is next to my desk,and other then when it wakes up,every day ,i do not know its there.
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: Roscolo on January 25, 2012, 05:49:59 pm
Got a Z3200 PS 44 inch.Other then problems with colour management with it,in coreldraw,no problem.Slow on printing,but hey,quality is very good.I would however recommend the extended warranty.Do not go without it.Dont know why people complain about noise.Mine is next to my desk,and other then when it wakes up,every day ,i do not know its there.

Agree. If you have room, and there's a sale, deal or rebate, go for the 44 inch. You may think you don't want to print big, but once you start it's hard to stop, and it's nice to always have the option. The z is definitely not noisy. I suppose people have different standards for noisy, but the z makes as much noise as your average PC case fan as I'm pretty sure that is what it has in there. So if your computer has more than one fan, and hopefully it does, your computer actually makes more noise than the printer.
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: artobest on January 26, 2012, 05:51:40 am
My 3200 makes a hell of a lot more noise than my computer! The fan just runs and runs. I've swapped out the electronics once (for a broken fan) and the new fan is just as loud. Maybe I'm just unlucky. I do think they could've given us a quieter fan.

Back on the subject of paper loading, I should add that my load success for larger sheets (say, A2) is much higher than for smaller (A4) sheets - not far off 100%, now I know what I'm doing. Smaller sheets are just harder to guide into the machine.
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: deanwork on January 26, 2012, 09:46:52 am
That's right. I've never had any trouble loading sheets larger than 8.5x11. It is the 8.5x11 that takes a little longer.

The important thing to remember is the sheets have to be flat not curled as off of a roll,  and they have to be totally equal on all sides if you are trimming them yourself. If you are using sheets out of a box even the 8.5x11 is not that big of a deal, though certainly easier on Epson and Canon.



Back on the subject of paper loading, I should add that my load success for larger sheets (say, A2) is much higher than for smaller (A4) sheets - not far off 100%, now I know what I'm doing. Smaller sheets are just harder to guide into the machine.

[/quote]
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: lighthunter on January 26, 2012, 11:48:49 am
This is my first LF Printer
and loading paper on it not a problem at all ... there is guides that helps you to load sheet
but you need a space beand it to load easly
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: brabant82 on May 01, 2013, 07:35:35 am
Hello,

First of all sorry for my bad Englisch. I'm from the netherlands.

I'm considering buying a HP Designjet Z3200 44 inch the ps version. more info it is this one:
http://plotterwinkel.nl/Grootformaat-printers-A0/HP-Designjet-Z3200PS-44.html (http://plotterwinkel.nl/Grootformaat-printers-A0/HP-Designjet-Z3200PS-44.html)

I came to this frum via google. I have a few questions about the Z3200 maybe someone can help me.
1. Is the Z3200 ps compatible with Windows 8?
2. Does anyone know the price per print?
3. Has anyone experience with printing on canvas with the Z3200?

Thanks!!
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: MonsterBaby on May 01, 2013, 07:38:08 pm
if you think a 3200 is loud.. get a 6100 .. and you think a spaceshuttle lifts off every time it fires up .. ;-)
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: namartinnz on May 01, 2013, 07:57:00 pm
I can't really give an indication of price costs and I don't use windows 8. But for printing on canvas it's fine. I do art and photo prints and it gives great results. I use Breathing Color Chromata White canvas.

Neal
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: deanwork on May 02, 2013, 10:03:16 am
That is so strange. My z3100 is totally silent.
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: Mark Lindquist on May 02, 2013, 11:44:36 am
I got my new Z3200ps from a company called CDW:  https://www.cdw.com/shop/products/HP-DesignJet-Z3200ps-large-format-printer-color-ink-jet/2533486.aspx

Email Sean Bachman ( seanbac  (at) cdw.com ) and he'll quote you a much better price.  They are doing HP's small business fulfillment orders now. He gave me a great deal.  Get your best price offers first and tell him and he'll match it.  Then ask him to do better, and he will.

I'm super happy with my Z3200ps.  Seems everything wrong with the Z3100 has been fixed or majorly improved.  Add to that, there are several people on this forum who have it and are very experienced and willing to help with issues.  That is a life-saver.  The embedded spectrophotometer is a god-send and the drip system is awesome.  I was surprised checking the small carts that get sent with the printer - they last a long time - the Z3200ps is very good on inks.

It is noisier than the Z3100 but small price to pay I think.
Title: Re: Considering HP Designjet Z3200 Purchase
Post by: I.T. Supplies on May 02, 2013, 12:16:57 pm
The Z3200PS 44" (Q6721A) is the only version available in the 3200 series besides the 24" standard version.  The nice part is that HP has a promotion going thru the year that will qualify you for up to $200 of FREE HP media on the Z series. (No mail-in necessary!)  The other series have different promos for media as well.

If you have questions regarding this model or other printers, we would be more than happy to assist you with them.

Atlex.com
800-327-2822