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Author Topic: Paper profiles z3100  (Read 1977 times)

Bako88fan

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Paper profiles z3100
« on: May 13, 2017, 05:15:57 pm »

So a little background first. I have opened a quick print/copy store similar to the old Kinko's stores. I spent 15 years there and was part of the team that brought large format printing into the company on the 90s.

To start my endeavor, I purchased a z3100 and a z6100. Both were used and had been idle a couple of months. I did some research here and elsewhere to ensure I could sell prints from these machines, as the major experience I had at Kinko's was with the 2500, 5000 and 5500 series Designjets. The 2500 was a dog but the 5000 and 5500 were beasts. I sold thousands of prints and made boatloads of money for the company both directly and indirectly though training and sales programs I developed.

When I picked up each machine, I cleaned them out, checked them out and started printing. I've made adjustments, updated firmware and replaced most of the expired ink.

So my dilemma seems to be paper profiles. I bought mostly HP papers from Amazon for my initial stock. I've got 20# uncoated and 28# coated bond. I've got HP satin photo paper (my absolute favorite to print on), scrim banner material, matte canvas and HP everyday instant dry photo gloss.

The photo gloss seems to give me the biggest problems on the z3100. I can print the same file with the same paper profile on the z6100 and the printer print beautifully with correct color every time. On the z3100, the quality is terrible, washed out and looks like the ink blobs. This is a genuine HP paper with the correct profile loaded when I load the roll and then again when I send the print to to machine.

Does anyone have any ideas? I know the printer is end of life. I'm selling these prints and will upgrade both as I reinvest in the business. For now, both make prints that people will buy. And I got these printers for almost nothing compared to new so I'd like to profit from them for as long as I can.

Any thoughts and suggestions are greatly appreciated.
« Last Edit: May 14, 2017, 06:28:08 am by Bako88fan »
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rdonson

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Re: Paper profiles z3100
« Reply #1 on: May 13, 2017, 06:56:02 pm »

Have you calibrated & profiled the paper on the Z3100 with the APS?
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Regards,
Ron

Bako88fan

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Re: Paper profiles z3100
« Reply #2 on: May 14, 2017, 06:29:49 am »

Have you calibrated & profiled the paper on the Z3100 with the APS?
I calibrated but used the built in profile for gloss paper because one was already loaded. Sounds like I should try to calibrate and profile manually?
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rdonson

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Re: Paper profiles z3100
« Reply #3 on: May 14, 2017, 11:44:12 am »

Worth a try.
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Ron

Mark Lindquist

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Re: Paper profiles z3100
« Reply #4 on: May 14, 2017, 03:40:24 pm »

I calibrated but used the built in profile for gloss paper because one was already loaded. Sounds like I should try to calibrate and profile manually?

Absolutely.  Those canned profiles are probably (almost certainly) for papers HP no longer makes.  You're trying to print on new paper with an outdated profile.  Use the gloss paper preset, but first create your custom paper in Utility, then calibrate the paper.  Check under paper in the front panel after calibrating to see if it recommends a paper advance calibration.  If it does, do that.  Then create a custom profile.  Try it and see how it looks.  If it's funky, do a full head clean, then print out a diagnostic image and study it carefully and make sure no print heads are clogged or not working correctly.  You could pull all your carts, put them in a heavy trash bag - seal it and shake them vigorously and thoroughly and put them all back in and do a hard restart of the machine.

See if any of that helps.  Getting the most out of those old Z3100's is somewhat of a black art.  Knowing the basics helps a lot however.  Good custom profiles are a must.

Good luck.

Mark
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Mark Lindquist
http://z3200.com, http://MarkLindquistPhotography.com
Lindquist Studios.com

Bako88fan

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Re: Paper profiles z3100
« Reply #5 on: May 14, 2017, 06:21:40 pm »

Wow thanks everyone for all the suggestions. I'll give them a try and report back.
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Bako88fan

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Re: Paper profiles z3100
« Reply #6 on: July 25, 2017, 01:13:40 am »

Well it's been a couple of months since I posted my query so I wanted to report back. It turns out that my issue was with the red/black print head and not paper or paper profiles. The print head and the seat was completly clogged. So much so that when I pulled it the second time it looked like tar had built up all over.

I cleaned the entire carriage and replaced the print head with a new one. After running calibration and print head cleaning and a few test prints, the z3100 was back to running perfectly.

Thanks for the suggestions, they were really helpful. I have more troubleshooting skills now. My machine is running every day and making me money. No complaints about that!
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Mark Lindquist

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Re: Paper profiles z3100
« Reply #7 on: July 25, 2017, 03:44:23 pm »

Thanks for reporting back in.  It helps to get feedback.  Glad your machine is back up and running and making you money.

This page outlines much of what will keep your machine running in tip top shape:

KEEP YOUR Z RUNNING
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Mark Lindquist
http://z3200.com, http://MarkLindquistPhotography.com
Lindquist Studios.com

Bako88fan

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Re: Paper profiles z3100
« Reply #8 on: July 25, 2017, 10:34:55 pm »

Thanks for reporting back in.  It helps to get feedback.  Glad your machine is back up and running and making you money.

This page outlines much of what will keep your machine running in tip top shape:

KEEP YOUR Z RUNNING
Thanks, Mark. You're the best! I've learned a ton just reading your posts.
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