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deanwork

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Z3200
« on: January 08, 2018, 05:12:44 pm »

Someone on this site recently said the Z3200 was no longer being made?
Is that accurate?

They sure are still promoting them on their website. Usually when printers are discontinued they remove them from the website. It still looks like their flagship fine art photo printer.

http://www8.hp.com/us/en/large-format-printers/designjet-printers/z3200.html

John

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shadowblade

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Re: Z3200
« Reply #1 on: January 08, 2018, 05:20:27 pm »

Haven't heard anything to that effect. Although I'm still hoping for a Z3300 (or some other 12-ink HP printer) at some stage...
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maxs

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Re: Z3200
« Reply #2 on: January 08, 2018, 06:10:24 pm »

If that is the case I may have bought the very last HP Z3200 made :p

I'll take offers from those that may have a sentimental attachment :-)
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shadowblade

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Re: Z3200
« Reply #3 on: January 09, 2018, 08:06:57 am »

If it goes, it'll be the end of home or small-office photo printing. The advertisers, commercial users and print shops will have won.

There's no other printer out there which can produce photo-quality output 24" or 44" wide that's suitable for the sporadic, low-volume use typical of individual photographers.
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deanwork

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Re: Z3200
« Reply #4 on: January 09, 2018, 09:01:01 am »

It was John Nollendorfs who said that. Maybe he was confusing it with the Z3100 being supported.

Who knows. There are plenty of them for sale now though at various prices.
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John Nollendorfs

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Re: Z3200
« Reply #5 on: January 09, 2018, 12:11:26 pm »

Yes, I implied that they were no longer being made, and those being sold were from "stock inventory". The Barcelona development team was disbanded years ago. Have no direct knowledge if they are still being manufactured, or being supplied from stock inventory. I got direct confirmation from HP, that the Z3200ps would be supported for 3-4 years.

"11:46 AM  Michael Morris: the Z3200 with the jpart number Q6721B has no date for it to go out of support, so it might still be supported for other 3 or 4 years."

Hope this clarifies things!

John Nollendorfs
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Mark Lindquist

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Re: Z3200
« Reply #6 on: January 09, 2018, 01:54:11 pm »

The Z3200 is no longer being manufactured.

The Z3200ps is being manufactured and is still for sale.

Z3100 and Z3200 are at end of life with HP.

Z3200ps is still going strong and is still the king of the hill.

Fuhgeddaboudit.
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Mark Lindquist
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deanwork

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Re: Z3200
« Reply #7 on: January 09, 2018, 03:21:24 pm »


The Z3200 and Z3200ps contain the same parts and use the same inks and printheads. So the Z3200ps that many of us have purchased this year should be supported for as long as any other large format printer being sold right now. They also contain the same inks and heads as other hp z series being made now and working on them is the same.




Yes, I implied that they were no longer being made, and those being sold were from "stock inventory". The Barcelona development team was disbanded years ago. Have no direct knowledge if they are still being manufactured, or being supplied from stock inventory. I got direct confirmation from HP, that the Z3200ps would be supported for 3-4 years.

"11:46 AM  Michael Morris: the Z3200 with the jpart number Q6721B has no date for it to go out of support, so it might still be supported for other 3 or 4 years."

Hope this clarifies things!

John Nollendorfs
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Peter McLennan

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Re: Z3200
« Reply #8 on: January 09, 2018, 03:26:40 pm »

I had a chance the other day to make a Z3200 17X25 print of an image that I'd previously printed on my Epson 9800.  I could now do an exact AB comparison.
Oh, my! The differences were quite instructive. The HP is a superb photo printer.
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Wayne Fox

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Re: Z3200
« Reply #9 on: January 09, 2018, 03:58:17 pm »

I had a chance the other day to make a Z3200 17X25 print of an image that I'd previously printed on my Epson 9800.  I could now do an exact AB comparison.
Oh, my! The differences were quite instructive. The HP is a superb photo printer.
That surprises you?  A print from a p9000 also looks substantially different and better.  The 9800 was last produced around 2006.  Prints from the z3200 also look better than prints from z3100.
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Mark Lindquist

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Re: Z3200
« Reply #10 on: January 10, 2018, 06:14:28 am »

That surprises you?  A print from a p9000 also looks substantially different and better.  The 9800 was last produced around 2006.  Prints from the z3200 also look better than prints from z3100.

The Z3200PS 44” (AO) was first manufactured Sptember 15th, 2008.  For all intents and purposes, it has not changed since then with the exception of firmware and driver upgrades to accomodate newer operating systems.  The differences between Epson prints and HP prints were striking then, just as they are today.

There have been few significant changes between the Z3100 Rev A series printers all the way through to the current Z3200ps Rev B printers.  Noteably the addition of Chromatic red ink, and specific firmware modifications in additions to a few small hardware tweaks relating to platen height adjustments and changes to the embedded spectrophotometer.

As far as quality of output and print longevity, the Z Series printers have held their own from the beginning.  It is no surprise that despite HP’s treatment of the printer series as the “red-headed stepchild” it remains King of the Hill in every area except speed. 

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Mark Lindquist
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Mark Lindquist

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Re: Z3200
« Reply #11 on: January 10, 2018, 06:37:55 am »

Yes, I implied that they were no longer being made, and those being sold were from "stock inventory". The Barcelona development team was disbanded years ago. Have no direct knowledge if they are still being manufactured, or being supplied from stock inventory. I got direct confirmation from HP, that the Z3200ps would be supported for 3-4 years.

"11:46 AM  Michael Morris: the Z3200 with the jpart number Q6721B has no date for it to go out of support, so it might still be supported for other 3 or 4 years."

Hope this clarifies things!

John Nollendorfs

The Barcelona Team, although changed in areas of personel is still alive and well and working on many projects, including top secret printer projects.  I have have this information from the worldwide manager of product development and distribution who came to my studio from Barcelona.  I have no idea where you are getting your information from John Nollendorfs.

HP chat support specialists are incredibly ill informed and should not be used as reliable sources of information.  They have enough trouble distinguishing between models Z3200 Rev A (which reached EOL 4 years ago and are no longer supported) and currently still manufactured Z3200ps Rev B versions that are fully supported.

It’s important to carefully report accurate information about the Z Series printers.  As supporters and enthusiasts, we work hard to try to keep the Z3200ps line of printers going.  We don’t want HP to stop manufacturing the printer.  Inaccurate information becomes an impediment to people buying the printers. 

Don’t mistake the major sale of HP Z3200ps printers by Pro-Imaging of Arizona, with lower prices as a sell off.  They purchased a warehouse of HP Designjets, several years ago at a significantly lower price and have been selling them ever since at much reduced rates depending on how long their access to the inventory lasts.  All of their Z series printers are REV B printers.  All Rev A printers are at end of life.  The printer sale at Pro-Imaging is still the best deal anywhere.

Go to the major retailers such as B&H, Adorama, Amazon, etc., and the prices are pretty much the same across the board with the exception of HP itself which has higher prices.

The HP Designjet Z3200ps Rev B printers are alive and well.  They will continue to be supported minimally 5 years until EOL (end of life).

End of story.

Mark
« Last Edit: January 10, 2018, 06:46:34 am by Mark Lindquist »
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Mark Lindquist
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deanwork

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Re: Z3200
« Reply #12 on: January 10, 2018, 11:06:42 am »

As we've said for many years, in many ways HP is their own worst enemy. Their lack of communication with the base of artists ( concerned with longevity, auto profiling, and excellent neutral monochrome ) has been abysmal. They also never show up to trade shows, or university art programs or even educational conferences. If their printers are a "step child" they single handedly created that situation. Mark L. recently, and Ernst a decade ago have done more to promote this series than the entire corporation of sales marketing people combined. In my experience, when you do meet the Barcelona guys they are really very good and impressive and  ask you all kinds of customer questions. But the marketing guys.....its like they wanted to keep it a secret. In the beginning 12 years ago they trotted out Joel Meyerowitz and did some ads, but have done nothing of any consequence since that time that I have heard about. Most of my clients still associate HP with cheap office printers, or at best Office Depot posters, not museums and galleries. It's almost  like they are afraid of being associated with the high end market. The result, you get all these inaccurate  rumors from the photo tech community that HP has quit the high end photo market completely . Not having a desktop unit certainly contributed to this.

Both the Z3100 and 3200 series produce identical output, except when the chromatic red is utilized that helps red gamut in the 3200 series. . The yellow gamut has always been excellent .

Anyway I'm glad I bought another one. There is no way I'd sit here and switch back and forth between Pk and MK all day flushing good ink down the drain and Canon has gone backward in regard to longevity, and that is another big mystery..

John






The Barcelona Team, although changed in areas of personel is still alive and well and working on many projects, including top secret printer projects.  I have have this information from the worldwide manager of product development and distribution who came to my studio from Barcelona.  I have no idea where you are getting your information from John Nollendorfs.

HP chat support specialists are incredibly ill informed and should not be used as reliable sources of information.  They have enough trouble distinguishing between models Z3200 Rev A (which reached EOL 4 years ago and are no longer supported) and currently still manufactured Z3200ps Rev B versions that are fully supported.

It’s important to carefully report accurate information about the Z Series printers.  As supporters and enthusiasts, we work hard to try to keep the Z3200ps line of printers going.  We don’t want HP to stop manufacturing the printer.  Inaccurate information becomes an impediment to people buying the printers. 

Don’t mistake the major sale of HP Z3200ps printers by Pro-Imaging of Arizona, with lower prices as a sell off.  They purchased a warehouse of HP Designjets, several years ago at a significantly lower price and have been selling them ever since at much reduced rates depending on how long their access to the inventory lasts.  All of their Z series printers are REV B printers.  All Rev A printers are at end of life.  The printer sale at Pro-Imaging is still the best deal anywhere.

Go to the major retailers such as B&H, Adorama, Amazon, etc., and the prices are pretty much the same across the board with the exception of HP itself which has higher prices.

The HP Designjet Z3200ps Rev B printers are alive and well.  They will continue to be supported minimally 5 years until EOL (end of life).

End of story.

Mark
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shadowblade

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Re: Z3200
« Reply #13 on: January 10, 2018, 03:06:26 pm »

Is there longevity data on the Canon Lucia Pro inkset yet, compared with Lucia EX? It would be hugely disappointing if Canon went the Epson way too and targeted commercial 'flash' and 'pop' rather than long-term image stability. We already have solvent and latex printers that can be directed towards that goal - and probably better, since those printers run faster and don't require as much post-printing work, making them better for high-volume conmercial applications than aqueous printers anyway.
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deanwork

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Re: Z3200
« Reply #14 on: January 10, 2018, 04:18:29 pm »

They are all more interested in the signage latex market according to my supplier.

Epsons new photo printers seem a real improvement all around. They seemed to have reduced the clogging and print head issues of the previous series, they are fast and the yellow channel improvement has bumped up the longevity at least to where my Canon is without loosing gamut.  I saw some 11x14 bw prints last week from the new Epson ink  on the Ilford fiber glass and except for a little bronzing that the Ilford is known for,  they matched the silver print they were duplicating. They were very neutral and consistent of hue and great tonal range and of course great dmax. I saw none of that blueish-cyan cast of Epson monochrome I'd seen in the past. The whole tonal range was consistent. I didn't talk to the guy who printed them so I don't know if this was a ABW or qtr. I don't know if I could buy a printer that you had to purge inks to switch from Pk to  MK and back for what I do on a daily basis, and I'd want to wait another year to see how the heads hold up, but they look very solid right now to me. The fact that Canon still hasn't released fade data with their new inks is not a good sign for them.

John



Is there longevity data on the Canon Lucia Pro inkset yet, compared with Lucia EX? It would be hugely disappointing if Canon went the Epson way too and targeted commercial 'flash' and 'pop' rather than long-term image stability. We already have solvent and latex printers that can be directed towards that goal - and probably better, since those printers run faster and don't require as much post-printing work, making them better for high-volume conmercial applications than aqueous printers anyway.
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shadowblade

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Re: Z3200
« Reply #15 on: January 10, 2018, 10:11:11 pm »

They are all more interested in the signage latex market according to my supplier.

Epsons new photo printers seem a real improvement all around. They seemed to have reduced the clogging and print head issues of the previous series, they are fast and the yellow channel improvement has bumped up the longevity at least to where my Canon is without loosing gamut.  I saw some 11x14 bw prints last week from the new Epson ink  on the Ilford fiber glass and except for a little bronzing that the Ilford is known for,  they matched the silver print they were duplicating. They were very neutral and consistent of hue and great tonal range and of course great dmax. I saw none of that blueish-cyan cast of Epson monochrome I'd seen in the past. The whole tonal range was consistent. I didn't talk to the guy who printed them so I don't know if this was a ABW or qtr. I don't know if I could buy a printer that you had to purge inks to switch from Pk to  MK and back for what I do on a daily basis, and I'd want to wait another year to see how the heads hold up, but they look very solid right now to me. The fact that Canon still hasn't released fade data with their new inks is not a good sign for them.

John

I can certainly understand prioritising immediate visual impact with signage-focused printers, but that doesn't really make sense for aqueous printers which aren't going to be used for signage anyway.

Although the aqueous large-format art/photography market probably isn't big enough for three major players, especially as commercial/signage printers move to other technologies and the overall aqueous market shrinks. There's probably room for a high-impact inkset, a longevity inkset and a black-and-white inkset (which could be part of the longevity inkset), although they would not necessarily need different models of printer. Print speed is of less consequence than quality, and reliability for sporadic printing paramount. The Z3200 would be an ideal platform to start for this kind of market - HP could own it if they wanted to.
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Ernst Dinkla

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Re: Z3200
« Reply #16 on: January 11, 2018, 03:37:36 am »

The Z3200PS 44” (AO) was first manufactured Sptember 15th, 2008.  For all intents and purposes, it has not changed since then with the exception of firmware and driver upgrades to accomodate newer operating systems.  The differences between Epson prints and HP prints were striking then, just as they are today.

There have been few significant changes between the Z3100 Rev A series printers all the way through to the current Z3200ps Rev B printers.  Noteably the addition of Chromatic red ink, and specific firmware modifications in additions to a few small hardware tweaks relating to platen height adjustments and changes to the embedded spectrophotometer.

As far as quality of output and print longevity, the Z Series printers have held their own from the beginning.  It is no surprise that despite HP’s treatment of the printer series as the “red-headed stepchild” it remains King of the Hill in every area except speed.

In that light it is also interesting to report a comment from a friend/user of the new Canon Pro 4000 that the greens it produces does not have the saturation of the Canon iPF 8400/8300 he also uses/used, matte paper gamut. Adding a gloss enhancer ink to the ink set could have been done by taking out the Cyan ink and still use the Light Cyan ink but Canon decided to drop the Green ink instead. HP kept the Cyan out of the ink set for both the Z3100 and Z3200 a decade ago and was able to compensate its part in the gamut with the combination (I guess) of Light Cyan, Green, Blue (Violet) and Black inks. I wonder whether it patented that color set and mixing at the time.

Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
March 2017 update, 750+ inkjet media white spectral plots

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shadowblade

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Re: Z3200
« Reply #17 on: January 11, 2018, 09:21:55 am »

In that light it is also interesting to report a comment from a friend/user of the new Canon Pro 4000 that the greens it produces does not have the saturation of the Canon iPF 8400/8300 he also uses/used, matte paper gamut. Adding a gloss enhancer ink to the ink set could have been done by taking out the Cyan ink and still use the Light Cyan ink but Canon decided to drop the Green ink instead. HP kept the Cyan out of the ink set for both the Z3100 and Z3200 a decade ago and was able to compensate its part in the gamut with the combination (I guess) of Light Cyan, Green, Blue (Violet) and Black inks. I wonder whether it patented that color set and mixing at the time.

Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
March 2017 update, 750+ inkjet media white spectral plots

I wonder whether the Z3200 would have been better off putting gloss enhancer on its own, separate rail and instead using the 12th head to run a full-strength cyan for stronger cyans/teals, or an extra grey for even finer black and colour graduations. Or even adding a seventh pair of heads, running violet and brown/orange.

After all, GE needs to cover the entire print surface and, when printing gloss, is used in far greater quantities than any ink. It serves a different function and deserves its own high-capacity tank, rather than sitting alongside the other inks and taking up one of the colour slots.
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deanwork

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Re: Z3200
« Reply #18 on: January 11, 2018, 09:38:26 am »


So strange, maybe that configuration was patented by Hp. Anyway I have absolutely no complaints about Canons previous Lucia inkset or any other aspect of the 8400/8300 hardware or color gamut. You know all these years I've had no problems of any kind with the Z gloss enhancer and that is kind of a miracle in itself.



In that light it is also interesting to report a comment from a friend/user of the new Canon Pro 4000 that the greens it produces does not have the saturation of the Canon iPF 8400/8300 he also uses/used, matte paper gamut. Adding a gloss enhancer ink to the ink set could have been done by taking out the Cyan ink and still use the Light Cyan ink but Canon decided to drop the Green ink instead. HP kept the Cyan out of the ink set for both the Z3100 and Z3200 a decade ago and was able to compensate its part in the gamut with the combination (I guess) of Light Cyan, Green, Blue (Violet) and Black inks. I wonder whether it patented that color set and mixing at the time.

Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
March 2017 update, 750+ inkjet media white spectral plots
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Wayne Fox

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Re: Z3200
« Reply #19 on: January 11, 2018, 02:30:21 pm »

The Z3200PS 44” (AO) was first manufactured Sptember 15th, 2008.  For all intents and purposes, it has not changed since then with the exception of firmware and driver upgrades to accomodate newer operating systems.  The differences between Epson prints and HP prints were striking then, just as they are today.
My comment was more regarding comparing what is current best technology from one manufacturer vs very old and outdated technology from others.  I recognize that HP produced a machine that was ahead of it’s time and continues to offering outstanding output and some terrific features.  But I find it surprising that you feel there is a striking difference between current generation printers from Epson and canon as compared to the HP.

I have used all 3 brands of printers, and have seen output from the current best offerings of the 3.  I believe all 3 produce outstanding results, and while there are subtle differences, i wouldn’t describe any of them as having striking differences from each other.

There are many other factors that could be discussed regarding a printer choice, with negatives and positives for all 3 manufacturers. But at this point, output quality is superb for all of them.
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