RE: the recent discussions about the Z Series printers and head strikes, "Zebra Stripes" and ink smearing...
I couldn't figure out what you guys were talking about. I have NEVER had "Zebra stripes" going up to 355gsm on my Z3100. I know other Z users who also do not have this problem. However, I know at least one user who got Zebras because he did not understand the correct settings to use. The Z has a special paper-load setting for over 250gsm; raises the carriage height. Apparently, people are missing this point (maybe not the only one but a key one).
Well, guess what... HP has been listening to all this chatter and studying it themselves. There seem to be several factors that come into play, including humidity, and HP has created a Tech Note describing them.
Here it is, posted on my website:
http://www.dpandi.com/HP/zebrastripes.pdfHarald Johnson
author, "Mastering Digital Printing, Second Edition"
author, "Digital Printing Start-Up Guide"
DP&I.com (
http://www.dpandi.com )
digital printing and imaging consultant