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Author Topic: Another new z3100  (Read 5394 times)

SeanPuckett

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Another new z3100
« on: March 14, 2007, 09:31:07 pm »

Picked up my z3100 44" today.  Tip for the price conscious: see if your local university has a campus computer or tech store that will order in from HP.  These folks aren't really in business to make money from computer products, so you can often get a good price, especially in smaller market countries where there isn't much competition.  I'm in Canada and saved $500cdn over the lowest fly-by-night internet company i never heard of, and thousands off the price of reputable shops.  Disadvantage: they probably won't ship, so you'll need to get it home yourself.  I rented a van from the Home Depot ($19 for 90 minutes) and made it just in time.

My studio is in my attic.  We had to unbox it on the ground floor and take all the pieces upstairs; the printer body itself was very difficult but my wife and I managed without damaging either bodies or devices.  

No prints yet -- took most of the day to get everything assembled and installed, etc.  

1) Initial problems with loading the matte black cured themselves after a head cleaning.  
2) You can't, as has been mentioned, install the drivers without the printer being ready.
3) It would be really nice if the 3" strip that gets trimmed off the front of rolls was optional.
4) Does the thing ever get completely silent?  I don't like noisy devices.  I think sleep mode ought to actually sleep!

Will continue to report as things progress.
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namartinnz

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Another new z3100
« Reply #1 on: March 14, 2007, 10:22:07 pm »

Good on you getting the Z3100 Paul. I think you did really well, you and the wife getting it upstairs! I remember nearly busting my back getting the box up the house steps and into the lounge. Lesson learned, lift the whole box as little as possible!

Neal

Yeah, wish mine would go into full quiet sleep mode...

mixwhit

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Another new z3100
« Reply #2 on: March 15, 2007, 03:26:17 pm »

Quote
Good on you getting the Z3100 Paul. I think you did really well, you and the wife getting it upstairs! I remember nearly busting my back getting the box up the house steps and into the lounge. Lesson learned, lift the whole box as little as possible!

Neal

Yeah, wish mine would go into full quiet sleep mode...
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=106696\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Hmm, how noisy is it in sleep mode?  Would it be distracting to be in a smallish office with?  I'm planning on getting one and parking it in the back of an office.
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Jim Cole

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Another new z3100
« Reply #3 on: March 15, 2007, 05:35:10 pm »

It doesn't seem any noisier than the average computer. You can hear it if you listen, but it is not disturbing to me and certainly does not interfere with average conversation or phone conversation.

Jim
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Jim Cole
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SeanPuckett

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Another new z3100
« Reply #4 on: March 15, 2007, 05:45:27 pm »

Quote
Hmm, how noisy is it in sleep mode?  Would it be distracting to be in a smallish office with?  I'm planning on getting one and parking it in the back of an office.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=106834\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]
This probably wouldn't be bad.  It is, however, the noisiest thing in my studio, even in sleep mode.  But I've gone through a lot of effort to choose silent or near-silent computing devices.  It also seems the printer wakes from sleep every six hours to perform head sponging or something.  It fires up the drying fan for this, but it seems to last less than 30 seconds or so.  But it could startle you.

I think some configurability to this end would be nice.  Disable the roll-end slicer, disable the sleep mode fans.  Easy enough, one would think.  But, of course, priority to print quality.

Preliminary gamut testing against Canon dye-base inks are not entirely disappointing.  Updating the firmware now, will do more reporting as we continue to test.
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neil snape

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Another new z3100
« Reply #5 on: March 17, 2007, 03:59:08 am »

Quote
It doesn't seem any noisier than the average computer. You can hear it if you listen, but it is not disturbing to me and certainly does not interfere with average conversation or phone conversation.

Jim
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=106862\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

The docs (booklet ) I have is wrong, the PDF spec sheet is corrected with  29 dB at idle, 44 dB in operation. The distance from the printer is not stated, but in the booklet ISO 9296 is noted.
In reality it sounds a little more than 29 here where my ear is .5 meters away.
In my main Mac I have all Verax fans so it's quiet and the printer has the same type of woosh sound, but a little louder than the computer. It is much quieter than my HP DJ 130 for example, and the sound soft and non aggressive. In operation it sounds like a saw, different but similar to other lfp's. Possibly it is a little quieter, others who have both and a quiet environment can tell us the verdict on in operation sound.
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SeanPuckett

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Another new z3100
« Reply #6 on: March 23, 2007, 11:56:10 am »

Still working with the printer to obtain satisfactory prints with media on-hand.  Getting stocks in by mail order does take a while.  The printer seems to love satin papers.  I'm also getting nice (albeit low gamut) results with traditional watercolour media, which is a look I've wanted to play with for a while.

Have some of the red river media coming in next week, but the disadvantage with them is the limited size of available media -- nothing bigger than 24" rolls.  I've already inquired and they've intentionally stopped the wider stuff.

Seeking a supplier for pro satin is ... intriguing.


-- haven't been many posts lately RE the z.  I'm figuring everyone is too busy printing.  Like a good meal; no time to talk.
« Last Edit: March 23, 2007, 12:03:43 pm by SeanPuckett »
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A. Andrew Gonzalez

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Another new z3100
« Reply #7 on: March 23, 2007, 12:55:29 pm »

I just received the z3100 a couple of days ago. Gamut is a problem on matte papers. I'm trying to get Enhanced Matte to work (the paper I primarily use on my 9600) using Litho-Realistic media setting, new firmware installed. My monochromatic images are manageable, but my color images with deep dark reds/maroons  look very flat, problem in shadows with color. Soft -proofing shows the problem areas, gamut clipped, not smooth. (profile or media problem?) My 9600 handles this easily.
Glossy and satin prints look best. Looks like I'll have to switch to satin media until I can find a solution for matte.

The printer definitely does best with monochromatic images. Really beautiful.

Much testing to do.....


Andrew
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A. Andrew Gonzalez
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deelight

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Another new z3100
« Reply #8 on: March 23, 2007, 01:07:26 pm »

Quote
Glossy and satin prints look best. Looks like I'll have to switch to satin media until I can find a solution for matte.


Much testing to do.....
Andrew
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=108278\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


Andrew!

Did you try - against usual settings - to print color on matte with colormanagment by the printer and not by the application?

This worked for me extremely well after having problems with the HP Litho matte. No experiences though on 3rd party papers.

Best,

Clem
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A. Andrew Gonzalez

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Another new z3100
« Reply #9 on: March 23, 2007, 02:04:22 pm »

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Andrew!

Did you try - against usual settings - to print color on matte with colormanagment by the printer and not by the application?

This worked for me extremely well after having problems with the HP Litho matte. No experiences though on 3rd party papers.

Best,

Clem
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=108283\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]


Thanks, just tried it.
Strange, it does look a bit better, more punch/not as flat. But still a bit of a problem with the deep red/maroon in the shadows....(though it might be manageable)

Thanks again, this gives me some hope.

Andrew
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neil snape

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Another new z3100
« Reply #10 on: March 23, 2007, 02:23:29 pm »

Quote
Thanks, just tried it.
Strange, it does look a bit better, more punch/not as flat. But still a bit of a problem with the deep red/maroon in the shadows....(though it might be manageable)

Thanks again, this gives me some hope.

Andrew
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=108298\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Which media?
Maybe I have a profile for you.
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A. Andrew Gonzalez

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Another new z3100
« Reply #11 on: March 23, 2007, 02:45:12 pm »

Quote
Which media?
Maybe I have a profile for you.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=108327\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Thanks Neil,
I'm using Enhanced Matte with the Litho-Realist media setting. (my monochromatic images print beautifully on this paper, but having problems with color images/dark gamut reds/maroon)

Andrew
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A. Andrew Gonzalez
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