Another Z Review more to be added

[neil snape]

You might like some of the info I've always wanted to post. It's a work in progress , and of course I should resize the images before scaling in pages.
Better late and on the web first. I will add better images, APS, EFI rip, and ImagePrint as soon as I can. Let me know if you need specific topics added or whatever you need to know.
Enjoy, and please feel free to send the link from this LL forum, to draw more people here which has become the mainstay for many LFP users.

http://www.neilsnape.com/Z_Review/index.htm
or
http://www.neilsnape.com

[Roscolo]

Wow...great, thorough review Neil.

[namartinnz]

Wow...great, thorough review Neil.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=117548\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Thanks for the detailed review Neil. Helps justify my purchase of the Z3100 over Epson.

Neal

[michael]

Well done Neil.

I've linked to it from What's New.

Michael

[Jim Cole]

Neil,

Well done and thank you. I'm sure it will help new buyers decide on their new LF printer and it helps us early birds feel good about our purchases.

Jim Cole

[marty m]

Great review -- the most comprehensive to date.  Very well done.  

Setting aside the pricing issues (no point in debating that further) the Z3100 is a great printer, and you've done an excellent job of summarizing why that is the case.

You might consider adding a section covering issues where improvement is still needed.  If you want to give that a positive spin, you could call it "future improvements." I leave it to you to judge what should be included, but the printer is not yet perfect, and various postings have offered suggestions on items that need to be fixed. Such as page sizes, cutting off prints when ink runs out, etc.  If you include such a section, your review will be more balanced, as compared with paid reviews written by HP consultants.

Anyway, that is a minor suggestion.  A very well written and comprehensive review.

[neil snape]

Great review -- the most comprehensive to date.  Very well done. 

Setting aside the pricing issues (no point in debating that further) the Z3100 is a great printer, and you've done an excellent job of summarizing why that is the case.

You might consider adding a section covering issues where improvement is still needed.  If you want to give that a positive spin, you could call it "future improvements." I leave it to you to judge what should be included, but the printer is not yet perfect, and various postings have offered suggestions on items that need to be fixed. Such as page sizes, cutting off prints when ink runs out, etc.  If you include such a section, your review will be more balanced, as compared with paid reviews written by HP consultants.

Anyway, that is a minor suggestion.  A very well written and comprehensive review.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=117595\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Thanks Marty,
I did put in some of the things you list in their sections already. There are a lot more needed agreed. At first I was going to put a pro and con section , but the con was quite long, a little scary actually. It's like Michael so well says at the end of his and Craig Samuel's conclusion review/comparison of the Epson and HP, you can tear apart the concept and function as much as you like, yet when your clients , whatever domain they are coming from are waiting for their prints> you'll have to overlook some or all of the negative points and rejoice with the client as everyone will be happy with any of the big printers output. It comes down to more details of and about the feature sets as much as a pretty similar image quality overall.
Many of the details that were negative have been corrected before the release of this printer and after it's launch. Some of the things users are experiencing, unfortunately I am aware of and presented them a long time ago. I also discover with all of you other issues that we find with time, and try to resolve them as well, with kind prodding towards HP eng. Most of the problems have been resolved, some harder to resolve are on their way in future firmware updates, and some very interesting major updates will be surprisingly good. Looking past the little things and bigger less optimal points , will show it's the platform that is just starting with a strong future.

[dct123]

Excellent review Neil. I especially appreciate the 'tips'.

DC

[rdonson]

Let me know if you need specific topics added or whatever you need to know.

[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=117540\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Neil, this is a very welcome effort.  I've also appreciated how willing you are to share your knowledge and expertise.

Reading the doc I do have some questions that I'd like you to address.  I'll reference the appropriate section of your doc.

Inks
You mention quad blacks.  In forum exchanges with you and reading the HP Tech Newsletter on custom papers the quad blacks are ONLY available on papers of the "Fine art paper >250 gsm" paper type.  In addition to that you recommended to me to not use that paper type and to use "Fine art paper" paper type instead.  That means that no one is actually going to use quad blacks.  I feel this point should be made.  Why promote quad blacks as a printer capability if no one is going to be able to take advantage of it?

Print Heads, All Six
You provide a wonderful tip on the sensor.  Once a month clean off the opening of the sensor.  Great advice.  It would be even better if you could provide a photo of the sensor and any other directions to make sure we do it correctly and to the right device.    

Controlling inks via Auto Calibration
In the last paragraph you advise that calibration should be done more frequently than profiling.  If you could give some guidelines on the frequency it would be very helpful.  Monthly?  Weekly?  New ink cartridges?  You do say that it is necessary with head changes.

Printer Hardware, and connectivity
I think that it might be good to really emphasize that ethernet is the preferred method.

The catch tray.  It would be interesting if someone could recommend another material for the catch tray.  For example, my wife's handy with a sewing machine, would a fine cotton fabric work?  

Loading Media
Thanks so much for the great description of loading sheets.  I've been toying with the idea of creating my own guide to glue on to improve things.  Given the design of this it might be an opportunity for an enterprising person to create an after market guide that would fit into what HP has created.  It could be built in a fashion that solves the need for a better guide and support for larger sheets.

Grayscale Printing and Tone B&W
Again the tale of quad blacks that in reality aren't an option.


Q.  What about bi-directional printing?  Can it be turned off?  Recommendations?

Thank you so much, Neil, for taking the time to write such a comprehensive document.

[dkeyes]

Neil,
Thanks for all the work you've put into this printer. A very in-depth review.

Would also love to see your suggestions regarding cleaning print heads. I looked at the heads yesterday for the first time since installing (4 months of use) and realized these will need more frequent maintainence than I realized. Calibration on a regular basis is another good point you've made and I have also realized needs to be done. You've confirmed all the things I have learned over the months about this printer. It really is the best printer overall on the market and it hasn't even reached it's potential yet.

- Doug

[neil snape]

Inks
You mention quad blacks.  In forum exchanges with you and reading the HP Tech Newsletter on custom papers the quad blacks are ONLY available on papers of the "Fine art paper >250 gsm" paper type.  In addition to that you recommended to me to not use that paper type and to use "Fine art paper" paper type instead.  That means that no one is actually going to use quad blacks.  I feel this point should be made.  Why promote quad blacks as a printer capability if no one is going to be able to take advantage of it?


Print Heads, All Six
You provide a wonderful tip on the sensor.  Once a month clean off the opening of the sensor.  Great advice.  It would be even better if you could provide a photo of the sensor and any other directions to make sure we do it correctly and to the right device.     

Controlling inks via Auto Calibration
In the last paragraph you advise that calibration should be done more frequently than profiling.  If you could give some guidelines on the frequency it would be very helpful.  Monthly?  Weekly?  New ink cartridges?  You do say that it is necessary with head changes.

Printer Hardware, and connectivity
I think that it might be good to really emphasize that ethernet is the preferred method.

The catch tray.  It would be interesting if someone could recommend another material for the catch tray.  For example, my wife's handy with a sewing machine, would a fine cotton fabric work?   

Loading Media
Thanks so much for the great description of loading sheets.  I've been toying with the idea of creating my own guide to glue on to improve things.  Given the design of this it might be an opportunity for an enterprising person to create an after market guide that would fit into what HP has created.  It could be built in a fashion that solves the need for a better guide and support for larger sheets.

Grayscale Printing and Tone B&W
Again the tale of quad blacks that in reality aren't an option.
Q.  What about bi-directional printing?  Can it be turned off?  Recommendations?

Thank you so much, Neil, for taking the time to write such a comprehensive document.
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=117725\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Wish I knew how to cut the questions into single quotes.

Quad blacks. I was under the impression that in June last year the Z was printing on all 4 blacks on Hahnemuhle PR308. It didn't look all that good, and continued to show HP the problem areas as did other photographers. Did they take out photo K altogether? I asked HP engineering , and they said yes, basically , that other than ONE particular media which was just upped in TAC, >250 g/m2 all other media are tri blacks either Pk for shiny surfaces, or Mk for porous. I wrote again to ascertain if it was true for both grayscale or color only. No reply yet, but I fear it is three gray inks even when on print using grey inks only. If so, I asked that a number of media could be run with multiple .oms media set ups so when you could use quad black then fine. You have to know that Pk on matte media adds very little to relatively uncoated media. When i say uncoated it would be more correct to say less densly covered and more absorbent so it's surface, media and coating that count. I have modified the sentence on quad blacks, thanks for the question.

Calibrations should be done before any major print run or high end job as it gives you that extra guarantee that you will be able to print it the same later if you calibrate before the reprint run. Yes ink cartridges are always a good idea to recal for. The difference is very slight though so it depends on if the print runs are important or not.

I'll put up some stuff on changing maintenance tanks, cutter, and optical sensor cleaning.

Catch tray. HP are in denial. Fact is Gloss Enhancer is prone to scratching. The material used is incorrect period. The guide for aligning sheet paper has been noted in Barcelona. I also have thought about making a nice little add on. But no one better to do this than HP. Not sure if they took us seriously on this one though. I have also designed on paper that is a roller motorised paper take up. I'll never build it though but in theory it's great.

On bi-directional. I was quite sure, but asked HP anyway. Yes Bi-directional is as marked in the PDF, on for most modes except for more detail and more passes. There will be cases where you would like to have a switch but it is a quasi switch by selecting more detail.

I also corrected some typos, etc.

[rdonson]

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond, Neil.  I really appreciate it.

[neil snape]

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond, Neil.  I really appreciate it.
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You're most welcome.
I just upped some stuff on APS, EFI rip, and ImagePRint V7.

[Haraldo]

Great review, Neil!

An observation/story to add about sheet handling: That little stub of sheet feeder that opens up is totally unusable with big sheets. Don't understand why HP didn't design a telescoping one like they have on the 9180 output tray. In any case, I recently visited a high-end printmaker with all the latest large-format printers (including Z3100 44"), and you know what he does? Simply leans a big piece of cardboard at an incline from the sheet input up to a wall. And he also does this with his Epson 9800s. Supports big sheets all the way down.

And on the other end, he immediately trashes the catch baskets of any printer he gets (HP and Epson) and uses the same cardboard trick with another piece going to the floor from the output tray. He has the room to do all this in a large industrial space; many of us won't.

It's kinda weird seeing this high-tech/low-tech workaround at a very high-end shop, but it works for him. He regularly prints on 35x47" sheets like this.

Harald Johnson

P.S. Your idea of adding your own take-up reel to the catch basket arm is also ingenious.