Z3100 17" Rolls

[johncustodio]

Has anyone used 17" rolls (or 13") on a 24" Z3100? The documentation says 18" is the minimum width. Some HP papers are available in 18" but most other brands are available in 17".
-John

[joncanfield]

Has anyone used 17" rolls (or 13") on a 24" Z3100? The documentation says 18" is the minimum width. Some HP papers are available in 18" but most other brands are available in 17".
-John
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17" is no problem at all. I haven't tried, and I don't have, anything narrower than this in roll but it doesn't seem likely that you couldn't do it - you can feed 8.5" letter sheets

Jon Canfield

[SeanPuckett]

I've tried an 11" roll and a 13" roll (from a cut down 24" roll) and the z refuses to take either of them.  So the real lower limit is somewhere between 17 and 13 inches.

[neil snape]

Actually the spec sheet says 18" minimum.
Yet another dissapointing oversight.

[ternst]

I use 17" rolls on mine all the time so the documented limit by HP is not quite right...

[M. Greenacre]

I have used 16 in rolls with no problem.  I tried 10" rolls but they will not work.

[neil snape]

I have used 16 in rolls with no problem.  I tried 10" rolls but they will not work.
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I would have liked to see 8" rolls and everything bigger.

[rdonson]

I would have liked to see 8" rolls and everything bigger.
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Especially since we can easily load letter size sheets, why not 8" rolls?

[Mary K]

When I first set up my printer (44") I successfully calibrated and printed on 13" rolls of Epson Premium Luster and Somerset Velvet Enhanced.  I have not used either one since I installed the latest firmware and drivers, so I'm not sure if the 13" rolls will still load.

Mary

[johncustodio]

Thanks for all the info. So it seems 16" and wider will work.
-John

[neil snape]

Especially since we can easily load letter size sheets, why not 8" rolls?
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Probably something to do with skew checking. The play in a 8" roll would not allow enough accuracy for roll feed. So rather than jeopardizing the safety of the printer they opted to dissallow small roll sizes. I think it should be an option, with a warning to use it on  a specified max run length.

[neil snape]

Probably something to do with skew checking. The play in a 8" roll would not allow enough accuracy for roll feed. So rather than jeopardizing the safety of the printer they opted to dissallow small roll sizes. I think it should be an option, with a warning to use it on  a specified max run length.
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Just to let you know I just successfully loaded my chopped off roll cut down to 32.5 cm (12.79") so the 18" spec is bogus. Mind you I haven't printed on it yet.....

[Mary K]

I've been printing on 17" rolls since my printer was new -- 13" has also worked fine for me.

Mary

[Ernst Dinkla]

I've been printing on 17" rolls since my printer was new -- 13" has also worked fine for me.

Mary
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The Z3100 that I have here (latest firmware) goes down to 29 cm wide for both thin and thick paper, I have checked the last as the limit could be set for roll skew reasons and thicker paper should behave better then, there's no difference in limit though. 29 cm (11.4") wide is 7 mm less than A3 portrait width so I guess the arbitrary size is based on A3 with a 7 mm tolerance. There are of course ways to fool the sensor but in that case one should also add some guidance to keep roll feeding straight. I've no need for small rolls right now.

Ernst Dinkla

try: [a href=\"http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Wide_Inkjet_Printers/]http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Wide_Inkjet_Printers/[/url]

[neil snape]

The Z3100 that I have here (latest firmware) goes down to 29 cm wide for both thin and thick paper, I have checked the last as the limit could be set for roll skew reasons and thicker paper should behave better then, there's no difference in limit though. 29 cm (11.4") wide is 4 mm less than A3 portrait width so I guess the arbitrary size is based on A3 with a 4 mm tolerance. There are of course ways to fool the sensor but in that case one should also add some guidance to keep roll feeding straight. I've no need for small rolls right now.

Ernst Dinkla

try: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Wide_Inkjet_Printers/
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Does anything prevent using custom long sheet set ups for narrow rolls?
I know you would lose the cutter, and the save inked option, but you could potentially load an 8 inch sheet say 10 metres long. Page layout then made in IPv7 or Qimage would be a good way.
Still HP should write to us to say if yes or no they could have a skew check over-ride and allow narrow roll feed.

[SeanPuckett]

Similarly a "trust me" option would be most beneficial for loading deckle edge watercolour media.  This is possibly my favorite surface ever, but dealing with carrier sheets is, uh, well it's not optimal.

[Ernst Dinkla]

Does anything prevent using custom long sheet set ups for narrow rolls?
I know you would lose the cutter, and the save inked option, but you could potentially load an 8 inch sheet say 10 metres long. Page layout then made in IPv7 or Qimage would be a good way.
Still HP should write to us to say if yes or no they could have a skew check over-ride and allow narrow roll feed.
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You will not like it when the "sheet" roll lies in front of the printer after the first print page and then with 99% unprinted surface. If it survives the initial length measurement that the printer does on sheets. Of course if you fill it then up with images to 10 meters there's no problem if the roll itself is 10 meters :-) Otherwise a sharp knife is the only solution.

If you put a white tape on the bed at the left side of the roll, overlapping underneath the roll and creating a width together with the roll up to say 30 cm you got the basics. If I interprete the head sensor movement on roll paper control correct. Will not work on sheets as it then measures the front edge of the paper. Don't be too economic in image nesting and page size width as the roll may unroll less straight than expected. And the white tape is no go area for printing.  Some tabs at the front to guide the paper will help, similar construction at the back just before the printing slit could help too. Don't use the auto cutter I think. By the time it is improvised you may come to the conclusion that a smaller printer model with roll features is more suited in terms of economy. A bit of a shame to have a head path reduced from 112 to 20 cm. Not mentioning head strikes when the paper folds up at teh printing path. Panoramas 20 cm high can be printed horizontal  :-)



Ernst Dinkla

www.pigment-print.com

[neil snape]

Yes this is why I said a toggle for unchecking the skew measurement would be an option appreciated by narrow roll users.
In any case I tried a fairly long piece in the roll slot, loaded as a sheet and it does as expected. In ImagePrint you need only quickly designate the page size, or just width, then click on as many images as you want for auto placement. I often use the front catch tray bar as a take up spool , so that's not a huge problem. A kludge of course, trying to circumvent the A3 width limit on roll sizes.