It's actually more like $8300 before taxes here in Canada, but there is a $3000 rebate I intend to take advantage of by trading in a 24" new junk cutter bought off E-bay.
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Sorry you had to buy the 24." Check the rebate terms - in the U.S. they changed the terms of the rebate a few weeks ago so that you could upgrade from a 13" (as opposed to a 17" or wider) printer to the z3100 and claim the rebate.
I haven't used a Canon printer of any sort. I've used numerous Epson's, including a friend's 9800, and the z was my choice...the outstanding black-and-white, excellent profiling out-of-the-box and the gloss enhancer were real deal-makers for me.
In 20 years as a professional photographer, the z3100 is one of the best tools I have ever used that so far has performed exactly as advertised, and the first inkjet I've used where I don't feel like I'm sacrificing anything in my work. This is especially true of the black-and-white capability. I have continued to print in my darkroom up until the arrival of the z3100, but the z may spell the end of the vast majority of my darkroom printing. I'm still processing B&W large format film, however.
That said, you are wise to research your purchase until you feel comfortable you are getting what you need. I lost a couple of giclee' clients because, after the death of an Epson 7600, I didn't rush out and buy a Canon ipf5000 to fill their orders and was researching, reading, etc about available options. At the time I was holding out for a wider version of the ipf5000. In the interim, a lot of the problems with that machine came to light. Then the z3100 hit the market and I'm glad I sacrificed a few print jobs to make the right decision for me and my business (I don't want to knock the ipf5000, I know some people are very happy and getting great results). The 44" z3100 has almost paid for itself in a short time.
