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Author Topic: HP Z3200 to good a deal to pass up?  (Read 27723 times)

kuau

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HP Z3200 to good a deal to pass up?
« on: April 18, 2009, 02:43:17 pm »

I am still in the marker for a home 24 inch printer and although I would love the new Epson 7900 it's hard not to take a hard look at the Z3200 with it's 1200.00 trade in program right now bringing the cost down to like 1732.00.
Any thoughts?
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kaelaria

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HP Z3200 to good a deal to pass up?
« Reply #1 on: April 18, 2009, 02:56:30 pm »

As a happy 3100 owner - I say don't hesitate.  Get it.
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viswan

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HP Z3200 to good a deal to pass up?
« Reply #2 on: April 18, 2009, 02:59:21 pm »

Quote from: kuau
I am still in the marker for a home 24 inch printer and although I would love the new Epson 7900 it's hard not to take a hard look at the Z3200 with it's 1200.00 trade in program right now bringing the cost down to like 1732.00.
Any thoughts?


For me that would be a no-brainer, the HP at that price is a STEAL!  no clogging ever, built-in profiler, SUPERB B&W printing, improved red gamut, starwheel problems largely fixed.  

My Z3100 produces gorgeous prints.  


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Ernst Dinkla

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HP Z3200 to good a deal to pass up?
« Reply #3 on: April 18, 2009, 03:29:55 pm »

Quote from: viswan
For me that would be a no-brainer, the HP at that price is a STEAL!  no clogging ever, built-in profiler, SUPERB B&W printing, improved red gamut, starwheel problems largely fixed.  

My Z3100 produces gorgeous prints.

And low cost of ownership. It is frugal on ink, both in printing and head maintenance.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst Dinkla

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doncody

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HP Z3200 to good a deal to pass up?
« Reply #4 on: April 18, 2009, 03:48:20 pm »

Quote from: kuau
I am still in the marker for a home 24 inch printer and although I would love the new Epson 7900 it's hard not to take a hard look at the Z3200 with it's 1200.00 trade in program right now bringing the cost down to like 1732.00.
Any thoughts?
Where did you find that pricing?

Don
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edt

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HP Z3200 to good a deal to pass up?
« Reply #5 on: April 18, 2009, 03:54:14 pm »

Quote from: Ernst Dinkla
And low cost of ownership. It is frugal on ink, both in printing and head maintenance.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst Dinkla

Try: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Wide_Inkjet_Printers/


Kuau,
Yes, I have a thought: Where can I buy a Z3200 at that price? Seriously. I was ready to buy the Z3200 but had 2 different dealers tell me why I should buy epson or canon rather than the Z.  One said "don't get the Z because I don't like gloss enhancer, with the new ink technology you don't need gloss enhancer." Another told me the Z had such a small color gamut, and how little support HP gives the fine art photography mkt. Wow, I thought why would they say small color gamut! I decided it had more to do with their own bias/relationships with their suppliers/profitability, etc.

In the face of confusion I was ready to spring for a Canon ipf 6100 since the price was so much less and everybody who has one seems to like it. If I can get the Z 24" model for under $2k that sounds like a no brainer. Am I missing something? Then all I have to do is decide whether or not to additionally install Qimage--which I'm told will make life manageable when I need to gang multiple small prints (which I have to do frequently). So where to get this price?
ET
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kuau

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HP Z3200 to good a deal to pass up?
« Reply #6 on: April 18, 2009, 03:58:38 pm »

Quote from: doncody
Where did you find that pricing?

Don

I just purchased it on ebay from : ewarehouse909
The price was 2932.00 includes free shipping,
Then I get 8% back from using live.com search so that was $200.00
Then I will get the 1200.00 trade in from HP
bringing the price down to
$1532.00 I guess you cant beat that.


Can anyone make some paper recommendations?

Steven
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howseth

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HP Z3200 to good a deal to pass up?
« Reply #7 on: April 18, 2009, 04:02:47 pm »

I have a Z3100. It cost $1000 more a year ago. The new Z3200 has to have more improvements - and is cheaper. Sounds like a good deal to me. I like my Z3100. I am not a high volume printer - but I care a lot about print quality. I get what I need from the Z3100. The HP people were helpful to me for my first year - and honored their warranty obligations.

Oh, I see you bought it. Paper recommendations? Way too personal and way too general a question, I think; what are you looking for? be more specific? - In general, I would buy a bunch of variety pacs - sample paper packets, from vendors, and go through them one by one.

Howard Seth Miller
« Last Edit: April 18, 2009, 04:08:54 pm by howseth »
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davewolfs

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HP Z3200 to good a deal to pass up?
« Reply #8 on: April 19, 2009, 12:42:54 am »

Don't forget that the current deal also include $300 in free HP paper.  This deal sounds tempting but I hear that HP support is absolutely terrible.  I've spoken with both Canon and HP pre sales and the Canon reps seem to be much more in tune with the product.

I also had the opportunity to speak with a Z3200 owner and based on their feedback of how dissatisfied they were with this printer I am apprehensive to step forward and purchase one regardless of price.

Their largest complaints were that the profiling solution did not always work optimally with NON HP paper and in fact required manual intervention which defeats the purpose of having the spectro, another complaint was that the paper presets are not selectable within the driver on OS X operating systems and must be manually selected on the machine itself.

Perhaps some Z3200 owners could chime in.
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kuau

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HP Z3200 to good a deal to pass up?
« Reply #9 on: April 19, 2009, 01:47:45 am »

Quote from: davewolfs
Don't forget that the current deal also include $300 in free HP paper.  This deal sounds tempting but I hear that HP support is absolutely terrible.  I've spoken with both Canon and HP pre sales and the Canon reps seem to be much more in tune with the product.

I also had the opportunity to speak with a Z3200 owner and based on their feedback of how dissatisfied they were with this printer I am apprehensive to step forward and purchase one regardless of price.

Their largest complaints were that the profiling solution did not always work optimally with NON HP paper and in fact required manual intervention which defeats the purpose of having the spectro, another complaint was that the paper presets are not selectable within the driver on OS X operating systems and must be manually selected on the machine itself.

Perhaps some Z3200 owners could chime in.
I guess with all printers, epson, canon. and hp talk to enough people and everyone will have a horror story. I am not to concerned about the onboard profiling solution. I can make my own using Moncao Profiler Pro and my old trust spectrolino / scan.  
I will check to see if the 300.00 paper thing is still going on.

In the mean time, I am looking for a high quality exhibition photo paper to use with the Z3200. Anyone try HP's Baryte Satin Art Paper or HP Professional Satin Photo Paper?

I also want to order some exrta ink, which colors are used the most?

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howseth

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HP Z3200 to good a deal to pass up?
« Reply #10 on: April 19, 2009, 01:49:33 am »

I can't see putting too much weight in a buying decision on pre-sales reps of any company. Or  based on one dissatisfied customer - though it might be tempting. The HP tech people who actually work with the machines have certainly helped me with my Z3100 when I needed to consult.  My spectro Z3100 profiling system works with the non - HP papers I use - I have not had big hassles getting a close match to my monitors - when using Photoshop CS3 soft proofing - and the Z3100 profiles. Will the Canon or Epson get your prints even more perfectly close to your monitor - with less hassle? I have no idea - that would be a good buying point in their favor, if true, of course. But who is informing you? a Sales Rep?

Still, If all these Canon, Epson, HP, printers are somewhat comparable - you might as well go with the one your most relaxed about buying - The choice is not life or death - unless one of these monsters collapses on you - the 24" printer I have is huge, Let alone the 44" one.

What bothers me the most about my printer is the cost of the HP extended warranty - that is my big complaint with the machine so far - (I am past the initial 1 year warranty now)

Howard Seth Miller

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Colorwave

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HP Z3200 to good a deal to pass up?
« Reply #11 on: April 19, 2009, 04:34:22 am »

Quote from: davewolfs
Don't forget that the current deal also include $300 in free HP paper.  This deal sounds tempting but I hear that HP support is absolutely terrible.  I've spoken with both Canon and HP pre sales and the Canon reps seem to be much more in tune with the product.

I also had the opportunity to speak with a Z3200 owner and based on their feedback of how dissatisfied they were with this printer I am apprehensive to step forward and purchase one regardless of price.

Their largest complaints were that the profiling solution did not always work optimally with NON HP paper and in fact required manual intervention which defeats the purpose of having the spectro, another complaint was that the paper presets are not selectable within the driver on OS X operating systems and must be manually selected on the machine itself.

Perhaps some Z3200 owners could chime in.
Only a lowly 3100 owner, but for my $0/02, HP tech support is often underinformed at the lower levels, but overall better than my experience with Epson.  I find the extended warranty to be expensive, but entirely worth it.
As for the profiling not working, I've only had an issue with very glossy highly textured canvas not profiling.  I've been pretty happy with APS profiling, which is all I've used.  The paper presets are chosen when loading and calibrating a paper on a Mac and are not selected on the printer itself.  You tell it what paper you are loading, but do not need to do anything else at the control panel of the printer.  I soft proof with my custom profiles in PS, and get very predictable results that almost always match my calibrated monitor.  Not sure what your friend is speaking of.  Yes, I have some complaints here and there, but I'd leap at the deal mentioned if I was shopping for a 24" printer.
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Ernst Dinkla

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HP Z3200 to good a deal to pass up?
« Reply #12 on: April 19, 2009, 06:48:43 am »

Quote from: davewolfs
Their largest complaints were that the profiling solution did not always work optimally with NON HP paper and in fact required manual intervention which defeats the purpose of having the spectro, another complaint was that the paper presets are not selectable within the driver on OS X operating systems and must be manually selected on the machine itself.

Perhaps some Z3200 owners could chime in.


A Z model that didn't work optimally with NON HP papers ........ compared to what optimal solution? one would ask.

There is a Z3100 and a Z3200 here. One can create custom media presets with ink limitation settings, drying time, etc and save them. HP  provides documents with recommended media presets for third party papers and documents that describe the ink limitation and ink channels used for the OEM media presets. The new paper + its media preset will be calibrated. 90% of the media can be custom profiled as well.  Exceptions are heavy textured media like some canvas qualities. The same qualities that require more attention with manual profile creation applications and hardware due to their surface. To put it short: there is no other manufacturer offering the same solution + cooperation for third party papers. A similar freedom is only possible with a RIP + Profile creation soft- and hardware that is much more expensive and may not do the job as good. There are right now possibly 2 or 3 RIPs + profile creating solutions that can cope with the recent N-channel printers (for all 3: Canon, HO, Epson) to a similar degree the Z model bundle has from the start.

No Macs here but I have not seen a Mac user message with a complaint about the media presets not selectable on the computer system itself. Everything described above is done on the system and then saved on the printer so other systems can synchronise to the new choices available.



met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst Dinkla

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http://www.pigment-print.com/dinklacanvaswraps/index.html


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deanwork

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HP Z3200 to good a deal to pass up?
« Reply #13 on: April 19, 2009, 01:01:06 pm »

Oh man that is a steal. I would go for it in a second. Wish I had money I'd buy  one. Read the reports on the Epson Large Format Group about the comments about the new 9900s clogging and wasting ink like mad. None of that here. I have the  Z3100 and it works great on a Mac platform. The new media presets like the HP Baryta Satin work very well on third party papers like Innova fiber gloss and Hahnemuhle Photorag Baryta. I use all kinds of third party media like Hahnemuhle, Innova, Crane, Breathing Color Canvas, fabrics, etc. No problem with that here.

john





Quote from: Ernst Dinkla
A Z model that didn't work optimally with NON HP papers ........ compared to what optimal solution? one would ask.

There is a Z3100 and a Z3200 here. One can create custom media presets with ink limitation settings, drying time, etc and save them. HP  provides documents with recommended media presets for third party papers and documents that describe the ink limitation and ink channels used for the OEM media presets. The new paper + its media preset will be calibrated. 90% of the media can be custom profiled as well.  Exceptions are heavy textured media like some canvas qualities. The same qualities that require more attention with manual profile creation applications and hardware due to their surface. To put it short: there is no other manufacturer offering the same solution + cooperation for third party papers. A similar freedom is only possible with a RIP + Profile creation soft- and hardware that is much more expensive and may not do the job as good. There are right now possibly 2 or 3 RIPs + profile creating solutions that can cope with the recent N-channel printers (for all 3: Canon, HO, Epson) to a similar degree the Z model bundle has from the start.

No Macs here but I have not seen a Mac user message with a complaint about the media presets not selectable on the computer system itself. Everything described above is done on the system and then saved on the printer so other systems can synchronise to the new choices available.



met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst Dinkla

New: Dinkla Canvas Wrap Actions for Photoshop
http://www.pigment-print.com/dinklacanvaswraps/index.html
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Roscolo

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HP Z3200 to good a deal to pass up?
« Reply #14 on: April 19, 2009, 01:39:53 pm »

Quote from: kuau
I am still in the marker for a home 24 inch printer and although I would love the new Epson 7900 it's hard not to take a hard look at the Z3200 with it's 1200.00 trade in program right now bringing the cost down to like 1732.00.
Any thoughts?

Get it. You won't regret it. Thousands z3100's sold, and the only complaints are from a tiny percentage you can research here on this forum.

Speaking for myself, I've been printing with a z3100 44" for 2 years. Not one clog. Print jobs are up. Shooting jobs are up. I don't get ANYTHING printed at any lab ever now - customers are much happier and buy more. Most importantly, my fine-art sales of my photographs are up, especially B&W (just got a check from a sale of a 32x40 B&W piece in a juried show). I've seen nothing that touches the z3100's B&W output. Gloss enhancer makes a huge difference, no metamerism.
« Last Edit: April 19, 2009, 07:27:17 pm by Roscolo »
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piko

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HP Z3200 to good a deal to pass up?
« Reply #15 on: April 19, 2009, 05:35:15 pm »

Quote from: kuau
I am still in the marker for a home 24 inch printer and although I would love the new Epson 7900 it's hard not to take a hard look at the Z3200 with it's 1200.00 trade in program right now bringing the cost down to like 1732.00.
Any thoughts?

Aloha,

I have just  purchased a new Z3100 for $1450.00 with no trade in.
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kuau

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HP Z3200 to good a deal to pass up?
« Reply #16 on: April 19, 2009, 06:04:08 pm »

Thanks for all the replies.
Sounds like I will be happy with my Z3200 when it shows up.
Since I just got the base model no APS. Is it best to use the onboard profiling spectro and software or will I get better results making my own with Monaco Profiler Pro and my old trusty spectrolino/scan setup?

Paper choices....
For printing color photos should I go for Crane Silver Rag or HPs' Baryte Satin Art Paper or HP Professional Satin Photo Paper?
Canvas. I have been running Fredrix 901WR and Fredix 777 is this compatible with the Z3200? What about coating? I have been using eco print shield any problems there??

Thanks
Steven

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Ryan Grayley

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HP Z3200 to good a deal to pass up?
« Reply #17 on: April 19, 2009, 06:50:45 pm »

Quote from: kuau
Canvas. I have been running Fredrix 901WR and Fredix 777 is this compatible with the Z3200? What about coating? I have been using eco print shield any problems there??

I have been using an HVLP spray gun to apply Matte Eco PrintShield to HP Matte Professional Canvas prints produced with a Z3200 and things seems ok so far except for two things. Firstly the Matte Eco seems to give a very slight sheen compared to the uncoated HP Matte canvas but it is minimal and doesn't worry me. Secondly, I had a nightmare with a defective batch of Matte Eco Printshield supplied by a UK retailer. A large proportion of the contents are sludge but I was told this was normal and the particles would disappear while rolling. When I mentioned that I don't use a roller and I use an HVLP spray gun the supplier told me I was being unreasonable.  A refund or replacement has not been forthcoming and so I had to buy another container of Eco Matte from a different supplier in Germany. This time the varnish was particle free and works great with my HVLP.

My Z3200 has been trouble free but I cannot say the same for my Epson 7900 which has been a support nightmare and is clogged almost every time I switch it on. I only bought the 7900 because I have been using a 9600 for about six years with no troubles apart from one or two minor clogs each year. I now realise that past performance counts for nothing and I won't be buying Epson again.

Although I think the HP Z3200 is rather ugly and I am a little doubtful about colour accuracy when profiling third party papers, the results on HP Pro Matte Canvas look great and I am growing to like this machine.
« Last Edit: April 20, 2009, 04:32:20 am by Ionaca »
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Geoff Wittig

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HP Z3200 to good a deal to pass up?
« Reply #18 on: April 19, 2009, 06:51:41 pm »

Quote from: kuau
Thanks for all the replies.
Sounds like I will be happy with my Z3200 when it shows up.
Since I just got the base model no APS. Is it best to use the onboard profiling spectro and software or will I get better results making my own with Monaco Profiler Pro and my old trusty spectrolino/scan setup?

Paper choices....
For printing color photos should I go for Crane Silver Rag or HPs' Baryte Satin Art Paper or HP Professional Satin Photo Paper?
Canvas. I have been running Fredrix 901WR and Fredix 777 is this compatible with the Z3200? What about coating? I have been using eco print shield any problems there??

Thanks
Steven

Paper preference tends to be a matter of personal taste.
At least with my Z3100, I find I cannot top the image quality of HP's professional satin. The surface is very unobtrusive, gamut and D-max excellent, and the weight is adequate. The plastic feel only matters if it's loose in a portfolio box.
Lots of folks love Crane silver rag on the Z3100; personally I just don't like the surface texture.

HP's Baryte satin fine art paper was a huge disappointment for me; the color gamut and texture are quite nice, but I consistently got nasty surface ripples (cockling) on any large print with significant shadow areas. Initially it was a disaster, because the paper buckled so much I was getting head strikes & zebra stripes on the prints. HP to their credit went so far as to modify their paper preset for a lighter ink load almost immediately when I lodged a complaint, and with the newer preset I no longer get head strikes, but the cockling is still objectionable. At least a couple of other folks have had similar experiences. If your prints are mostly high-key it may still work fine for you, but my photos tend to be dark & moody, so it doesn't work at all for me.

I really like several Hahnemuhle papers on the Z3100: photo rag pearl has a lightly textured surface basically identical to HP's baryte, but the paper is heavier so there's no cockling at all. It's the best for color images where red gamut is important. Probably my most-used paper for color.
Photo rag baryta has a better d-max, and its surface is a bit finer, with a fairly unobtrusive fine stipple similar to (but finer than) Epson premium luster's. On the downside, with the Z3100 it is really lacking in red gamut. For your Z3200, this may be much less of a problem. It's my favorite paper for black & white.
Finally, photo rag satin is really different. Color gamut is quite small, d-max nothing to write home about, but the surface takes on a subtle sheen that is quite beautiful for images not requiring neon color for impact. It provides a kind of attractive gloss differential that actually improves tonal separation in shadows.

Hope that helps.
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kers

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HP Z3200 to good a deal to pass up?
« Reply #19 on: April 19, 2009, 08:19:06 pm »

Quote from: kuau
I guess with all printers, epson, canon. and hp talk to enough people and everyone will have a horror story. I am not to concerned about the onboard profiling solution. I can make my own using Moncao Profiler Pro and my old trust spectrolino / scan.  
I will check to see if the 300.00 paper thing is still going on.

In the mean time, I am looking for a high quality exhibition photo paper to use with the Z3200. Anyone try HP's Baryte Satin Art Paper or HP Professional Satin Photo Paper?

I also want to order some exrta ink, which colors are used the most?


- do NOT buy HP baryte Satin art paper- it prints no deep blacks.  HP professional satin paper is the best they have - good for colour and BW

( at least try it HP baryte art first before buying a rol as i did- mistake)

colours that are used most: Gloss enhancer( not really a colour) and Light grey ( basic component of all colours)
« Last Edit: April 19, 2009, 08:20:44 pm by kers »
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