Z3200 not printing

[abiggs]

This is a weird one. Today I started to print a large print job, and when I send a 44x96" image to the printer the printer never receives it and the print queue on my machine doens't have the print job show up at all. Weird. I have reinstalled the printer driver, deleted and re-added the printer using both Bonjour and HPIP, and nothing seems to work.

Any ideas? I am on the latest Z3200 firmware, latest HP utility and driver, all on OSX 10.4.

[abiggs]

Some more data. My image to be printed is a 44x110 inch banner. The printer driver keeps warning me:

"To use 'Manual Feed': select a custom paper size .......to a max height of 66 inches"

I have selected the roll paper option, not custom. Perhaps it is because I am doing a custom page size of 44x110?

[abiggs]

The more I dig into this, the more I learn (duh). Looks like I am definitely limited to 44x66 inches as my largest canvas for a custom size. Since the Z3200 doesn't have any large standard sizes, I am stuck. Time to put the print job on my iPF8100, I guess.

What doesn't make sense is that the printer driver allows you to click print, even though the job never gets sent to the spool. I didn't notice the small, blue warnings on the right hand side, and these have to be read and cleared somehow before the print job will actually go through.

[Ernst Dinkla]

The more I dig into this, the more I learn (duh). Looks like I am definitely limited to 44x66 inches as my largest canvas for a custom size. Since the Z3200 doesn't have any large standard sizes, I am stuck. Time to put the print job on my iPF8100, I guess.

What doesn't make sense is that the printer driver allows you to click print, even though the job never gets sent to the spool. I didn't notice the small, blue warnings on the right hand side, and these have to be read and cleared somehow before the print job will actually go through.

There were length limits with the plain Z3100 at 109" and something like 129" but never at numbers below that. The Z3200-PS goes way beyond that with the PCL3 driver and despite the 129" limit present in the paper size menu of the PS3 driver that one also should go beyond 129" according to a message on this forum. I think the plain Z3200 should at least do 109" and probably more. The optional HPGL2 driver will extend the length beyond that.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst Dinkla

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

[abiggs]

That is really weird, then. I looked on HP's web site, and it clearly says 66 inches for a custom size is the limit. Any ideas on how to trick the driver?

[Ernst Dinkla]

That is really weird, then. I looked on HP's web site, and it clearly says 66 inches for a custom size is the limit. Any ideas on how to trick the driver?

There's no trick needed. With Qimage as the application to print from and the plain Z3100 + PCL3 driver it is about 108+" that I can set in the driver and it will print. If I go beyond 109" it will still print but crop the width to about 10" or something like that. For me a fast indication that it will not do a longer length.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst Dinkla

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

[abiggs]

Ok. I must be stupid. Sanity check. I am printing from OSX 10.4 with Photoshop CS4. My image is 44x96", and I have set my page size to be 44x100" for some extra material at the top and bottom. Fairly straightforward. I have attached a quick screen shot of the printer driver with the warning at the bottom, saying that Manual Feed is limited to 66 inches. But I am selecting the paper source as Roll, so this makes no sense.

Any ideas?

[Ernst Dinkla]

Any ideas?

The wrong warning popping up and blocking the process.  The media selection on the printer is also set on "roll"?

If this is normal behaviour of the plain Z3200 with PCL3 driver then it has lost say 43" on the length limit if compared to the plain Z3100. It will be hard to explain that to the market.

There have been more contradictions in the length limits of the Z drivers. The Z3200-PS with the PS3 driver shows a 129" length limit but it can print longer (according a forum member here). The plain Z3100 with PCL3 driver showed a 91 meter limit while it can not get beyond 2.77 meter.


met vriendelijke groeten, Ernst Dinkla

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

[abiggs]

That is what doesn't make sense. I have the media on the printer also set to Roll, and I loaded the paper already and it is good to go. And double checked on the front panel.

Time to call HP on this one.