HP Z3100 & recieving stellar service & support

[Rocco Penny]

There is no better deal than I got.
Bought the unit from the original owner and as the second owner requested service right away explaining the exact situation.  The warranty period had been expired for some short duration (weeks, or possibly as much as a month or even 2-I'm sure it was less than 2)
The HP phone support got huffy with my original intent of just having the new starwheel assembly and pinch-rollers installed.  I inquired about price and they said over a grand. I asked to be treated fairly with the install of a 20 dollar part and with all things being equal wouldn't it behoove them to relent on this and finally they extended my warranty for a month to include the local HP tech's onsite service and parts to replace the rollers and starwheel assembly.  This is in addition to spending time with me on-line and on the phone sorting out the newest drivers, firmware, and additional ICC's.
I contacted them yesterday regarding faulty lots of pro satin photo and if my roll was included in any recall or replacement program.
They said sure, give us your Z3100 serial number and we'll check.
I wondered just why she'd want that. I gave it to her.
To my surprise she responded that since my machine's warranty period will continue through 6/2010  with full on site and remote service, she would be happy to oblige and send me a roll of replacement paper for the possibly faulty paper and a shipping label for me to send the unused portion of my roll to them for further testing.
I opened my account on HP's  home website, looked up my previously expired warranty(I know it was expired), and lo and behold, there it is plain as day.
Full warranty through 6/2010
The machine's original owner was having difficulties communicating, and I wonder if he did mention something like "there was some kind of warranty extension plan, but it expired"
I looked up the warranty for my machine when I first received it and it had expired just weeks before I bought it.
So I thought it was the kindness of the corporation that was responsible for the 1 month warranty period extension that got me the new parts installed.
Now they gave me an extra year?
Hmm, I wonder if the original owner didn't have a 3 year warranty plan in the first place and its just now shaking down and showing up again in my account?
What did they do?
Smoking deal for my printer and thanks for the replacement paper HP
Now if I could get good at it...
Rocco Penny

[deanwork]

I actually found that I didn't  need the tan pinch rollers after they installed the revised new star wheel assembly that comes standard on the Z3200 model.

Other than the bad batch of Pro Satin that they let go way too long, I haven't had any complaints about Hp service on the Z. I thought the 3 year extended warranty for $1500.00 was very reasonable and it covers everything on site.
j

[Colorwave]

I'm still trying to get the tan pinch rollers installed and they keep telling me they don't know anything about them and as far as they are concerned they don't exist. What in the world  happened to Ben Wolf who was watching out for this?

I even sent them the pdf of how to install them and still nothing.

j

John-
I got this run around early on in the process, and had the same issue as you.  I emailed them the installation instructions, and they said that they must have been forged by a third party.  I told them that I knew someone who had beta versions installed by HP, and they in essence called me a liar.  The tech support technician supposedly went up the chain of command and nobody knew about it at the time.  It took me a while to get over the anger this instilled, but I tried again a few months later and suddenly I was no longer a liar, as they knew about it.  What about giving them the part number, though?  Now that the part numbers are known (and on the Z3100 wiki), how can they still deny it?

[deanwork]

Thanks a lot, I appreciate it.  I will locate that part number on that new site and send it to my technician.

By the way have you noticed a meaningful difference with the tan rollers on say the baryta papers? I have seen pressure marks on Photorag Baryta with large prints, but it goes away in a couple of days, but is scary nonetheless. I do have the new starwheel assembly installed.

John

John-
I got this run around early on in the process, and had the same issue as you.  I emailed them the installation instructions, and they said that they must have been forged by a third party.  I told them that I knew someone who had beta versions installed by HP, and they in essence called me a liar.  The tech support technician supposedly went up the chain of command and nobody knew about it at the time.  It took me a while to get over the anger this instilled, but I tried again a few months later and suddenly I was no longer a liar, as they knew about it.  What about giving them the part number, though?  Now that the part numbers are known (and on the Z3100 wiki), how can they still deny it?

[Colorwave]

Thanks a lot, I appreciate it.  I will locate that part number on that new site and send it to my technician.

By the way have you noticed a meaningful difference with the tan rollers on say the baryta papers? I have seen pressure marks on Photorag Baryta with large prints, but it goes away in a couple of days, but is scary nonetheless. I do have the new starwheel assembly installed.

John

Yes, it has eliminated roller mark issues for me.  I had issues with Harman Gloss paper, which they eliminated.  Lame as it sounds, when the technician calls to schedule an appointment, ask him to inspect the parts he was sent.  Mine had to catch a plane to get to me, so out of caution he opened them first to inspect them.  Lo and behold, they were the old black ones in a box with the new number.  He sent them back and got the new tan ones the second time.  He said that they had been having issues with parts not matching up with their part number since switching their parts operation to Central America.  The two different roller types do indeed have different part numbers.

[Rocco Penny]

Well, less than 24 hours later and I have my new box of pro satin photo.
No shipping label for the return of my old  roll though.
Maybe they don't really want it.
I wonder if I somehow fit a profile they know how to handle and some others don't.
Like saying the right thing to them on the phone or in chat or something.
Like maybe please and thank you are the only criteria or something.

There is something odd about the unevenness of people's experiences with HP and the Z3100.
No real continuity of service or commitment.
I was treated like their most important customer.
deanwork was treated as their least important.
Makes no sense at all unless you are treated simply the way the support team member you reach feels at the time.
Maybe like helping, maybe not?
There is something askew in the fundamental set-up.
Hope you all have the opportunity to be treated by HP as I've been treated.
They've been fabulous partners in my ownership plan.
OK hope this post isn't dumb
Rocco

[Colorwave]

Rocco-
I can't speak for others, but I have had both extremes of service. I'd say mostly positive experiences, but I've most definitely come across some very ill informed support technicians.  Almost all seemed to want to help, although I've spoken with a couple of more ambivalent types.  Thankfully most have not been like that, but I can assure that I have never been less than polite and have played along with them even when they have insisted on doing some of the idiot check steps that I know are not going to be helpful in my case.  I even kept my cool when they suggested that I was talking about new pinch rollers that were ABSOLUTELY NOT made by HP.  HP is a huge company, with one of the world's worst websites (that they are forced to rely on for reference), and they suffer from the typical left hand/right hand communication issues you might expect with their size.  Unfortunately, the two people who came close to calling me a liar did not believe that I could be more informed about a new design than them and their second level advisers.  That issue aside, I think a large measure of my complaints about them being ill informed stem from the fact that first level tech support technicians do not specialize on a particular model, and are trained to advise all Designjet customers and products, which span a rather wide gamut.

[artobest]

My experience with HP support for the Z3200 has been overwhelmingly positive. No effort has been spared to get me up and running, including sending me a new motherboard for the machine (the original had a faulty Hitachi HD), and multiple call-backs on their initiative to make sure everything is running smoothly, even when the issue was my fault (a misunderstanding I had with the APS software). Very skilled and experienced techies on the line, too.

[deanwork]

Well evidently these hard drives are flawed. They had to come and and replace my logic board too after a year and a half. They should be nice about it. I would have just run out of warranty and paid through the nose to replace mine if I hadn't signed up for the extended warranty. By all means do that if you guys haven't already.

My tech was very nice also and I like him and he said the same thing - the Hitachi hard drive was bad. I said why. He said just being used I guess. I said wow so soon, why are you replacing the entire logic board when you can see that these little hard drives are easily removed from the board and replaced. He said that is just what we are told to do its faster. Interesting, but expensive.

These Zs are amazing machines in my opinion and I wouldn't trade it for a 9900,  but delicate electronically. The moral of the story is keep them in warranty or you will be sorry.

john

My experience with HP support for the Z3200 has been overwhelmingly positive. No effort has been spared to get me up and running, including sending me a new motherboard for the machine (the original had a faulty Hitachi HD), and multiple call-backs on their initiative to make sure everything is running smoothly, even when the issue was my fault (a misunderstanding I had with the APS software). Very skilled and experienced techies on the line, too.

[Colorwave]

Agreed.  I've had my formatter (motherboard, hard drive) replaced twice.

[rdonson]

I've had a lot of work performed on my Z3100.  The service tech was great!  It took four visits to completely fix everything.  I was rewarded for my patience by HP with a load of free ink.

I'm not sure I agree that everyone always have a service contract in place all the time although that certainly simplifies things.  HP makes it possible to purchase a 1 year service contract for ~$800 after the warranty period.  part number UK506PE or UF046PE.  You get all the same great service with this HP Care Pack.  You have to figure out the economics for you on the various Care Pack offerings.

As others have said, I just wish their software was up to the Z3100 printer.  Its a shame that it distracts from such a good printer.  It has improved but incrementally.

[deanwork]

God. And that is about 3 grand if you didn't have the extended warranty. I rest my case.

Agreed.  I've had my formatter (motherboard, hard drive) replaced twice.

[Rocco Penny]

I was wrong.
4 months out of warranty when I was given the extension. For sure valid till june.  That's a full year's extension for 0.00
I feel like I won the lottery.
I'm working on it now.
How do any of you control humidity in a converted space?
I'm fully insulated, but have interior moisture due to the nature of the space.
150 year old shotgun shack in the sticks trying to be used for what it isn't.
Have a nice commercial size air purifyer particle remover,  and it serves doubly keeping the goats from coming in anymore so that's a help, but the constant onslaught of pure and crisp foggy sea breezes that causes flash rust overnight and misery for so many tourists in their nice but wet sleeping bags,
has the R^&*$ ing paper in my house giving me anxiety.
I'd like to control the humidity to the allowed specification for my machines no matter the conditions outside.
How do you do it in a simple installation?
Thanks,
Rocco
ps
So yeah rollers;
This was a very common repair according to the local guy. There was a service letter allowing the tech call and parts for it.
Anybody that says different is uninformed.
It supposedly was just out of date and expired by 2 months is where I got that first less than 2 month's thing in the first post.
I believe it allowed even out of warranty machines to be retrofitted with the wheels and rollers.
IDK  all I did was ask.
This humidity is killing me...

[Rocco Penny]

My satisfaction grows each day.
I've been using primarily 5 different rolls, and Harman matt
The driver does odd things
and my formatter finally died
I suspect the dust of rustication to be a contributor-
Called HP professional business support for phone consultation and instruction on how to proceed.
A bad formatter is what the phone support lady told me I had.
She scheduled a technician to come the very next day.
I wasn't here but the chick that comes around was here and tells me we had a new electronic module installed.Flawless performance so far, and much faster and snappy in both the diver andprinter behavior.
OK absolutely satisfied second owner of this machine
HP treats me like they think I'm a VIP
Such a very good outcome that I had to crow about them...
thank you
Rocco