I was fortunate enough to get a monster giclee order a few weeks ago-- it justified the purchase of an Epson 9900 to run alongside my HPZ3100 and to replace my Epson9500 (still running strong, by the way, and never knowingly had a head clog!). I thought I would share a few initial observations--
The Epson gets head clogs-- I had forgotten what a pain in the arse they are since I got rid of my Epson 4000 in disgust many years ago (I replaced it with a Canon ipf5000 which is not pretty in any way but never gets clogged heads so I am happy). Even worse the 9900 continues printing when it knows it has clogged heads (just cost me £60 in wasted HPR308)
Paper handling infinitely better on the Epson than the HP, in every way. From having the important bits (the paper) on top of the printer (not round the back, as on the HP, (a product of having to rely on gravity to keep paper in place rather than a vacuum I am guessing)) to the delightful roll holders which half the time it takes to change rolls in a confined space. The HP can take 4 or 5 attempts to load successfully if you are impertinent enough to present it with a cut sheet.
B&W is head and shoulders better on the HP than the Epson in terms of WYSIWYG (Calibration maybe accounts for this) and crucially neutrality of output straight from the box.
HP is stronger with the deep blues, where as Epson better with extreme oranges and greens-- dedicated inks explain this of course -- but it makes no difference in every day use.
Bronzing and metamerism is about even stevens between the two providing the GE is used with the HP on photo paper-- not relevant on matt for bronzing anyway.
It would be cheaper for me to purchase another used Z3100 (if it broke) purely for profiling via the APS utility than to get the spectro for the 9900.
These are the first printers I have had where I can fairly exactly match outputs on matt paper with little or no effort.
NEVER let an end of roll with sellotape disappear into an HPZ3100--- you will get ink encrusted footprints on the next 10 prints (assuming you successfully fish out the bits of errant tape)
The star wheels are still a pain with the Z3100 but only with certain very delicate media.--- not sure if this has been fixed with the Z3200
I find it amazing that I am even comparing 2 printers that are 4-5 years different in their ages. I guess this means we are, at last, dealing with a mature technology!
The Epson sounds like a Quantas Airbus taking off after having had a flock of seagulls for breakfast-- not good if your desk is right next to it.
I have just filled my first waste ink tank on the Epson-- after 2 weeks! (the weight of it made me cry)-- Having had the HP Z3100 a few years and I could not honestly tell you whether it has a waste ink tank.
The possibility of 700 mil carts on the Epson is a stroke of genius-- after 500m printing I was still only half way through my 350mil ones. 130mils on the HP's are ridiculously small, and with no option to go large; it was one of the main reasons for going for Epson 2nd time around. I will definitely be running 700mils carts on the colours that disappear the fastest, the light cyans, greys, light magentas and yellows.
The Epson still makes a song and dance about changing from matt black to photo black and back, and of course wastes ink in the process (not the half gallon it used to but still....!) The HP just does it, no extra button pushes, incantations or other bizarre unorthodox rituals.
Thoughts appreciated as although I have printed my first 1/2km of HPR308 I have still not ingested the instruction manual.
