HP Z series Customer Support Phone Number?

[foto_man]

Hi everyone,

I have a question re: the z3100 and am trying to reach some in HP tech support. I'm having the darndest time reaching anyone who knows about these printers.

I've been jumping thru the HP phone system for 30 minutes now.

If anyone has a direct 800 number for the tech support for the Z series, I will GREATLY appreciate it.

Thank you

[jasdown]

Not "Z" specific but, in days of yore (when my Z was still under warranty), it used to be 1-800-334-5144, followed by saying the code word "Designjet" when prompted.

[foto_man]

Thanks Jasdown.

I got thru to someone after a trip around the phone center globe.

Here's a question I have:

The support tech told me that with the new bigger z series printers (z6200, z6800), the post script had to be purchased or the machines will not be able to "speak" with Apple computers.

Either that or having a 3rd party RIP (she stated Caldera as the only one she knew of) that's even more expensive than the HP post script.

Can anyone confirm this? Is there a work around?

Any help is much appreciated.

[Phil Indeblanc]

Funny I too had a conversion today about RIP with HP.

I have purchased EFI XL 5.1 HP RIP, and the tech support told me they don't support the rip any longer. If I already have it installed on one system and need to move it to another computer, I would not be able to uninstal/move, as the key would first need to be unregistered with their system. HP will not uninstall the key. EFI says this version is only HP supported not them. So any support for it has to be initiated from HP for them to act.

So I'm forced to buy another non-HP rip via EFI for $1700 or continue using the EFI on an exisiting system.

Further more I learned that the EFI 5.1 rip is only good for the Z2100 or 3100 series and not made for the z3200. It will also work on the HP 130.  But for proofs from the z3200 I would have to do it direct via EFI.

[foto_man]

Funny I too had a conversion today about RIP with HP.

I have purchased EFI XL 5.1 HP RIP, and the tech support told me they don't support the rip any longer. If I already have it installed on one system and need to move it to another computer, I would not be able to uninstal/move, as the key would first need to be unregistered with their system. HP will not uninstall the key. EFI says this version is only HP supported not them. So any support for it has to be initiated from HP for them to act.

So I'm forced to buy another non-HP rip via EFI for $1700 or continue using the EFI on an exisiting system.

Further more I learned that the EFI 5.1 rip is only good for the Z2100 or 3100 series and not made for the z3200. It will also work on the HP 130.  But for proofs from the z3200 I would have to do it direct via EFI.

Hey Phil,

The retailer gave me 2 options: Buy the HP Post script for 1700 or Caldera for 1995. Now, mind you, if I owned a crappy dell running windows, I would not need either the HP or the Caldera.

But because I run OsX on a Mac platform, I am being punished for it. I have the z3100 and it did not need the post script. It works just fine "speaking" to my mac to run prints.

This is really ridiculous, that we have to spend extra $$ for a widely used operating system that is, in my opinion, much more reliable and stable.

[Phil Indeblanc]

No, not PS.  It is a RIP(uses ps, but don't mix up the 2, as there is the ps version in hardware with the printer)

What you can do is buy this below...as it is the SAME RIP as I have now...
Product # Q6643D

This is now available on ebay from UK for under $600. I paid around $1k, but I have now seen it for around $600 once in a while.

I should sell you mine, as, according to the HP rep.... It is not designed for the z3200 since the red ink and some calculations are different.

One more thing regarding PS. Since the z3200 has a ps hardware version, he said it would be illegal for me to upgrade my photo version to the PS version due to adobe licensing. This too costs about $500 to do.

[foto_man]

Hi Phil,

I think there is some confusion.

I do not need the PS or RIP for my z3100.

I am looking into getting a z6200. That is the machine that will not "speak" to Mac's unless you upgrade to the PSversion (+1700 extra) or buy a 3rd party RIP like Caldera (+1995 extra).

However, that same z6200 has no problem and needs no further purchases past the printer if you are running a window's machine.

That is my point: I am being punished by having to spend extra $$$ if I want to run the z6200 with my mac.

[Phil Indeblanc]

Yes, I read your first post, and not your follow up :-)

Btw, what will you use the RIP for?
As I see a few main functions it can serve: 1 being the color proofing-linearization, and 2, ganging up the jobs to use space properly.

[foto_man]

Hey Phil,

No worries.

That's just it: I don't NEED the RIP for any other purpose than to have the HP printer talk to my computer! It's going to cost 2k extra just to have the darn thing print a print!!

That's what really gets my goat. I have a great cpu system that I'm really happy with and I know how to use. I even have another HP Z series printer that works just fine with it.

But because I want to give HP more business, I have to pony up an additional 2k!!

[Phil Indeblanc]

ITs odd that the new printers will not print via a MAC.

Mark Linquist here uses Parallels to run Windows and prints. Maybe you can go that route.  He has many posts you can read through.
He is very experienced in this, and very helpful.

[Ernst Dinkla]

Hey Phil,

No worries.

That's just it: I don't NEED the RIP for any other purpose than to have the HP printer talk to my computer! It's going to cost 2k extra just to have the darn thing print a print!!

That's what really gets my goat. I have a great cpu system that I'm really happy with and I know how to use. I even have another HP Z series printer that works just fine with it.

But because I want to give HP more business, I have to pony up an additional 2k!!

While a Mac could be a nicer machine for image editing etc (it did not suit me though) it has not been an ideal system for driving printers lately. Way less RIPs run on Macs than on PCs, OEM printer drivers more often went obsolete on Macs than on Windows PCs, color management issues were happening less on W PCs and if they occurred they could be cured with alternative methods.

With that in mind you may consider a cheaper route by getting a Windows PC as a print server, install Qimage Ultimate, install the Z6200 driver and save the Mac's full power for image editing before the file is transferred.  $500 should be enough budget for that purchase. The only risk is that you may get fond of Qimage Ultimate on Windows.

Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
December 2014 update, 700+ inkjet media white spectral plots

[foto_man]

Hi Ernst,

That is a good solution. I generally avoid windows machines if I can. W/my z3100, I let photoshop handle the colors and then hand it off to the HP software to print.

If I'm understanding you correctly, in your scenario, I would do all the image editing on the Mac, transfer the file to the PC running the Qimage RIP and let it handle the colors. Then it "hands off" to the HP machine to print, is that correct?

Which PC machine do you recommend? Running the latest Windows OS I am assuming? This may work. I do appreciate it.

Is there a major difference in file formats (I tend to run & save my images as .PSD files) between the PC version and the Mac version as far as colors are concerned?

Thanks again.

[foto_man]

Hey Phil,

Parallels is a software program that let's Macs' run Windows OS software, is that correct?

[Phil Indeblanc]

I agree a dedicated PC machine would be best, as I found this to be the case for me. Oddly enough I moved my editing to PC as well, but thats another story.

Yes Parallels runs Windows.  But if you have a choice in OS, I decided to stick to Win7 at this point. I think I read someplace all functions and srelated software like a rip , etc work with no glitches on 7  vs 8.

[Ernst Dinkla]

Well soon I guess you do not have to pay for a Windows OS so either 7 or 8. Get a secondhand Dell, Lenovo or HP if you do not like to build it yourself. No need for good color on that machine/monitor but a large monitor is handy for nesting images on the print page with Qimage. Export flat Tiffs to Qimage Ultimate, better compatibility including the virtual size they can get in Photoshop. Images like that are not altered on the PC but at most archived there for repeat printing jobs. Even 100% quality JPEGs would be good enough if 8 bit definition is sufficient. Color space assigned files and the LCMS color engine of Qimage Ultimate will produce the same color your Photoshop on the Mac does. Qimage Ultimate can handle RAW files too for the occasion when there is no time or need for precise RAW development, it does holiday snaps fast and good.

Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
December 2014 update, 700+ inkjet media white spectral plots

[Mark Lindquist]

I run windows 8.1 Pro using VMWare on a Mac Tower. 
Unfortunately, the Mac version of HP Utility has been degraded as they have released new versions of Utility.
There is no longer a GUI for paper preset management, just some arrows and dropdowns.  Big disappointment.

Now I prefer running my Zseries printers in Windows, and thanks to Ernst and Hugo and others, I do print largely with Qimage Ultimate.  It's very easy to drag and drop image files from the Mac into a folder on the virtual Windows machine, then print either with Qimage or CC products.

I prefer using this method to getting a separate machine to be usede as a server, since file sharing is seamless via VMWare, which works flawlessly.

There is no question, however, Windows is the way to go now.  8.1 Pro is great.  I have found the drivers and utility quite stable.  It's nice to have so many printing choices, as sometimes I still use photoshop or lightroom directly on the Mac.

Easy Peasey.  Finish your image on the Mac.  Drop it into a folder on your Windows machine running on your Mac, then print with your choice of programs.

Piece of Cake once you get used to it.  VMWare is pretty reasonable, Photoshop CC and Lightroom can be installed on that Windows machine for free, if you already have it on your Mac, and Qimage Ultimate is like $100.00.

Way cheaper than a crappy windows computer, and works seamlessly with VMWare.

Badda bing!  Best of both worlds.

-Mark

[foto_man]

Hi Ernst,

Thanks for the info. This is very useful. I'm looking into it now.

[foto_man]

I run windows 8.1 Pro using VMWare on a Mac Tower. 
Unfortunately, the Mac version of HP Utility has been degraded as they have released new versions of Utility.
There is no longer a GUI for paper preset management, just some arrows and dropdowns.  Big disappointment.

Now I prefer running my Zseries printers in Windows, and thanks to Ernst and Hugo and others, I do print largely with Qimage Ultimate.  It's very easy to drag and drop image files from the Mac into a folder on the virtual Windows machine, then print either with Qimage or CC products.

I prefer using this method to getting a separate machine to be usede as a server, since file sharing is seamless via VMWare, which works flawlessly.

There is no question, however, Windows is the way to go now.  8.1 Pro is great.  I have found the drivers and utility quite stable.  It's nice to have so many printing choices, as sometimes I still use photoshop or lightroom directly on the Mac.

Easy Peasey.  Finish your image on the Mac.  Drop it into a folder on your Windows machine running on your Mac, then print with your choice of programs.

Piece of Cake once you get used to it.  VMWare is pretty reasonable, Photoshop CC and Lightroom can be installed on that Windows machine for free, if you already have it on your Mac, and Qimage Ultimate is like $100.00.

Way cheaper than a crappy windows computer, and works seamlessly with VMWare.

Badda bing!  Best of both worlds.

-Mark

Hey Mark,

Thanks for the feedback. I'm running 10.5.8 right now on my Mac. Will VMWare work on this version of my OS?

[Mark Lindquist]

Hey Mark,

Thanks for the feedback. I'm running 10.5.8 right now on my Mac. Will VMWare work on this version of my OS?

Yes.  VMWare fusion will work with any mac running an intel processor.

I assume you are aware that 10.5.8 (Leopard) has long since not been supported?

The eventuality of upgrading to at least Macericks is looming on the horizon.

Knowing you are on such an antiquated machine, perhaps you might be better served to buy a good windows machine.  You have a choice; run vmware, or get a windows machine.  Both will work well.

-Mark

[foto_man]

Yes, good old 10.5 is ancient by today's standards. Yet, she keeps running and running.

I'm thinking the dedicated windows box is the best solution as well.