Nice "discovery"! As the printers were not even announced until less than a month ago, clearly anyone who has one has been testing it! Sheesh! I have to say, I resent your attitude. I would OTOH agree that anyone who recieves a free printer should definately disclose that, as it gives us more info. . .Marty, you've clearly got a big axe of your own to grind; it would be helpful if instead of running other members comments down, you clearly state your own opinion of the various options available to us.
Wlliam:
Whose posting did you read and respond to? You seriously need to read these postings more carefully, and not just tear off a response that doesn't speak to the points that are made. Because you certainly did not respond to what I wrote. Here is what I said about you: "William Morse, to his credit, voluntarily disclosed in a different thread that he received the Z3200 on a free loan from HP, and I commend him for doing so. Anyone else who is singing the virtues of the Z3200, and did not purchase the printer with their own hard-earned cash, should do the same."
I didn't criticize you, I COMMENDED you. So before you respond, read the comments more carefully.
As to your other point -- that you agree that anyone who receives a free printer either temporarily or permanently should disclose that. My point exactly. No one has done so except for you. In addition, you are flatly asserting that anyone who already has the printer clearly received it for testing, and I assume that means for free either on a temporary or permanent basis. Well, that means there are others who have NOT disclosed that. I call that a conflict of interest. They need to follow your example, and openly state their arrangement with HP. See my comments above that they are not in a position to respond with indignation, because unlike you, they did not honestly disclose their arrangement with HP.
Finally, I did not say that your views aren't legitimate or sincere. In point of fact, I said this: "At the outset, let me note that a person who receives free equipment might have sincere and positive comments." My main point that you ignored was this, and is about the unstated and sharply negative reviews from those who receive free equipment, and that will likely never be posted here: "But a less important and not publicly known individual could get cut off from free merchandise in a nanosecond after posting a sharply critical review. It is silly and just plain naive to try to tell us that is not the case. Such a person is far more likely to only share an extremely critical review on a private basis with HP and never post it here. Again, that person won't bite the hand that feeds them. And that would result in a skewed set of publicly posted positive reviews in this or any other forum. Which is why, for HP, this is a great way to ensure positive comments in reviews and on this forum. Providing merchandise for free -- either permanently or on a semi-permanent "loan" -- will do wonders with regards to guaranteeing rave reviews."
Finally, you asked what my own views are on HP. My views on HP have already been stated on this forum. If you want to know my views, just search on past postings. For the record, I paid for my printer, and I am not employed in any business related to photography or graphic arts. No conflict of interest in my case. Out of deference to my fellow forum members, there is no reason to repeat all of that here.
BUT FOR THOSE WHO ARE CONSIDERING THE PURCHASE OF A Z3200 I WILL BRIEFLY REPEAT TWO POINTS:(1) Based upon the TOTALITY of all comments posted on this forum in the last two years about Epson, Canon and HP, it is quite clear that
Epson has far superior customer and tech support.
HP receives many more complaints, and there are many more reports of problems with tech and customer support. There are far fewer negative reports about Epson. (And also fewer about Canon, specifically in the last year, as Canon appears to have improved in that regard, based on reports on this forum.)
Do NOT take my word for it -- and do NOT consider isolated or anecdotal comments from the HP fan club who will defend their purchase (or their free printer) until the end of time.
READ ALL OF THE POSTINGS -- ALL OF THE POSTINGS --
AND JUDGE FOR YOURSELF.
For that matter, just scan the topics and subject headings. They speak for themselves and pretty well tell the story of all the problems with HP and their tech/customer support.For starters, read the reports on the new firmware, and how the version for Windows wasn't posted, and Windows users had to download the Mac version. That alone speaks poorly for HP and is pretty remarkable. That has been happening for weeks, with endless complaints in this forum. Even more noteworthy, the new firmware allegedly caused serious hardware failures on early models of the Z3100. If those reports are accurate, and the hardware failure is not a coincidence (unlikely since it happened to two individuals and involved the same exact part) then that constitutes a text book case of incompetent tech support, since the firmware allegedly damaged the printer itself.
(2) In the case of the combined purchase of the Z3100 and the APS, and even after taking into account free paper or rebates, HP cut the price by an astonishing $800 in the first three months. Given that the economy is facing a down turn, it is likely that sales of consumer equipment will suffer. If past experience is a guide, HP may cut the price by $800 or more in the first three to six months.
My advice is to not buy a Z3200 immediately, and wait at least six months to see if HP cuts the price dramatically after only three months as HP did previously. Unless, of course, money is no object -- and you have money to burn.
Waiting patiently will also allow you to read the reviews of the new Epson printer when it is released. We only have a few isolated reports on the performance of that printer. The new Epson is likely to be superior to either the 3100 or the 3200 based on early reports, but there haven't been any side-by-side comparisons that I'm aware of. It also might sell for about the same price, but at that price not include a spectro.