Another plus for HP Z Series printers. I have a 44" Z3100, a 24" Z3200, a 44" Z3200ps and another new 44" Z3200ps coming on Tuesday.
There are so many advantages of owning the Z3200ps especially for occasional or light duty printing.
I like Canon's Glossy paper and use it in my Z's a lot.
The Z Series printers have quite a few Kudos:
The Z series really has stood the test of time, and in hindsight may very well be the most practical choice for photographers printing for themselves rather than trying to be in the print service provider business for others. The jury is truly still out on whether the latest Canon ink set has equal light fastness to the older LUCIA EX ink set, or whether Canon has elected to go backwards in light fastness meanwhile Epson has definitely moved the ball forward and closer to what HP accomplished with the Z's. I hope both Canon and Epson achieve parity with the HP Vivera Pigments, but I doubt any of the new printers exceed the Z's in print longevity ratings. With further print longevity testing, I would love to prove myself wrong
cheers,
Mark
http://www.aardenburg-imaging.com
Here are some of the advantages of this printer:
The printer is the most lightweight of all available today.
It has a proven track record of excellence
Printheads are inexpensive and easily user replaceable
Micro drop technology - little or no clogs when left alone for months at a time
Embedded spectrophotometer comes standard, no extra charge (all other printers are charged extra for embedded ESP)
Easy creation of in-house ICC profiles
Vivera inks have outstanding longevity and are in some cases still state of the art
One of the best printers for B+W - exceptionally neutral black and whites
No swapping inks for gloss or matte
12th cartridge is gloss enhancer - cuts bronzing way back on gloss and semi-gloss
The printer is easy to work on and there is a lot of documentation and an abundance of spare parts
It is the most printer for the least money on the market (currently $2,995 and free shipping at IPS)
Probably the simplest learning curve of all 44" printers today
There are some cons to this printer but most people who get them overlook them or use work arounds.
Loading sheets can be a pain - have to load from the back of the printer
Printer is slower in comparison to its counterparts
Can't use the internal cutter for cutting canvas (people use a blade in a conveniently located slot for cutting)
Sometimes software is finicky until HP updates it
There used to be a known issue with the carriage belt fraying. Now it appears they have improved that issue.
There are a few experts on this forum, Ernst Dinkla, Geraldo Garcia, John Dean and others who continue to use their HP Z3100 printers in addition to other Canon or Epson printers in their shops. Many people go out of their way to keep their HP printers going because of the quality they get.
This is not a production printer as such, as it will not be able to keep up with the new Epsons or the new Canons. But in terms of quality and print longevity, it a close race still. The printer has been at the forefront since it rocked the LF world in the beginning nearly 10 years ago and HP has maintained an "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" stance, only upgrading the Z3100 to the Z3200, with the inclusion of chromatic red. Now, HP continues to sell the post script version of the 3200 printer with no specific end of manufacture being disclosed. Could be next year, could be 5 years, could be who knows when. They must provide service and support at least 5 years after end date manufacture.
Unquestionably, the very best deal on a 44" printer today, particularly for light yet careful use, with expectations of excellence in output is the HP Z3200ps printer.
When a printhead goes bad, it's $70 for two colors. The Printer has 6 replaceable printheads. When one goes bad, it's an easy thing to replace it. Like putting in a cartridge. Not pulling the printer apart and replacing an entire printhead assembly.
Unquestionably, the new Canons and the new Epsons are exceptional printers. Put prints side by side with the HP Z3200ps, and it will be extremely difficult to say which is which, and in 200 years, all will likely be there.
Put the three printers side by side and leave them idle for 2 months, and I can almost guarantee the HPZ3200ps will print.
Don't know about the others.
I'm hoping to get some advise on a new 44" printer, and the one I've been looking at is the proGRAF 4000, but welcome other suggestions. I print mainly on glossy paper, mostly vibrant, highly saturated colors, so I'd like to have the widest gamut possible. The other very important factor is being able to replace the head manually, without having to pay Epson 2 grand every 2 years.
If that is the case, I recommend you look at the HP Z3200ps. No kidding.
Mark