HP Z3200 and New Macs

[deanwork]

Does anyone know if I can run my Z3200 on Mohave or Catalina, or will I ever be able to?

It’s time for a new Mac .

John

[kers]

Mojave and the z3100 works fine...

The only thing i have lost ( already with OSX13 i believe) is the ending of a print directly after the photo. it now does the complete papersize.
I use the basic HP driver and photoshop

[deanwork]

I’m sorry Pieter,

I don’t understand,  missing the end of the photograph and does the complete paper size. I do mostly print on rolls.

Are you saying there are problems with borders within the paper size?

Mojave and the z3100 works fine...

The only thing i have lost ( already with OSX13 i believe) is the ending of a print directly after the photo. it now does the complete papersize.
I use the basic HP driver and photoshop

[kers]

I can imagine:

yes i am also talking about rolls...
i just checked again and at least on my machine the feature 'Remove Margins' is not working..
see the image below

[deanwork]

That doesn’t seem to a big deal unless you are printing close to a full bleed.

I use “ clip by margins” on the z3200 and I think the Z3100.

Anyway if Mohave , works at all on the Z3100 I’m pleasantly surprised, my main concern is the Z3200.

John

I can imagine:

yes i am also talking about rolls...
i just checked again and at least on my machine the feature 'Remove Margins' is not working..
see the image below

[kers]

That doesn’t seem to a big deal unless you are printing close to a full bleed.

I use “ clip by margins” on the z3200 and I think the Z3100.

Anyway if Mohave , works at all on the Z3100 I’m pleasantly surprised, my main concern is the Z3200.

John

sorry i just quickly translated my Dutch to English, but you get the point
I would be surprised if the Z3200 would not work on Mojave, but hopefully some other mac user will chime in.

[MHMG]

I have my Z3200PS running fine with the older HP color utility software on Mac Mohave. That said, since Catalina has been out for quite a while now, can one even buy a new Mac these days with Mojave installed? Anyway, the older HP color utility works as well as it ever did on my 2013 Mac Pro Tower running Mojave. I can also address the Z3200 using the newer HP "Designjet utility" with this computer. This newer Hp designjet utility adds support for my HP Z9dr model, and the Z3200 appears to be running well under the newer utility as well. It sees and communicates with both printers on my network and all prior Z3200 features are intact.

I have not moved to Catalina because I have some other important BasicColor profiling/evaluation software that I know won't make the leap to Catalina (this software is not 64bit compatible), so my plan is to lock down this particular Mac to Mohave for as long as it will stay running. That also means I, too, will be looking for a new Mac pretty soon just to stay current with everything else.

Although I have not tried Catalina yet, my guess is that HP has to keep the newer "Designjet Utility" up to date with Mac Catalina and beyond in order to satisfy it's Z6/Z9 customer base as well as other designjet models that use this software/driver utility. With any luck the Z3200PS will continue to go along for the ride

cheers,
Mark

[deanwork]

That’s all very good to know Mark. Appreciate the details.

I’m not buying a new Mac immediately but most likely will by the end of the summer.

Since I am priced out of the new Mac Pros,  at least for now, I’m seriously looking at one of the new powerful Mac mini’s that support two 4 k displays , up to 64 gigs ram, and a few thunderbolt 3 inputs. I think they could work fine for me for new and old equipment if the printer software is available.

The 2020 version is loaded with Catalina and the 2019 which is essentially the same thing, loaded with Mohave.

I hope HP does keep in mind all the previous Z community while supporting the Z9 and Z6 models. I can use my Windows box but would rather not have one device for working and another for driving printers.

John


quote author=MHMG link=topic=135462.msg1177311#msg1177311 date=1593548756]
I have my Z3200PS running fine with the older HP color utility software on Mac Mohave. That said, since Catalina has been out for quite a while now, can one even buy a new Mac these days with Mojave installed? Anyway, the older HP color utility works as well as it ever did on my 2013 Mac Pro Tower running Mojave. I can also address the Z3200 using the newer HP "Designjet utility" with this computer. This newer Hp designjet utility adds support for my HP Z9dr model, and the Z3200 appears to be running well under the newer utility as well. It sees and communicates with both printers on my network and all prior Z3200 features are intact.

I have not moved to Catalina because I have some other important BasicColor profiling/evaluation software that I know won't make the leap to Catalina (this software is not 64bit compatible), so my plan is to lock down this particular Mac to Mohave for as long as it will stay running. That also means I, too, will be looking for a new Mac pretty soon just to stay current with everything else.

Although I have not tried Catalina yet, my guess is that HP has to keep the newer "Designjet Utility" up to date with Mac Catalina and beyond in order to satisfy it's Z6/Z9 customer base as well as other designjet models that use this software/driver utility. With any luck the Z3200PS will continue to go along for the ride

cheers,
Mark
[/quote]

[shaun]

I would call HP and ask... I run 10.6.8 on a mac with z3100 as there is no support after that. Doesn't print the last inch or so of the print on later os.

[kers]

I would call HP and ask... I run 10.6.8 on a mac with z3100 as there is no support after that. Doesn't print the last inch or so of the print on later os.

I don't - and never had- that problem and i used OSX 10.9, 10.12, 10.13 and now 10.14. So i think you have a specific problem.
Try installing a clean system and try again.
What stopt working after 10.6 is the HP advanced profile solution... so for that reason i still use the old system for profiling.

[shaun]

 When I contacted Hp eventually after spending time on the forums troubleshooting I was told there is an issue and they are not supporting mac and the hpz3100.

[deanwork]

I keep an old 8 Core Mac running 10.11 just for the Z3100 but I would like to know the driver serial number and exact firmware you are using Pieter so I can make sure I have it here available should this old Mac stop working.


Most of the issues I have had in the past with the color center and profile creation were due to using the wrong Firmware version. They haven’t officially supported the Z3100 for a long time and I’d be surprised if they talk to you about the Z3200 either. But that doesn’t mean we can’t keep them working for a long time.

I want to keep one Mac running with current OS for most work, but I’m afraid with legacy printers we will just have to use legacy computers to send files to it. I’ve gotten used to this stuff because I still drive my drum scanner with an old restored Dell Pc running XP and it works great. Probably the easiest thing to do is buy an old MacBook Pro or windows 7 unit on EBay just for the z3100.

John

I don't - and never had- that problem and i used OSX 10.9, 10.12, 10.13 and now 10.14. So i think you have a specific problem.
Try installing a clean system and try again.
What stopt working after 10.6 is the HP advanced profile solution... so for that reason i still use the old system for profiling.

[kers]

I keep an old 8 Core Mac running 10.11 just for the Z3100 but I would like to know the driver serial number and exact firmware you are using Pieter so I can make sure I have it here available should this old Mac stop working.
...

I bought the first available machine  januari 1, 2007
So the oldest version i reckon.
Yes, i have an old macpro and a laptop capable of running OSX10.8 in case i need it...
It is amazing how long these computers last- in can still run 10.11 and 10.12 on them.

maybe the official support was short on the Z3100 but not one year... and i can still buy my special red ink.

i run the z3100 on a manual ethernet address. 192.168.2.2  connected to the 2nd ethernet port on my computer with 192.168.2.1...

[deanwork]

Thanks, same here, can’t believe mine is restored to like new and I rarely use it. It’s kind of a backup. These parts are modular and most 3200 parts are the same, so could have them for quite some time. I need to buy some red to hold onto though.

I bought the first available machine  januari 1, 2007
So the oldest version i reckon.
Yes, i have an old macpro and a laptop capable of running OSX10.8 in case i need it...
It is amazing how long these computers last- in can still run 10.11 and 10.12 on them.

maybe the official support was short on the Z3100 but not one year... and i can still buy my special red ink.

i run the z3100 on a manual ethernet address. 192.168.2.2  connected to the 2nd ethernet port on my computer with 192.168.2.1...

[kers]

There are some things that have never worked on the HPz3100, maybe they are only made for the z3200...or i am doing something wrong.
(Or maybe i have to try it in system 10.6?)
In the printer utility you can manage the paper and choose  ; 120% ink load and more gloss enhancer..
These choices are not working ; the numbers get reset to 100% after closing and opening the utility and i never saw a different result.
I just cleaned the z3100 and put anew belt in ; it is working fine now. This year i discovered that putting a second Gloss overcoat on a paper i often get a better gloss and deeper blacks...Still learning to use it after 13 years.

[deanwork]

Unfortunately I was also one of the first to buy the Z3100 after meeting some of the engineers in NY and was totally impressed, especially compared to our discussions with Epson, But I made the mistake of not buying the PS version, so much of my profiling capability was not available through color center, especially the ability to use expanded targets. After I bought the Z3200 I had the capability to create the targets on that printer, or even use Z3200 profiles in the Z3100 for bw and linearize them in the Z3100. I had better results making color profiles with my X-rite eye1 pro equipment. But have better results with Z3200 and 1700 plus patches.

If you do have the PS version I believe you need to update the firmware to their latest version before it stopped being updated.

My firmware Is TR-7.0.0.3

OS TR 2.1.2


Here is Marks Wiki - http://z3200.com/Repairing_HP-Z-Series_Printers-Intro-Z3200.com_Mark_Lindquist.htm

There are some things that have never worked on the HPz3100, maybe they are only made for the z3200...or i am doing something wrong.
(Or maybe i have to try it in system 10.6?)
In the printer utility you can manage the paper and choose  ; 120% ink load and more gloss enhancer..
These choices are not working ; the numbers get reset to 100% after closing and opening the utility and i never saw a different result.
I just cleaned the z3100 and put anew belt in ; it is working fine now. This year i discovered that putting a second Gloss overcoat on a paper i often get a better gloss and deeper blacks...Still learning to use it after 13 years.

[JeffSD]

Mark, thanks for the information, and the great work you do at Aardenburg Imaging.

I've been running a 5,1 hex core Mac Pro for a very long time while waiting (and saving) to purchase a 7,1, but Apple's announced move to Apple Silicon (ARM) processors for Macs has me questioning whether this is the right time to make the jump.

Anyway, my "classic" Mac Pro has a Radeon RX 580 GPU which is metal compatible and will permit a move from High Sierra to Mojave. Hearing that Mojave should play well with my Z3200ps was very helpful and I'm planning to update to Mojave this weekend.

I'll stop by to let folks know how it goes.

Best,
Jeff 

I have my Z3200PS running fine with the older HP color utility software on Mac Mohave. That said, since Catalina has been out for quite a while now, can one even buy a new Mac these days with Mojave installed? Anyway, the older HP color utility works as well as it ever did on my 2013 Mac Pro Tower running Mojave. I can also address the Z3200 using the newer HP "Designjet utility" with this computer. This newer Hp designjet utility adds support for my HP Z9dr model, and the Z3200 appears to be running well under the newer utility as well. It sees and communicates with both printers on my network and all prior Z3200 features are intact.

I have not moved to Catalina because I have some other important BasicColor profiling/evaluation software that I know won't make the leap to Catalina (this software is not 64bit compatible), so my plan is to lock down this particular Mac to Mohave for as long as it will stay running. That also means I, too, will be looking for a new Mac pretty soon just to stay current with everything else.

Although I have not tried Catalina yet, my guess is that HP has to keep the newer "Designjet Utility" up to date with Mac Catalina and beyond in order to satisfy it's Z6/Z9 customer base as well as other designjet models that use this software/driver utility. With any luck the Z3200PS will continue to go along for the ride

cheers,
Mark

[JeffSD]

I performed the upgrade to Mojave on my metal capable Mac Pro 5,1 this past weekend and all is well.

A firmware update was required, but it was automatic and easily done. Mojave installed to my OWC Mercury Accelsior PCIe SSD without a problem.

My SAPPHIRE Radeon PULSE RX 580 (8GB GDDR5) GPU has Apple graphics drivers built in, so there was no need to search for new drivers. My understanding is that this is not true for NVIDIA cards. 

After installing Mojave, the HP Utility loaded without any changes. My Z3200ps was recognized and all paper presets, printer usage data and job accounting information were retained.

Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop functioned properly.

I've been using my Z3200ps to print a series of A2 size photos. After the upgrade to Mojave, I crossed my fingers and printed the next photo in the series. The results of the print job were spot on.   

If you're thinking of upgrading a Mac to Mojave here's an article from OWC that discusses the process:

https://blog.macsales.com/45780-get-ready-for-macos-mojave/

Best,
Jeff

[deanwork]

Thank you Jeff. That’s very useful.

John

I performed the upgrade to Mojave on my metal capable Mac Pro 5,1 this past weekend and all is well.

A firmware update was required, but it was automatic and easily done. Mojave installed to my OWC Mercury Accelsior PCIe SSD without a problem.

My SAPPHIRE Radeon PULSE RX 580 (8GB GDDR5) GPU has Apple graphics drivers built in, so there was no need to search for new drivers. My understanding is that this is not true for NVIDIA cards. 

After installing Mojave, the HP Utility loaded without any changes. My Z3200ps was recognized and all paper presets, printer usage data and job accounting information were retained.

Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop functioned properly.

I've been using my Z3200ps to print a series of A2 size photos. After the upgrade to Mojave, I crossed my fingers and printed the next photo in the series. The results of the print job were spot on.   

If you're thinking of upgrading a Mac to Mojave here's an article from OWC that discusses the process:

https://blog.macsales.com/45780-get-ready-for-macos-mojave/

Best,
Jeff

[JeffSD]

You're very welcome, John.

Best of luck with your upgrade!