New Printer Advice

[maxs]

So I just sold my Z3200PS after only owning it for 3 years.

What I liked was the ability to print giant prints.
What I hated was the antiquated interface.

Given I am just a casual/hobbyist photographer it was just taking up too much room in my house. Also the fact that it had to be left on...but I guess that was not too much of an issue.

So now I am wide open to getting something else.
Not sure on size, def can go smaller. I keep reading about printers dumping ink for cleaning and that is one thing I never saw happening with the Z3200. So I guess from that perspective it was economical.

What do you guys suggest?

[vrkaya]

Hi,

I've been very satisfied with the Epson SureColor P800 but I think the P900 is now out. No clogs at all, a little bit of learning curve to get used to loading fine art paper from front (turn off the skewed alarm!) and I bought the roll attachment to print from the 17" rolls (always trim leading edge to be squared up before loading) but the prints are excellent. I had some initial trouble setting it up but received great help on this forum.  I have two of them and have been very happy (along with my customers) with them for my photography and art reproduction printing ~ quality is exceptional. I print from Lightroom.

Regards,
Ron

[BobShaw]

So I just sold my Z3200PS after only owning it for 3 years.

Given I am just a casual/hobbyist photographer it was just taking up too much room in my house.

What do you guys suggest?

I think the first thing to decide is if you actually need a printing machine vs a guy who prints.
I keep a spreadsheet of my printing costs on the P800 and after two years the average cost per print is coming down, but the initial cost of the printer plus a set of inks (you only get "starters") is quite high.
Plus as you indicate the space cost if you can value that.

The P800 has been fine though, but as indicated there is now a newer one.

[digitaldog]

I'd agree; my experience with a P800 has be rock solid. Since there is a newer unit, you might get a P800 for a deal these days.

[sbay]

I had the Z3200 and then downsized to a P800 after moving. From my perspective the Z3200 was a dream machine with the exception of size, fan noise, and the disintegrating carriage belt. I didn't have any problems with the interface (don't remember it being problematic). For the fan noise, I just turned the machine off when I wasn't printing.

I guess you need to decide how large you want to print first. I switched to the P800 (17") and I mostly use it for proofing larger prints that are going to the lab. It is an amazing printer that has the smallest footprint in the 17" class. But it hasn't been as trouble free as my old Z3200 (occasional clogs, paper loading issues).

[kers]

I had the Z3200 and then downsized to a P800 after moving. From my perspective the Z3200 was a dream machine with the exception of size, fan noise, and the disintegrating carriage belt. I didn't have any problems with the interface (don't remember it being problematic). For the fan noise, I just turned the machine off when I wasn't printing.

I guess you need to decide how large you want to print first. I switched to the P800 (17") and I mostly use it for proofing larger prints that are going to the lab. It is an amazing printer that has the smallest footprint in the 17" class. But it hasn't been as trouble free as my old Z3200 (occasional clogs, paper loading issues).

how does the print quality compares?   Z3200 vs P800?  depending on the paper i presume?

[sbay]

how does the print quality compares?   Z3200 vs P800?  depending on the paper i presume?

I didn't have the printers at the same time (a bit of gap between them) so I don't have side-by-side comparisons of the same image. Also I switched papers over time -- mostly printing on satin with the HP but using more fine art papers with the epson (baryta, platine, etc). But I thought the quality was very good on both of them and not a reason to choose one or the other. The HP has gloss enhancer but the slight amount of bronzing on the P800 doesn't bother me.

The HP however, with the exception of carriage belt, was way easier to maintain. The P800 is supposed to be relatively clog free for an epson but I still get occasional clogs that require cleaning cycles. I've also had problems feeding cut sheets of the thicker papers on the P800 but in fairness the HP was using roll paper so not really an apples to apples comparison.

[sportmaster]

I love the old HP Z3200 for it's reliability and low cost of operation.  Since my machines are out of warranty I buy expired inks and print heads which lowers operating costs dramatically. It makes large format printing affordable for non-commercial hobbyists.

[maxs]

Thank you to all those that provided your opinions.

Sounds like the Epson P800 or the newer P900 might be an option. I am still deciding if I want to go down all the way to 17” or maybe go 24”’ or bigger 🤔

I am going to turn a blind eye to cost as this is purely a hobby and I will never recoup my investment. Just looking for best quality prints color and black/white.