Home > Consumer Reviews > HP Designjet Z3100 44-inch Photo Printer (Q6659A)

BE SURE YOU READ THE WHOLE REVIEW. THIS IS AN EXPENSIVE PIECE OF EQUIPMENT.

I got the ps GP model of this printer after about one and a half months wait. The printer wasn't in distribution yet when I ordered it from an HP reseller. While waiting for it I got the B9180.

The b9180 is very easy to operate, almost a no brainer and makes really great prints. This one however, for anything but the most basic photo/art printing takes a little bit more thought, but the results are nothing short of spectacular in my opinion. Why get a 44" printer? Why not? They cost a small fortune, ok, a used car, but they are very cheap per square inch to operate. Just set your print jobs up properly so you don't waste paper. I have wanted a wide format printer ever since I heard about them.

I just printed off a couple prints that were from Cruse 300dpi scans of my paintings. They match the originals very, very closely. This one and the B9180"s prints are rated at well over 200 years by Wilhelm.

September Update:

A little update on this printer. Be very careful with the prints, on the fine art paper they will scratch, on the photo paper they can get marks on them if you happen to rub across them with a finger nail. They won't fade for a very long time though, according to Wilhelm.

The eye one display calibration works, sometimes. Mine doesn't print directly out of Photoshop 7 either. You can work around, but not quite what I'd hoped for after that nice print plug in for the B9180. The prints are nothing short of spectacular however.


August 2008 Update.
I've had it over a year now. The prints scratch very easily it seems. Also occasionally little white specks show up on them, so then you have to reprint, I don't know how to repair the specks. I am guessing it is dirt on the paper as there is no cover for the roll paper. Also even with its self cleaning and all the other stuff, the printer does occasionally spit on the the prints. This from a machine that costs over $6000. Not the best I think. Prints look very nice usually. Nesting is not bullet proof either by any means. Sometimes a good portion of paper is wasted if you aren't extremely careful. Requires a bit of babying. I like the Post Script on the PS GP, colors match very well. I would not purchase this machine again because of the above problems however.

October 2008 update:
I doubt if I would buy another HP printer. I called them just to find out what type of canvas and protection spray would be the best to use in the printer. Since it is over a year old, the lady said there would be a $39.00 fee to speak to a tech. What???? I decided to go a different route. Don't believe every thing you read on the internet. Because of favorable "reviews" from web sites I assumed were knowledgeable I purchased this thing. Don't get me wrong, the prints are beautiful from it when they do not have tiny white specs on them. I am assuming this may be from dust particles on the paper, paper does not have a cover. It is simple enough to make another print albeit does add to the expense of using the machine which is suppose to be so cost effective. Well, that's my latest gripe. Prints are very accurate other wise however.

September 2009 The printer is still working. When it is babysat properly it is still producing very nice prints. No more HP for me ever though.

Update After 18 mo.

I did buy another for my business 6 months ago.
I agonized over the newer 3200, but it uses a differnt ink gamut, hence diffrent cartridges. There were no real driving features for the 3200 over another 3100 fro my business but the ink inventory.

After using the "new" one for dedicated poster prints, I did notice some flaking as per the other review. My other on did not, and the difference being my first and older 3100 is used for a variety of papers. So I did a switch of useage for a ouple on months an the "flaking" moved to teh old printer. The culprit? Dust. Though use for posters onjly, sometimes it would be days between print runs and it was always the kead in of the first print that had the problem.

I bought two 46" window shades (the spring loaded type) and secured the brackets to the rear of the printer with #8x 1/4" screws and keep the paper roll covered when not in use. Problem gone.

Funny that HP doesn't provide a paper roll cover in their design.

Same issue would apply to 3200 and any printer that has an exposed roll feed design.




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I'm not going to get into all the specs - you can read those elsewhere.
I have been using this since June 08 and will share some things.

FIRST - VISTA AND THIS DON'T WORK WELL. Enough said on that. I have reverted back to XP on all of my machines.
SECOND - CS3 and the HP drivers do not get along. Lots of threads on that elsewhere.
THIRD - You have to be very careful loading canvas or fabrics. Make sure the leading edges, especially the leadin corners do not curl upwards in the least, or you will get the head crashing into the paper and have to restart.
FOURTH - power on/off cycles use a lot of ink. I attached a $40 UPS to the leg and leave it on standby 100% of time. Problem solved (I live in an area where at least four or five times a week the building power would cycle for a fraction of a second. This wouold restart the printer and lead to a $5 loss of ink while it repurged and reset itself. - battery back up supply (UPS) paid for itself in a week).

Onto the solutions and positives.
I am actually glad that CS3 the HP drivers didn't get along. It forced me to find a good printing program (I use QIMAGE Pro). Once I learned that, I wonder how I got along without it. I do all my printing through all my programs and printers through it)

I do slightly curl the fabrics under when loading. That seems to reduce the paper jams. I wish they had a reverse feed like the ENCAD. When I print from a roll of canvas, it has to be reloaded if you want to minimize waste (the cutter will not cut fabrics and doesn't try, so if you aren't doing sequential jobs you need to form feed, manual cut and then reload the roll to minimize feed margin ~ 8 inches)

Make sure you update the firmware - the updated drivers expect the latest firmware.

This printer has been a boon to business. Material cost are so low that I can sell into markets never touched before. 11x14 and 16x20 canvas prints are within the reach of high school packages. Count on about $1 a sq ft ink cost and $2.50 sq ft canvas. That means an 16x20 costs less than 12 bucks to print! Great margins! The calibrator is beyond belief. I used to do those by hand. Good god - my Novajet (60") is now loaded with CMYK GO+ and relegated to signage and thick material jobs. No more calibrating ICC profiles on that one!

This is a great printer. It is a machine. And like all machines that are multi useful, it requires some learning and some babaying. The prints are worth it!!

One last thing that that helps a sell is the Wilhelm Image Research paper on the Vivera inks and HP and Hanmule papers (go to their web site) - 100 years plus color fast. BUT if printing on canvas, acrylic coat them to prevent scratches. (Liquitex or Golden gels) or Krylon clear coat (but can't estimate color fastness with the clear coat - decades for sure, but not centuries - at least no test data yet).

I see some one is selling it for under $4000. Wow. Maybe I'll bet another 44" rather than the 24" I was thinking about...