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HP DesignJet Z3200
User Report
by Julian Mussi
© Spectraflow, Inc.
415-382-8681
Nov 2008
PREFACE
In this article I will be examining the HP Z3200, HP’s latest Large format printer. The Z3200 is essentially an update of the Z3100
released in late 2006. Externally the printer appears virtually identical to it’s predecessor, yet internally the printer has been revised and
upgraded. Perhaps the most obvious change Z3200 is the reformulated “Chromatic Red Type 73” cartridge which replaces the
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logically grouped together and easy to access. The stand, which is included for both 24” and 44” models, is sturdy and easy to constructs. It is then screwed to the base of the printer (the printer is shipped upside down) and then easily flipped by two people. I actually managed to unpack, assemble, and flip the 44” model myself. Once the printer is assembled and plugged into a power source, you can then begin the somewhat lengthy setup process. Once the printer is powered on you will be pro
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Cost per mil of ink $.62 for single $.63 for 110 ml $.46 for 350 ml $.49 for double $.51 for 220 ml $.40 for 700 ml One of the questions I get a lot has to do with how much does it cost to make a print on printer A as opposed to printer B. While it’s easy enough to generate an estimate that will likely be correct within $ 0.10 eighty percent of the time on a letter size sheet, trying to get any more exact is often an unrealistic goal. Many factors influence the cost of a final print: Driver vs
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The placement of the roll in the rear of the printer was not a good call. I understand the reasons for doing so, but the result is a loading process that is annoying at best and for some it will be a major hassle. In almost all production environment’s printers are crammed against walls in crowded small spaces. Another thing to note is that the HP does not use a vacuum system to keep the paper flat when moving under the print path, but instead uses a feed system that includes a star wheel sys
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HP COLOR MANAGEMENT, & EMBEDDED SPECTROPHOTOMETER INTRODUCTION Arguably one of the most interesting and discussed features of the Z3100 and Z3200 is the embedded spectrophotometer (ESP). Previ- ous HP printers have incorporated densitometers into the print head allowing the printer to perform basic calibrations. The Z family of printers remain the first and only line of commercially available printers to have a standard integrated spectrophotometer that allows automated ICC profile creation a
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The final step of course will be to create the actual ICC paper profile. The whole process from start to finish takes about 40 minutes. The easy ICC target uses 463 patches to build the ICC profile. Once completed the profile is saved to the computer, and uploaded to the printer. Uploading makes it much easier to make sure paper profiles are up-to-date in a multi user environment. Let me say that the profiles produced in the color center are quite good, but not quite on par with those produced
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HP has made a point of advertising that the spectro found in the Z3200 is based on the Eye-One from X-Rite. There are some notable differences however, perhaps the most significant of which is the different light source found in the two units. The Standard Eye-One uses a (UV filtered) tungsten light source, while the ESP illumination comes from an LED. The tungsten source on the Eye-One is UV filtered, however the embedded spectro’s LED does not emit UV radiation and thus needs no filtration
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PRINT DRIVER, IMAGE QUALITY, AND COLOR GAMUT INTRODUCTION Judging the quality of a print means evaluating the interaction of the paper, ink, printer, and software. This makes comparisons difficult. HP DRIVER AND PRINTER UTILITIES The software that accompanies the printer is quite robust., and consists of two main components, the driver and the HP Printer Utility. The driver is fairly straightforward and well organized. The quality settings are simple though a bit ambiguous. There are
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has the option of disabling the gloss enhancer, a cost saver for proofing, or other work where bronzing is less of a concern. There is also an “economy” mode that applies the GE only to needed imaged areas, rather than the default, which covers the whole page, paper white included. I’ve found that this works well for properly prepared images. It will yield strange results on images that have specular highlights or blown-out areas. While the Gloss Enhance is clear, it does impact the printed
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carefully developed to target a specific hue and increase the overall gamut of the printer. The additional hues make the translation of CMYK (or RGB) data, to ink on paper a bit more complex. The problem is that there are now more ways to produce the same color us- ing different mixes of ink. To produce a certain color of orange you could mix yellow and red, magenta and yellow, or some mix of all three. To handle this HP embeds an “intelligence” they call multi-color separation technology (MCS
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be noticeable on very specific images, and the advantages of one printer over the other will be fairly small at this point. HP Z3200 Prem ID Satin - Solid Full Color HP Z3200 Prem ID Satin - Solid Full Color Epson 7880 Prem Luster 260 - White Wireframe Epson 7900 Prem Luster 260 - White Wireframe 3d gamut - showing darker colors 3d gamut - showing darker colors 3d gamut - showing lighter colors 3d gamut - showing lighter colors 2D gamut comparisons Primaries and secondaries HP Z320
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CONCLUSION The Z3100 is an exception tool, and like any tool it should be evaluated based on how well it accomplishes what is designed to do. Com- pared to the other printers in the HP Designjet line it’s obvious that the Z3200 is designed from the ground up to be a “Photo Printer”, meaning that the emphasis is on quality not quantity. In this capacity the printer is ideal for anyone looking to produce high quality color critical work, this primarily includes photographic, fine art, graphic de
