OT - Need help picking out a printer

I have managed to convince myself to upgrade my printers early next year. Right now I am leaning towards the Epson 9900 which will replace my 7600(matte inks) and 9600(glossy inks) printers. BUT I am not locked into any vendor specifically. The requirements for the printer are

- Produce exceptional color prints with wide gamut, no metermism or other print defects on everything from matte to smooth glossy papers.
- Ability to print on Matte and Glossy papers without switching inks
- *** (major point) - Out of box capability to produce exceptional B/W prints on all media from glossy to matte with wide DMAX.
- Print on at least 44" paper.

Can anybody speak to the quality of the Ultrachrome HDR inks? If anybody in the group is using these inks I would like to talk with you. If you have a 3800 or other K3 inkset please let me know what you think of the B/W prints. Additionally, as I said I am not stuck on Epson but it just seems that it might be my best choice right now. If anybody has an alternative printer to suggest or has heard rumours of major tech changes coming soon please let me know.

As I said this project will start next year.

Thanks.

RichieV

I also have an Epson 9600 and would like to replace it. As soon as I win the lottery!

You owe it to yourself to request sample prints from both Epson and Hewlett-Packard (maybe even Canon). Tell them what kinds of printers you currently own so they take you seriously. I did this about a year ago and HP sent me 3 13x19 prints and Epson sent 3 8x10s (8x10s??--c'mon Epson--get with it!). I could compare the latest Epson printers (4880, 7880, 9880) with the HP Z3200. They each sent luster/semi-matte papers and HP sent a glossy as well. They both sent color and black and white.

I have to say that I was absolutely blown away by the HP prints! The Epson prints still showed bronzing and gloss differential (despite what people say in the forums--including some on Luminous Landscape who are paid by Epson--you know who you are! ). Granted, you had to hold the Epson print just right but there was no denying it--especially on the B&W. Enough that I didn't consider the Epson printers further. And for financial reasons I haven't purchased a new printer yet.

The HP prints are a thing of beauty and I'm hoping they come out with a Z3300 sometime soon. The HP also has an expanded red gamut for incredible reds in print. I think Epson has also extended their red gamut but I haven't seen any prints from the 9900. The Z3200 has a built-in spectrophotometer so you can profile any paper with just a few mouse clicks. HP also has rebates if you already own a large format printer. You prove that you own one 24" or wider and they knock off several $100 off your purchase. Check out their rebate website. http://www.hp.com/united-states/tradein/promo/designjet/landing.html

Phil,

I will take your advice and give HP a call. Were you comparing the Epson 9900 or the 9800?

RV

The Dmax of the HP is second to none. When printing B&W the Z3110 uses no colored inks at all, so its a truly pure grayscale. Truly incredible B&W, even when (especially when) printing on matte.

The Hahnemuhle for HP matte papers, formulated by Hahnemuhle specifically for the HP inkset, is the single most beautiful matte paper I have ever seen, especially the Textured.

The downside of HP Z3100 is that even with the upgraded pin-wheels, it still leaves tracks on really super-glossy papers like Harman. I cant print that stuff on the Z3100. Maybe they fixed this with the Z3200, I don't know.

I have a 3800 also, but I will print anything I can on the Hp

The Hp also uses less ink than an Epson and overall is significantly cheaper to buy..

Were you comparing the Epson 9900 or the 9800?

The prints Epson sent me were from a 4880 which would be the same as the 7880 and the 9880. I have not seen prints from the 9900 yet.

Also, I believe the pin-wheel issue of the HP Z3100 was corrected with the release of the Z3200.

I'm still pretty impressed with my Canon ipf5000. The current generation has certainly seen improvements. Although it's been awhile since I've concentrated on B&W prints, I was never disappointed in the past. Being able to print on any paper, including canvas, without switching inks or worrying about clogs has been great.
You might ask Canon for some sample prints too, I think their printers are on par with Epson and HP.

I am researching plotters for work and heres some food for thought - the Canon 8100 (44") is seriously an unbelievable machine, with a full RGB set + CMYK for a total of 12 ranges. In fact, All Copy Products - vendor on Colorado Blvd and I-70 has one set up for you to observe print on all types of media. Give em a call!

I replaced my 7600 with the 7900 a few months ago. I ran them both for a while. Some thoughts: the 7900 is vastly superior to the 7600 in the color range it can produce - especially in images that have subtle greens/yellows. It is also much better for b & w, BUT, I still find the Piezography sytem of all black/shades of gray inks superior (see the comment above about the HP). Epson will send you samples, and their b & w print is pretty impressive, however. As far as cleaning, etc. - I have been pleased with how few cleanings I have had to do (I turned the auto clean off, obviously). I would also seriously look at the Canon 8100, as mentioned above. I have printed a bit on one, and the results are comparable to the 7900 - and in the past Canon has had a better reputation for less clogging of nozzles. I cannot speak to that, other than the 7900 hasn't shown the propensity to clog like the 7600 did. If you want any further observations, feel free to email me.

Thanks everybody for your help. Does anybody out there have a machine running Piezo inks? I was shying away from converting my low mileage 7600 over since I fugure the cost would be around $700 that I could invest into a new printer. But if I could run a couple piezo prints to comapre to the others that I am building for this test that would be helpful.

RichieV

I use the Peizo inks in my 2200. I was able to sell the 7600, so I never considered converting it (the sale paid some of the new inks - which are not cheap). I am, however, very pleased with the b & w results (a couple of those prints were actually up at the Dunes Visitor Center 10/08-5/09), but I really don't think that comparing the conversion of 2200 to the 7600 is appropriate - although what I've found with the Piezography is that your paper choice really effects the tonal range (maybe more than the printer - but I don't know). You can really goose the blacks if you want to.