Digital BW, The Print

i ended up buying the 7900 for 3100 (after the rebate) plus two rolls of
paper that should cut the cost to 2900. i choose the epson for couple
reasons

1) it is much faster than the HP about two times
2) i like the new paper handling
3) my other printers are also epson

since i  already have a profiling unit, having one in the printer was a plus
but not something i want to pay for again.



On Fri, Mar 27, 2009 at 5:49 PM, Randy Rancier
<randy_rancier2004@...>wrote:

>   For those interested in a large format printer (LFP), HP is offering a
> $1200 rebate with $300 worth of paper on their new Z3200 printer 24" or 44"
> model, I believe you get your choice of paper. In the past there has been
> much discussion on this forum of HP's superior fade resistant inks.
>
> The dealers in the Dallas area are retailing the printer for $3395 for the
> 24" model; so this puts the printer down to around $2200 not considering the
> free paper. Considering the paper this puts the printer at about the price
> of the older Z3100 refurb. HP is offering this deal until the end of April.
> The rebate requires a trade in of a 24" or larger printer, plotter, or vinyl
> cutter; the dealer I'm buying mine from is going to use a refurbished
> printer they have in stock for the trade in since you don't actually have to
> trade it in, you just have to give them the serial number. So if you have an
> older large format printer that you want to keep and convert to B&W only
> this is a great opportunity. If you don't have a trade in I would call
> around to all of the dealers in your area as I did and tell them that if
> they want you to purchase the printer from them that they will have to help
> you find a trade in or provide it themselves as my dealer is doing; if they
> want your business they will probably help you out. Even if you have to pay
> someone a hundred dollars to use their serial number, they could keep the
> machine and would still be a great deal for you.
>
> I have decided to purchase the New HP after considering the Epson's and
> Canon's as well. If you are in the market for a LFP you should take a look
> at these two reviews of the HP Z3200 and the Epson 7900 by Julian Mussi at:
>
> http://www.spectraflow.com/files/pdf/Z3200%20User%20report%20f2.pdf
>
> and
>
> http://www.spectraflow.com/files/pdf/7900%20review%20V1.pdf
>
> The reasons I have chosen the Z3200 over the others:
> * comes with an embedded spectrophotometer (ESP) from i1 with software that
> will create icc profiles on media of choice, additional software is
> available that uses more patches and creates more robust profile. Epson
> charges $1500 extra and doesn't even come with software for creating icc
> profiles
> * HP has the best Wilhilm fade test with their color inks fading more
> consistently in unison with each other
> * HP's blacks are neutral with no color inks used when printing neutral B&W
> prints
> * HP's color gamut is comparable to Canon and Epson with differences being
> academic
> * HP's heads are user replaceable
> * I also believe that HP's extended warranty is less expensive than Epson's
>
> Epson's advantages is that it's faster and has a better cutter, which
> aren't big concerns of mine.
>
> Hope this may help anyone considering the purchase of a LFP. I won't be
> online for probably a week or more; so if you have questions of me it will
> have to wait, or do as I did and read the reviews and do the research.
>
> Randy
>
>  
>



-- 
 -------------------------------------
 regards, mehrdad


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