Urban Image
New Member
This is a printer I've been working with for a while. I've been testing its durability, speed, and various other aspects. Here's a mixture of my observations and thoughts. This may be a little late to be of much use.
Durability of Prints
The HP Z6100 flyer claims that the prints can last up to a year without lamination in a window where it receives direct sunlight. It never makes any claims regarding water-fastness or chemical resistance.
In accelerated testing it performed very well in regard to UV resistance and water-fastness. The prints should maintain their integrity for one year with relative ease. This is obviously quite impressive for aqueous inks.
The inks had practically no resistance to chemicals ranging from Coca-Cola to gasoline.
Print Quality
First of all, not much was expected from heavily pigmented inks. Such inks traditionally offer less than vivid color. HP definitely hit the nail on the head here. These beat out any dye based inks we have in house. The colors jump out and slap you in the face and the black and white quality was incredible, frequently being compared to Epson around the demo room. I wouldn’t toss out Epson’s black-and-white and Canon’s color just yet but this printer is definitely able to encroach on both of their comfort zones.
The maximum print resolution is 2400x1200 dpi. It takes cyan, magenta, matte black, photo black, yellow, light cyan, light gray, light magenta.
Print Speed
The flyer says this printer is capable of producing prints at speeds of 1,134 sfph on bond paper. I clocked it once at 1,137 square feet per hour with usable quality results. It was very impressive and shattered my skeptical expectations. On glossy paper, the highest speed you can obtain is 252 sfph. This produced usable prints.
Miscellaneous Rants
HP claims that this printer is exceptionally user friendly. Perhaps I’m a bit too cynical but all it looks like to me is that they have no faith in their users’ judgment. HP has forgotten that sign making is not and should not be a science – it is an art. Art involves thought, judgment, and skill. This printer decides what print speed and resolution will be used based on what media you are using. I can imagine this being far more irritating for photographic print and other design professionals than it was for me. Rather than making the process easier to complete, HP simply completed very subjective steps for the user. That annoys the hell out of me.
Firmware problems. I know new printers are notorious for their firmware problems but this was ridiculous. We got them fixed with a negligible amount of help from HP. This is likely no longer an issue.
This printer seems to be cheaply built. What I mean is that parts that will be handled frequently and most likely put under strain (slots for inks, rollers, etc) are made out of a cheap and seemingly weak plastic. In a high production or impatient atmosphere that doesn’t allow for gentle and considerate handling this printer may have a few cracks in bad places.
Miscellaneous Raves
It ‘profiles the media for you’? No. It does, however, select the most appropriate profile for your media from a very long list of profiles. Even more impressive is the accuracy of these profiles. Photo professionals may want to create their own profiles but this is definitely a nice and very practical feature for typical needs.
HP’s printers are notorious for paper feed problems but this printer seems to have solved them. Aligning the media is no longer a 5 minute process.
That’s all I’ve got. These are my fairly unbiased opinions. I hope they were useful or interesting to someone.
Durability of Prints
The HP Z6100 flyer claims that the prints can last up to a year without lamination in a window where it receives direct sunlight. It never makes any claims regarding water-fastness or chemical resistance.
In accelerated testing it performed very well in regard to UV resistance and water-fastness. The prints should maintain their integrity for one year with relative ease. This is obviously quite impressive for aqueous inks.
The inks had practically no resistance to chemicals ranging from Coca-Cola to gasoline.
Print Quality
First of all, not much was expected from heavily pigmented inks. Such inks traditionally offer less than vivid color. HP definitely hit the nail on the head here. These beat out any dye based inks we have in house. The colors jump out and slap you in the face and the black and white quality was incredible, frequently being compared to Epson around the demo room. I wouldn’t toss out Epson’s black-and-white and Canon’s color just yet but this printer is definitely able to encroach on both of their comfort zones.
The maximum print resolution is 2400x1200 dpi. It takes cyan, magenta, matte black, photo black, yellow, light cyan, light gray, light magenta.
Print Speed
The flyer says this printer is capable of producing prints at speeds of 1,134 sfph on bond paper. I clocked it once at 1,137 square feet per hour with usable quality results. It was very impressive and shattered my skeptical expectations. On glossy paper, the highest speed you can obtain is 252 sfph. This produced usable prints.
Miscellaneous Rants
HP claims that this printer is exceptionally user friendly. Perhaps I’m a bit too cynical but all it looks like to me is that they have no faith in their users’ judgment. HP has forgotten that sign making is not and should not be a science – it is an art. Art involves thought, judgment, and skill. This printer decides what print speed and resolution will be used based on what media you are using. I can imagine this being far more irritating for photographic print and other design professionals than it was for me. Rather than making the process easier to complete, HP simply completed very subjective steps for the user. That annoys the hell out of me.
Firmware problems. I know new printers are notorious for their firmware problems but this was ridiculous. We got them fixed with a negligible amount of help from HP. This is likely no longer an issue.
This printer seems to be cheaply built. What I mean is that parts that will be handled frequently and most likely put under strain (slots for inks, rollers, etc) are made out of a cheap and seemingly weak plastic. In a high production or impatient atmosphere that doesn’t allow for gentle and considerate handling this printer may have a few cracks in bad places.
Miscellaneous Raves
It ‘profiles the media for you’? No. It does, however, select the most appropriate profile for your media from a very long list of profiles. Even more impressive is the accuracy of these profiles. Photo professionals may want to create their own profiles but this is definitely a nice and very practical feature for typical needs.
HP’s printers are notorious for paper feed problems but this printer seems to have solved them. Aligning the media is no longer a 5 minute process.
That’s all I’ve got. These are my fairly unbiased opinions. I hope they were useful or interesting to someone.