NEW - Ken Gilbert

By Andrew Darlow
superbly sharp and detailed on all the
HP-branded and third-party media
we tried, including gloss, semi-gloss,
matte, and watercolor coated papers,
as well as canvas. Bright colors printed
with excellent saturation and detail,
and skin tones were natural. Blackand-white
prints look outstanding,
whether made with a standard profi le
or the driver’s internal grayscale
option. (Choosing the latter instructs
the printer to use only three neutralgray
inks when printing on gloss or
semi-gloss papers, and all four of its
gray inks on matte papers or canvas.)
Gamut maps confi rm what we saw
with our eyes: The new Chromatic Red
defi nitely improved the reproduction
of reds. Testing by Wilhelm Research
(www.wilhelm-research.com)
estimates that the inks will resist
fading and color shift for 250 years or
more on many different media.
What could be improved? We’d
like an extension for the single-sheet
paper feed tray for better support
of large sheets. We’d also like a rollfeeding
procedure that’s as simple as
the one for sheet media. The Z-series
roll feed is not as user-friendly as in
Epson’s 24- and 44-inch printers,
because it requires a back-bending
reach-over if you try to load the paper
from the front. (We were also asked to
feed the roll paper again a few times.)
And you will need to get behind the
printer if loading paper from the rear.
Our tests clocked the print speed
at about 15 to 20 percent faster than
the Z3100’s. One big surprise: the
amazing print quality even when we
chose Standard Quality (resulting in
double the print speeds, and 16x20inch
prints in just under 4 minutes).
It’s not quite as detailed as the Best
Quality setting, but it was diffi cult to
tell the two apart on most of the prints
we looked at side by side.
All in all, HP’s Designjet Z3200 is
an impressive machine, and ideal
for those who want a big printer that
makes high quality, long-lasting blackand-white
and color prints. p
Andrew Darlow’s 301 Inkjet Tips and
Techniques: An Essential Printing
Resource for Photographers (Course
Technology, PTR; $50) packs 500-plus
pages of advice. Visit inkjettips.com.
POP PHOTO MAY 2009 83