Monday, September 22, 2008

HP Z2100 Designjet - New Firmware (V7)

HP has released a new firmware in late August, 2008, for the HP Z2100 (both the 24" and the 44"). The latest version should now be 7.0.0.3-5.

Download from HP: HP Designjet Drivers and Firmware

TR8-MVL-U-7.0.0.3-5.fmw

Friday, September 19, 2008

HP Designjet Z3200 - New HP Z series printer

Hewlett Packard (HP) recently announced the release of its new HP Z3200 photo printer. Available in 24" and 44", it is set to replace the current HP Designjet Z3100 series. The Z3200's notable improvements over the Z3100 include:

HP Z3200 Improvements:
  • Newly formulated Red ink (called Chromatic Red) --hopefully eliminating the Orange color problem on some Z3100's
  • Improved Pantone Matching
  • Updated internal software by ErgoSoft and Betterlight.com
  • StudioPrint RIP software is included from ErgoSoft
  • Eliminated pizza wheel issues of the initial Designjet Z3100
HP Z3200 Similarities to HP Z3100:
  • Speed: not any faster
  • ICC Profiles: same internal spectrophotometer
  • Inks: 11 colors still the same
  • Same outer look






HP Designjet Z3100 - 44" Model




HP Designjet Z3200 - 44" Model



There was a collaboration between HP and Nikon to create an end to end color management solution. The printer includes ErgoSoft's RIP - StudioPrint. There are additional features that work with Nikon D3 series cameras to manage your colors from the initial photographing to the printing process.

Monday, September 15, 2008

Epson Solvent Roadtour Chicago

The Epson Solvent Roadtour was in Chicago last week and we were lucky enough to see the new Epson Stylus GS6000 (GS-6000) in action.

  • Large Hot swappable 950ml capacity individual ink cartridges
  • 3 heaters you can control individually.
  • Includes Colorburst RIP
  • Doesn't current work for Macs
  • No print driver for this, you MUST use a RIP.

  • Register for the event here:
    http://www.newvisionservices.net/customer_register.php?courseid=58

    More information on the event hear:
    http://www.newvisionservices.net/pdfs/EpsonGS6000_Dates_and_Locations.pdf

    The initial quality looks spectacular. Look for more updates soon!

    Sunday, September 14, 2008

    MyEpsonPrinter.com - Beta Version

    If you own an Epson wide format printer, you should check out there new online software program: MyEpsonPrinter.com. This is a remote management panel with a wide combination of other useful features. Works with their Stylus Pro printer line when connected via Ethernet. Check the website for specific model information.

    Features
    • Audit and track individual printer usage.
    • Track media and ink for a single printer or across multiple printers and locations
    • Remotely manage and view printer problems and errors
    • Estimate job and print costs based upon your media and consumables cost.
    I believe they are planning to charge for it in the future, but for now it is free.

    HP's PurchasEdge - Rewards Program for DesignJet Z3100, Z2100, Z6100 from Hewlett Packard

    If you own an HP Designjet Z3100, HP Designjet Z6100, or HP Designjet Z2100 you should enroll in HP's PurchasEdge (Purchase Edge) program. The owners of these printers then earn rewards from HP every time they purchase genuine HP ink, HP paper, or HP toner. You accumulate points based upon how much money you spend and you earn free HP hardware, from scanners to digital cameras to printers. For every $4 you spend, you earn one PurchasEdge point. If you print enough, you can accumulate enough points to get another wide format printer for free.The program is HP's way of rewarding people using authentic HP paper, ink, and media. To qaulify, you must spend at least $500 a year on HP supplies from any of their participating authorized dealers. This does not have to be a wide format printer (DesignJet series), it can be any HP printer, such as the 13" B9180 or B8850. You enroll on the PurchasEdge website, www.purchasedge.com, and then inform your dealer of your PurchasEdge ID (PID). They take care of the rest by automatically submitting your points. You can then check on the PurchasEdge website to see how many points you have earned and what free products you can order, using the login you create when you first sign up.

    PurchasEdge Homepage:
    www.purchasedge.com

    HP PurchasEdge FAQ:
    http://www.hp.com/sbso/partner/purchasedge/learnmore/faqs.html

    HP's list of Qualifying Supplies:
    http://www.hp.com/sbso/partner/purchasedge/learnmore/qualifyingskus.html

    Nice interactive menu of how many PurchasEdge points Supplies are worth:
    http://www.itsupplies.com
    (click HP Ink and Media on blue left Column, a direct link does not work)

    Saturday, September 13, 2008

    Elevateprinting.com back up online - offering free printing

    Elevate Printing [elevateprinting.com] is back online after a short incident, further delayed due to the recent hurricanes. During site upgrades, including a new shopping cart program and a few other additonal applications, our hard drives on our dedicated server were damaged. The offsite backup tapes were delayed due to weather, but have now been restored. This also effected the email servers we use.
    To compensate for any inconvenience caused, Elevate Printing is giving away free printing for the rest of the weekend. Any order under $40 will be fulfilled for free, any order over $40 will receive a $40 credit off of the total. This offer is valid through Sunday, September 14th, 2008 at 11:59 PM for up to the first 30 customers (existing customers and clients DO qualify). Limit one free order or credit per person, company, and/or address. Other additional terms, restrictions, limitations, and exclusions apply, contact Elevate Printing LLC for more information.

    To place an order, use the website (http://elevateprinting.com/), email free@elevateprinting.com, or call 888-993-5382 (messages left will qualify). We expect a large demand, so if we do not get back to you before the weekend do not worry. You will be eligible if you are one of the first 30 and contact us within the timeframe. You can contact us to request a quote during the timeframe and the credit will be applied, as long as the order is placed within the following week. If you are using Google Checkout (such as for the Vector Banner Creator), use coupon code FREESEPT08 during checkout to take advantage of this discount.

    Friday, September 12, 2008

    Vector Magic - Convert Raster Images to Vector Images

    Vector Magic is an online application and server for vectorization, the process of converting raster images (BMP, JPG, GIF) to vector images (SVG, EPS, AI, PDF). The advantages of vector images are that they can be enlarged to anysize without losing any quality and the files are generally smaller in size. One can think of vector images as giving someone directions, and raster images as drawing a map.

    Vector Magic was originally developed at Stanford University and allows a wide choice of options in converting your file into a vector image. It asks you a series of questions about your image to best determine how to convert your file. Some potential uses of this are to create a print ready file for a corporate logo or text, clean up files with compression, and enlarge low resolution graphics for large format printing.

    When using commercial printers, they prefer to deal with vector graphics. This makes sure you get the crisp and sharp looking output that you are expecting. Vector logos, for example, will look excellent whether they are printed onto a business card or enlarged and placed on a billboard. This would not be possible with raster graphics, such as any images you find on the internet (however, you can usually download vector graphics from stock photo websites). One additional use for this program would be to clean up files they look fuzzy (with different color squares or pixels visible) due to image compression.

    This online application used to be free, and they still allow you to test it for free, with full functionality, for two images if you register with their site. They now have a variety of payment options, including unlimited online use for under $8 a month or a pay per use option. They recently released an unlimited desktop version for professionals for just under $300. I have personally tried a wide variety of these vectorization programs, including free and paid versions, and have found this to be by far the best one available. It is also the easiest to use when converting raster images to vector images. At Elevate Printing, we frequently use it to enlarge customers images for large format output onto banners and signage.

    Some Tips for using Vector Magic:
    Choose the correct number of colors (if it is a corporate logo, chose the number of colors in your logo). I also recomend trying a variety of different settings, as certain ones work better for certain images. Trial and error will quickly show you what works best for your image. The whole process of vectorization does not work well for photographs. It also does not work great with certain times of line drawings, such as a map outline.

    Thursday, September 4, 2008

    HP B9180 Rebate Problem and Part number issues

    Are you having trouble qualifying your HP Photosmart B9180 printer for HP's $70 mailin rebate? You are not alone. This is a common problem that has taken a quite a few calls to HP and authorized dealers to sort out. Here is what I have learned:

    To order the 13" HP B9180, you order part number Q5736A#ABA (or simply Q5736). This is the HP manufacturer part number for the combination of the HP B9180 printer unit (stamped Q5734A on the back), the software CD, the power cord, the box, the manual, and the media. All of the actual printers are stamped on the back with Q5734A. You can not order a Q5734A, as it would not even contain a box, cords, etc.

    Sometimes the number on the plate on the back of the printer will appear as Q5734A-002, or something similar.

    Now to the rebate part: If you enter the part number on the back of the printer, Q5734A, HP will reject your claim. However, if you enter Q5736A and your serial number (from the plate on the back of the printer) it should go through online just fine. HP at one point recommended mailing in your claim if you had problems, but that is probably not necessary.

    Some questions this answered:

    If my B9180 printer says Q5734A on the back does this mean it is an older model?
    No. This number is stamped on the back of all the HP B9180's. These are not refurbished, grey market, foreign, or outdated printers.

    Does the Q5734A product qualify for HP's mail in rebate?
    Yes, simply enter the part number as Q5736A as that is the product you ordered (and the product number on the outside of the box you received from HP).