Comparison: Photo-tex media vs Fab-tac media (Part 1)

Magiclee (by intellicoat) has a new product out named Fab-tac as of late 2007 due to compete directly with Photo-Tex media. Photo-tex is a removable and reposition able adhesive fabric that works wonders for a wide variety of creative marketing purposes and specialized display needs. We will post a comprehensive comparison between photo-tex and fab-tac in the upcoming week after we have the initial tests and comparison completed. So far, having used both, here are some initial thoughts on photo tex vs fab tac:

Fab-tac is porous, allowing air to escape through and easily get rid of those unsightly air bubbles. Photo-tex is more difficult to apply, very similar to applying adhesive vinyl (but with the chance to start over, at least).

Photo tex specs are extremely difficult to find. The Photo Tex Group's website is horrendous. So bad I can't even link to it. Fab Tac is manufactured by Intellicoat, and at least they have a spec sheet on there Magiclee website (here).

Fab Tac doesn't seem to be for sale online. This makes price comparisons challenging. Photo-Tex, although expensive, is available from a wide variety of places and can be purchased online.

More Photo Tex versus Fab Tab comparison information later this week!

HP Z3100 - more paper loading tips (part two of incorrect load trick)

Another use for my Designjet Z3100 Tips and Tricks post the other day.

Part One - Post on HP Z3100 Paper Loading Trick (avoid the error message)

The most hated HP Designjet Z3100 error message I see is the “Rewind the roll until the front edge is visible” message. Seriously, this is the most frustrating message I could get after I just spent time feeding paper into the back of the printer and dealing with the auto paper detection (and if you have it against a wall like our set up, you have to slide it back up against the wall). If it is ever telling you to do this, the work around or paper loading trick will work here. Lift the paper release, pull the paper forward to match the blue dotted lines, and set the paper lever down. Now press the Red X button a few times until you see “Lift Lever” on the screen. Press the X a few more times until you get back to the home menu screen and at the top it displays “Paper loaded incorrectly. Remove paper”. If you can’t get back to the home screen, try pressing the menu button and that should work (depends on what version of the firmware you have).

Now continue on with the rest of my tip (Paper Menu // Paper Load) and you should be good to go. If you missed it, read Part One - Post on HP Z3100 Paper Loading Trick (avoid the error message)

Strive for Perfect Printing!
-Michael

HP Z3100 "Paper loaded incorrectly: remove paper" work around and fix

I just spent 10 minutes trying to autoload the paper, I have no intentions of removing it. If you have this issue with your designjet Z3100 or Z2100, there is an easy fix to this. This also works if you would like to manually load the paper by lifting the paper release lever and bringing the paper to the blue dotted lines in front. Once the paper is aligned, lower the paper release handle. The dreaded error "paper loaded incorrectly: remove paper" will pop up. Ignore this, Press X instead. Once the menu pops up again, choose Paper >> Paper load. It should read the paper back in and you should be able to continue as normal, avoiding the hassle of starting the auto load over again. This has saved me a great deal of time since I figured this out. There are many other practical uses for this, such as if the front of the paper is slightly damaged and won't auto feed through the printer normally or if the cut isn't perfect along the front edge.

Happy Printing.

*Update: Part Two of Incorrect Paper Load Trick has more useful info on this.

What's the Difference between US & Foreign version of Wide Format Printers & ink?

Last week while replacing an ink cartridge on the Epson 9880, I looked on the blue sealed bag and it said "For China Only" and "For Japan Only" on the same bag. I've heard of people complaining of receiving "Chinese" ink in their printer (which they were worried was not genuine Epson ink due to the bag and the new clear / white cartridges) but never of this. So after a little digging, I discovered that basically the allocations between the countries for certain printers is constantly changing based on estimated sales in that location. The main difference between different versions of printers are the power cords, manuals, and thats about it. Most printers now accept both 110V and 22oV, much the same way computers can accept both. The only difference being the cord that connects the printer to the outlet, which is obviously country specific.

Before you start thinking about driving across borders to pick up a great deal due to the exchange rate, remember that once outside of their home countries many printers no longer are covered under warranty and often times you can not claim rebates once they've left. Just a fair warning. In response to those getting printers with ink inside marked for other countries, this is no big deal. Most of this inks are in fact universal.

I know that the Canon IPF X000 and X100 series, the Epson Stylus Pro '880 Series, and the HP Designjet Z3100, Z2100, and Z6100 automatically will switch between 110 V and 220 V and work fine with either.

Epson announces 64" Eco Solvent Printer - Stylus Pro GS6000

Epson released details to the public regarding its newest printer, the 64 inch Stylus GS6000, earlier this week in Orlando. The GS6000 is an entry level eco-solvent printer aimed at the sign, display, and decor industry. Epson has developed a new inkset, the UltraChrome GS inks, which are both Nickel free and allow a wider color gamut than existing solvent printers on the market. Since the UltraChrome GS inks also contain very low volatile organic compounds (VOC's), which allow the Stylus Pro GS6000 to operate in rooms without a special ventilation system. The only ventilation requirement is that air can both enter and exit a room.

In keeping with its reputation for cutting edge technology and vivid colors, Epson has added Green and Orange to the typical six inks in solvent printer to blow the competition's prints away in addition to matching countless more Pantone (PMS) colors. Epson's new Advanced Cleaning System also simplifies printer cleaning, reducing overhead and labor costs for sign shops. The waste from the GS6000 is also disposable into standard sewer systems, eliminating the need for special waste handling procedures.

The Epson GS6000 sports hot swappable 950mL inks, 1440 x 1440 print resolution, ink droplets as small as 3.7 picoliters, and print speeds up to 25 Square Meters per hour. Epson is working with Avery and 3M to continue to develop groundbreaking solvent media for the GS6000. Epson's GS6000 will undoubtedly change the way commercial signage, retail displays, art decor, banners, and billboards will be created. Epson is scheduled to start shipping the GS6000's in Summer to Fall of 2008.

HP Designjet Z3100 Printer vs Epson Stylus Pro 9880 Printer

Some quick pro's and con's as well as a comparison between the two digital wide format printers. This is not meant to be a complete list, simply some lesser known points I feel would be helpful if you were considering buying either of these. These would also apply to the Epson Stylus 7880 vs the HP Z3100 24" printers.

Epson Stylus 9880 Printer

The Epson 9880 printer is not much harder to operate than a desktop printer. It can simply be plugged in to a computer with a USB cable and up and running in minutes. The driver is very straightforward as well.

The Epson 9880 printer can print true 4 side borderless using the double cut feature in the driver on both glossy and matte material.

This Epson printer is still superior in the colors purple, brown, green, and in terms of photorealistic prints. One disadvantage of the Epson 9880 is that you can not have both Photo and Matte black inks at the same time. A work around to this Matte and Photo black issue for the Epson 9880 is using Phatte Black ink and the Imageprint RIP.

The Professional edition of the Epson 9880 / 7880 / 4880 printer is mainly targeted towards Graphic Designers with added Pantone, SWOP, and Postscript abilities.

HP DesignJet Z3100 Printer

The HP Z3100 printer is better at certain colors than the Epson 9880 printer, especially Reds and Blues. Having the additional black and gray inks allow for true neutral black and

The Z3100 printer can only print ** 44" ** borderless on glossy or luster material. This is not a well publicized fact but can be very important for certain applications.

Designed with basically a computer inside, the Z3100 printer is more complicated to install, network, and connect to your computer. A higher level of technical knowledge is required to operate the Z3100.

The Z3100's build it spectrophotometer can be a big advantage if you are using a lot of third party medias and need a simple way to make good profiles. Maybe not the highest quality profiles possible, but at least as good as the canned profiles the Z3100 comes installed with. By far the biggest advantage of the spectrophotometer embedded in the device is that you can return to the factory specs.

The Z3100 printer's semipermanent printheads also extend the useful life of the device, as often with Epson wide format printers when the printhead becomes unusable the device should be scrapped as it is often worth less than the cost to fix it.

--Michael