C-Mart Posted November 6, 2013 Report Share Posted November 6, 2013 I have the opportunity to pick up a HP Z3100 which is a 42" large format printer. I have been meaning to get some large canvas prints for my new loft and I will be paying less for this thing than a few of them would cost. It comes with a few extra ink cartridges and canvas rolls. Canvas printing/stretching seems pretty easy. Does anyone have experience with this printer? I don't need museum quality, but would like them to be presentable. Is canvas stretching as easy as it looks? Can any basic DSLR take photos that would look good at say, 48-60 inches? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tractor Posted November 7, 2013 Report Share Posted November 7, 2013 Anything above 5m pixels will do fine at that size. Especially if shot in RAW mode so that you get to start with the highest resolution possible, but even if the photos were only done in JPEG it would be fine on canvas due to the built in texture of the material. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-Mart Posted November 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2013 Is this market over saturated or is there money to be made making canvas prints for people? Everything I have been reading about the printer in question says it is great quality and really efficient on ink, but it is a few years old so I am not sure how it stacks up to the brand new stuff. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cybe Posted November 7, 2013 Report Share Posted November 7, 2013 You'll want to look into a 'CIS' continuous inking system, instead of cartridges and refills. You need to keep the machine printing often or it'll become a maintenance nighhtmare (it may already be.) Stretching canvas isn't a big deal. With the right solvent-based inks, you'll be able to print on vinyl (pvc actually). * I had a DesignJet, deprecated version of what you've got. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-Mart Posted November 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2013 You'll want to look into a 'CIS' continuous inking system, instead of cartridges and refills. You need to keep the machine printing often or it'll become a maintenance nighhtmare (it may already be.) Stretching canvas isn't a big deal. With the right solvent-based inks, you'll be able to print on vinyl (pvc actually). * I had a DesignJet, deprecated version of what you've got. Is CIS something I can convert the current to? I know it can do vinyl as well, but I have always liked the canvas wrapped look and thought it was a growing market. Vinyl is more for posters, not something I want to hang in my place. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cybe Posted November 7, 2013 Report Share Posted November 7, 2013 I'm sure there are CIS out there for that model - it's basically just an adapted cartridge that has an external reservoir of ink: http://printink-bg.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/sistema-za-neprekasnato-podavane-na-mastilo.jpg Vinyl's usually used for wrapping or signage, you could turn a few jobs and let the machine pay for itself. Never seen a vinyl poster myself! I agree, gallery-wrap canvas prints are cool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-Mart Posted November 7, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 7, 2013 I was thinking shiny paper not vinyl. Ill look into it. CIS seems to be the way to go though, especially if the thing is running some serious hours. I still need to find where to find/buy high resolution images. Is there a DPI I want to stay above to keep the quality where it needs to be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cybe Posted November 7, 2013 Report Share Posted November 7, 2013 300 DPI is suggested for magazines, coupons, printed material like that. More for photographs printed for gallery display. A 60" x 20" print at 240 DPI would be a ~70 megapixel image if you wanted to go dot-for-dot. It's not neccesary to have this level of detail at that size. Canvas doesn't lend itself to super-fine detail viewing anyway so you'll be fine with a lower DPI. Since you're printing it yourself, try it out. Print a reasonable quality 5 megapixel image at 2' wide, see how it looks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jewtoys Posted November 7, 2013 Report Share Posted November 7, 2013 What can you do with these? I've never given it much thought but the office I have someone left one of these behind and it's sitting in storage. Forgot about it till I saw this thread Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tractor Posted November 8, 2013 Report Share Posted November 8, 2013 I repair them all the time for engineering and architectural companies. Mostly HP DesignJets and Ricoh models. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-Mart Posted November 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2013 So I ended up buying this thing and it is BIG. Way bigger than I was expecting it to be, but I think I got a pretty good deal on it. I am looking forward to learning the ropes on it. If anyone needs some large prints made (42" is the limiting height and it can go as long as 300') cars/photography/etc let me know if I will hook you up with a CR price. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs.cos Posted November 13, 2013 Report Share Posted November 13, 2013 Hit me with 11x14 and 16x20 prices- ( I don't know the actual dimensions off top of my head for wraps at that size but I think it's 1.75" bleed edge all the way around... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamonds Posted November 13, 2013 Report Share Posted November 13, 2013 I would gladly pay to create my own wall-hangers as well. let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Doc1647545523 Posted November 13, 2013 Report Share Posted November 13, 2013 I think I'll be interested at some point in having a 3' x 20' print for the long wall at the Hangout. I've been talking about starting to collect car/meet pics to do a CR collage. This sounds like the perfect opportunity to start it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-Mart Posted November 13, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 13, 2013 Thanks for the responses all. For the record I moved from Columbus within the last year, but am still in town about once a month. So either me driving/flying them in or shipping them would be the options. Damreds - Are you looking for gallery wrapped or just printed? Diamonds - Just let me know what you are looking for. Most people take professional pictures of their work to have reprinted. You have helped me with stuff in the past so I'll happily repay the favor. Doc - Also just let me know. 3'X20' is definitely in the capability range, but getting the resolution right is where the work will need to be done. You seem to help a lot of people out here so I would be happy to help you out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrs.cos Posted November 13, 2013 Report Share Posted November 13, 2013 Pricing for both please. + shipping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky31186 Posted November 13, 2013 Report Share Posted November 13, 2013 You will probably need to be a site sponsor in order to make deals. But I am interested in having some things printed as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-Mart Posted November 14, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 14, 2013 I hadn't planned on that as I was more looking for information on these things, but I would happily sponsor the site if some sales came from it. Can an admin PM me information on that? As for price I am still ironing out a costing model, but I think a good starting point would be finding a site that did something similar and knocking 20-30% off their cost. I should have something put together by this weekend. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-Mart Posted November 20, 2013 Author Report Share Posted November 20, 2013 I PM'd an mod on this, but did not hear back. I am willing to be a sponsor so if you are reading this and a mod feel free to reach out to me. I looked at several sites and I am willing to do some prints for people @ $.10/sqin including depth. For example an 11 X 14 with a 1.5" frame would be 13 X 17 so $22.10 + actual shipping. I am still trying to figure out the best way to ship these, but feel free to PM me with any specific questions. If you are looking for a print with no boarder I can go cheaper. From the sites I have seen this is about 50% off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky31186 Posted November 20, 2013 Report Share Posted November 20, 2013 Pm sent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-Mart Posted January 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 Posting a quick update on this, I have not had as much time to mess around with this printer as I would have liked, but the little I have done I have learned a lot. I have to print with it weekly to keep the printer heads fresh so last night I decided to go big. Most people will recommend 300 dpi minimum. Some go down to 150 dpi for canvas, but as I was curious to see what my printer would do on a low DPI and max quality settings - the below is printed @ 67 DPI. http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o715/CraigMartens/DSC_0212_zpsd9747824.jpg http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o715/CraigMartens/DSC_0217_zps9ff7a317.jpg http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o715/CraigMartens/DSC_0220_zps7be521e5.jpg http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o715/CraigMartens/DSC_0224_zps0848f752.jpg http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o715/CraigMartens/DSC_0225_zpsc63b9661.jpg http://i1339.photobucket.com/albums/o715/CraigMartens/DSC_0226_zpsa2aaaf27.jpg Excuse the bad photography and lack of a frame. Total size is 36" X 80". The printer can handle 44", but I used a 36" roll. I put a green sticky note next to it for size reference and tried to zoom in for some detail. Short and skinny is the print came out amazing. This machine keeps impressing me. I will be sponsoring this site in a few weeks when I have some time to tie up a few loose ends, but I am really excited to make some frames and prints for the people on this board. Let me know if you have any questions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gergwheel1647545492 Posted January 8, 2014 Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 That looks incredible, I can't wait to see some pricing. Will be nice to have someone local able to do this. That looks like photo paper and not even canvas! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-Mart Posted January 8, 2014 Author Report Share Posted January 8, 2014 Thanks! I am not 100% local I live in Milwaukee, but my company is headquartered there and make my way back at least every 2-3 months. Shipping is easy with these especially when not framed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clifford Automotive Posted January 23, 2014 Report Share Posted January 23, 2014 You dont need to print at 300 dpi, 72 will get you quality all day long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C-Mart Posted August 18, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 18, 2014 I have not had as much time as I was hoping to use this printer, but Miller reached out to me last week to have a print done. Luckily I was in Columbus over the weekend so I was able to drop this off for him. Went with a 1.5" frame which came out great on a print this size (30X46.5) and used an edge bleed that matched the image well. Thanks Miller - hope you enjoy! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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