So happy to learn a bit about you Mark. I have my replacement Z9+DR set up and running. You are right, sound and sleep modes, no more hurricane force fans, super fast calibrations, fast prints much more. It will take some time getting used to yet an enjoyable ride getting there.
Hi Neil - Glad to hear you have your Z9+ DR back. It definitely does take time to get used to, but it's well worth it as we both know. It will be interesting to see what it can do in your hands! I know you've been a Z3100/Z3200 user going way back and participated in design input early on for that series. Hope this printer works well for you.
Mark, excellent review and have always loved your work and being a Z3200ps 24” owner since 2009 its time for an upgrade. Though my Z3200ps is still working, besides the extremely noisy PS Fan. Couple of quick questions. How is the manual feed on the Z9+ compared to the Z3200ps? Which papers have you settled on for both your color and B&W work? Is there any value on adding the Gloss Enhancer have you tried it or not really necessary? Thanks again
Hi Steven, thanks for the kind words. If you ONLY print on Matte papers, you don't need the gloss enhancer. I do recommend the Gloss Enhancer upgrade for papers that require it, and that it be installed at the same time as the other cartridges. The Z9+ comes with startup carts, so probably a good idea to get a full set of inks as well. I use only a few papers for my work - mostly Moab Entrada Natural 300 Gsm (two sides) - thanks to Aardenburg Imaging for that absolutely best info- and Canson Platine, Hahnemuhl Photo Rag Pearl. I use other papers for short term work not requiring longevity which are mostly RC papers that have OBA's and Ti02 in them, but only if the print is required to be in existence briefly. I urge staying away from papers that are not archival. Check out aardenburg-imaging.com for paper info - it's free to join. Do Mark McCormick a solid and send a donation if you can. Aardenburg's service is so critical for today's photographic printmakers. This is a real gem: www.aardenburg-imaging.com/aardenburg-imaging-podcast/ (Aardenburg-imaging.com's podcasts) Sheet loading the Z9+ takes a little getting used to and it has been so far somewhat frustrating to learn. HP is coming out with a new firmware release probably in November. They recommend sheet loading from the substantial steel tray in the rear. It has issues which hopefully can be fixed in firmware, but I worked out a very simple work-around that enables fast, easy, almost 100% success hand loading. Here is a link to my solution: forum.luminous-landscape.com/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=130954.0;attach=199026;image Hope this helps! Mark
Hi Mark, thanks for your videos, very helpful. I'm about to receive a 44" ZP to replace our Z3200 and was ordering some extra inks. I know that we used a high % of light gray in the z3200 and (obviously) gloss enhancer. Have you found the gray usage in the z9+ to be higher than the other inks now that you have used it for a while? Thanks
Hi Steven - I mostly use Moab Entrada Natural 300 Gsm for Matte, and Hahnemuhl Fine Art Pearl. I experiment with many papers - I mostly stick with non OBA papers.
Mark, could you recommend to the HP support a simples solution to the end of the problem of the paper release during the park mode? This occurs only with the fine art papers (thick) ...so if the paper could be some more inches inside the printer, this would prevent the erratic release (on the DR models).
Hi Mark - thanks for your excellent review. Can i know your thoughts on the Z6 ( 6color) vs Z9 (9 color) for printing photographs ? Is there a noticeable difference generally, or does it depend on size of prints ? Thank you !!
Hi Mark, thank you for creating this video review. I’m considering creating classroom posters to sell to schools and teachers. Would you recommend Z9+ for that purpose?
The Z9+ is perfect for creating posters. It’s an amazing printer and the 24” model will do posters via roll paper perfectly. Choose whatever media you want, calibrate and make a custom ICC profile if you like and set the number of prints you want to make. If you said 25 and you have a 100ft roll loaded press print - set it and forget it. It will just keep churning out poster after poster flawlessly. A bit of a learning curve but no more difficult than with any other printer.
Nice video, particularly since there is only a few on the web. I don't want to be harsh, but since the video is really one-sided, was it sponsored by HP? Also, and since we are 2 years later, is it now possible to make profiles with more than 464 patches? More generally, did you make some comparisons yourself against the Epson Ultrachrome 12 inks system? And finally, have you been able to get your hands on the upcoming Z9+ Pro?
Hi - Not harsh at all - thanks for your questions. I mention in the video that HP sent the Z9+ to me for professional evaluation and feedback to the team in Barcelona. I was so impressed that I made the video on my own and I stand by everything that I said. Now two years later, the Z9+ is still our studio workhorse - I use it almost everyday and it is performing flawlessly. I have heard that there have been issues with the 44" models, but not with my 24" printer. I made a 10,455 patch target ICC profile in collaboration with Mark McCormick Goodhart (Aardenburg Imaging) and it is scary fantastic. However the internal profiles and calibration system of the Z9+ are really really good on their own. Regarding the Epson Ultrachrome inks - no direct comparisons, but Aardenburg and Wilhelm both agree HP Vivid inks (and previous Vivera inks used in the Z3200 printers) are king of the hill in terms of longevity by far. I'm totally happy with my Z9+ 24" printer. I have not used the Z9+ Pro - that thing is a monster. Was in talks with HP sending me one but the Pandemic put the skids to that. I wouldn't mind putting it through its paces though.
@@marklindquist6905 Woh thanks a lot for your answer! I’m quite impressed it is your totally unbiased opinion. Not that a sponsorship is necessarily biased but still, it’s different. Funny enough I saw your sculptor career at the beginning of the video ( this is quite something!) and I do work wood too (not as a sculptor tho but more as a hobby). Reading about the 10,445 patch target I see we have a least 2 passions in common, wood and perfectionism :) Is the Z9+ able to read the 10,445 patch with the internal spectrometer? I usually work with a professional printing lab, and I’m currently thinking about making my own prints, mainly because it would allow me to have a more direct feedback. But if I make the jump I would need to learn everything to make absolutely perfect prints. I already print on HP using this lab, based on the work of Wilhelm Research :)
@@Maxime-ho9iv I create the file to be read "sometime afterward" in HP utility on my Z3200 printer. The HP Z3200PS outputs a tiff file which is then printed by the Z9+ printer. It akes many sheets 24" W by no longer than 5' (page/sheet length limitation of the printers for reading printed charts. Then I wait overnight and feed the sheets in, one by one, into the Z3200PS printer that scans and processes the data, finally outputting a TXT or CSV file depending on Mac or Windows. You can read about my process here: z3200.com/Making_Profiles_For_HP-Z3200_Printers.htm Making a 10,445 patch target ICC profile is not for the faint of heart. I mostly use a Windows 10 Pro machine to scan the targets. That huge brilliant target made by Mark Goodhart McCormick (with whom I collaborated) took many months to create and perfect. The only way I can utilize it is to use both of my printers. The Z9+ is hobbled and can only do it's own in-house profiles. But the system I use works well when it works well. Not when not.
@@marklindquist6905 Oh yes I see. I’m completely novice in printing but I know I will want top notch quality. I won’t be able to get both a Z9+ and a Z3200 (of course), what do you think is the best way to do it then? is it something you can still do with an external colorimeter? Also, I read some pretty strong negative comments online, both on the Z9+ and on HP, is it really something to worry about? For me it would be quite the investment, both in money and time, and also I really do think printing myself is probably the way to go I don’t want to invest in a dead system. I’m sorry to bother you, thanks for your time, I’ll probably have to join luminous landscape forum at some point, I see you are a lot present there.
@@Maxime-ho9iv The learning curve is steep with all wide format printers. There are a few systems that are capable of making super profiles but that is a huge learning curve to even create a 10,445 patch target file - not for beginners. HP has had its problems for sure - management turnover is an issue. Their customer service is pretty great most of the time. I'm not on Luminous Landscape much anymore - I just don't have the time and everyone seems to think I have the answer to their problems so it becomes burdensome and not much fun. If you want the best quality without the hassles, I suggest you be in touch with John Dean of Dean Imaging in Atlanta: www.deanimaging.com/ - you can get the best quality there with the least amount of problems. John deals with top level artists and is very experienced. He also has an HP Z3100 printer as well as an HP Z3200PS printer along with Epson printers. He has a wide choice of the best papers and he is fully versed in ink longevity and archival standards. I suggest you look into a 13x19 or 17x22 printer and learn the ropes of a carefully managed color workflow before investing in wide format printing yourself. Then, after you are confident in your printing, if the step toward wide format seems appropriate - jump on in. Good luck with your printing.
Hi Mark, thanks for your review I am looking to buy printer I can use to print wallcoverings, wall mural décor My budget is limited and I can't afford large format printer, so I think about HP DesignJet Z9 24inch. Do you think it is good enough for wall murals printing, or you can recommend something else. Thanks again, Ned
Hi Ned - Yes - definitely the Z9+ will do the job you're asking of it for your application. Not only that, but the ink is archival. With the properly matched substrate images can last 100+ years. The Z9+ is fast and reliable.
@@marklindquist6905 thank you very much . I found model Z6 44inch with vertical trimmer that can print wall decor without white boards . Is it also good printer for job I am looking for and do you think this printer can print and trim decor panels with butt joins instead overlap?
@@ned5234 Sorry Ned - no experience printing decor panels - HP trimmers definitely are not for heavier materials. For example - they can't trim canvas, so I'm not sure in your area.
@@marklindquist6905 I couldn't find information about what type of material vertical trimmer can work. Normally I use from 150gr/sqm to 200gr/sqm non woven paper
@@ned5234 I have a full breakdown of both of these printers Z6 and Z9, this is the list of materials the vertical trimmer can cut. HP Premium Instant-dry Gloss Photo Paper HP Premium Matte Polypropylene HP Premium Instant-dry Satin Photo Paper HP Durable Semi-Gloss Display Film HP Everyday Instant-dry Gloss Photo Paper HP Durable Banner with DuPont Tyvek HP Everyday Instant-dry Satin Photo Paper HP Super Heavyweight Plus Matte Paper HP Universal Instant-dry Gloss Photo Paper HP Universal Bond Paper HP Universal Instant-dry Satin Photo Paper HP Bright White Inkjet Paper HP Premium Matte Photo Paper HP Coated Paper Photo Gloss/Semi-Gloss/Satin Paper HP Universal Coated Paper Photo Matte Paper HP Universal Heavyweight Coated Paper HP Premium Vivid Color Backlit Film HP Heavyweight Coated Paper Backlit Material Plain Paper Transparent/Clear Film Coated Paper HP Clear Film Heavyweight Coated Paper Matte Film Super Heavyweight Coated Paper HP Opaque Scrim Banner HP Artist Matte Canvas Scrim Banner HP Matte Litho-realistic Paper Polypropylene Generic HP Professional matte canvas and Fine Art Paper HP Everyday Matte Polypropylene
The roll works best - it's what the printer was really designed for. But... I put a table of similar height behind and in front of the printer when I'm loading big sheets like 24 x 36. Loading from the rear, it's easy as pie. Paper is flat going in, flat coming out. I wouldn't try any other way.
Do not buy if you print PDF files! So disappointed in the Z9. I print mostly PDF files. I have used the Z3200 for the last 6 years, but was falling apart. No problems printing on the Z3200, I could edit colors and brightness, create custom pages sizes and many options. None of those options are available with the Z9 driver. The color on all of the prints are too dark, the font looks like it was all changed to bold, cannot create custom page sizes. A cheap $50.00 printer has more options than this. Now I have to convert 100's of pdf files to images and hopefully save my business.
Sorry to hear you're having issues with your Z9 John. Are you using the PS (Post Script) driver? It might be worth a call to HP support to get to the bottom of what's going wrong. You need to keep escalating the problem until they get you connected with a Tier 3 engineer. Sometimes this is a rigorous process, but if you are nice and try to work with them, I think it would be worth it in your case. Best wishes- Mark
@@marklindquist6905 Several long hours over 2 days with 4 different HP support guys. Tried a few different drivers on 2 different computers. It just does not work. The one tech guy sent me a screen shot of what they have when printing a PDF, and I have what they have. He was surprised by the limited options when printing PDF's. I am converting the PDF's to .PNG's as my orders come through and printing with Photoshop. Of course all the colors are a little "off" and I will have to spend a lot of time editing. Still cant get the borderless printing to work on Photoshop. I created all my posters with CorelDraw. I will try to convert them to InDesign if possible. I just started learning the Adobe products this year. If there are other drivers than the ones on HP, I would like to try them. support.hp.com/us-en/drivers/selfservice/hp-designjet-z9-postscript-printer-series/21158678
@@johnurbanski2057 You can open your PDF files in Photoshop and save them as Jpegs or Tiffs that the Z9 will print with no problems. You are apparently in "no-man's" territory with pdf's on the Z9. The main thing is that conversion is very simple. Good luck with it.
@@marklindquist6905 I've done that. The big problem is that thin lines just disappear. Lines on an angle are fuzzy. The colors are all "off". They just don't look as clean and crisp as a print from a PDF. If you want to print as a different size than the original PDF, it looks very bad. And when printing an image from photoshop, the borderless option does not work that well. It is off-center and leaves a 1mm border on 2 sides of the prints. I ran the alignment twice on the printer. I really don't like the Z9. If you are working from a windows 10 PC, don't buy this printer. A common problem is a long lag time when printing from photoshop. Does not happen all the time. But sometimes when choosing printing options, you get a 20 - 30 delay with very mouse click. As soon as it starts with one print, it happens with every print after that, very annoying. Sometimes the printer and photoshop will not communicate at all. You have to restart both of them. The Z9 is a step backwards for HP. This is the 5th HP large format I have owned, and by far the worse. If the doorway to my office was larger, I would buy the Canon imagePROGRAF. But it will just not fit.
@@johnurbanski2057 I never print pdf's - only photographs. Also, I am a Mac user. The Z9+ 24" has performed flawlessly for me - absolutely perfect photographic images. I have heard people have had problems with the 44" model and Windows 10 software. HP has had a lot of issues Pandemic related. Could be this is not the printer for you. Might be easier to widen your door to get another printer in there than to keep having problems with printing pdf's with the Z9. It's a shame you're having these problems.
