The New HP B9180 13x19 printer WOW WOW

**Steve Clark** · 26-May-2007, 12:12

I don`t understand all the HP9180 bashing, as I`ve only had a single problem, in that one sheet of paper jammed one time. Other than that , it makes beautiful prints.

**Kirk Gittings** · 26-May-2007, 12:28

There has not been a single instance of HP9180 bashing. You should actually read the thread. All the problems refered to were related to the HP Z3100.

See:
http://luminous-landscape.com/forum/...hlite=hp+z3100

**erie patsellis** · 26-May-2007, 12:37

Interestingly, I've had zero problems with my 8750 printing somewhere around 50 or so 13x19's and at least 100 8x10's, other than the outrageous price of the 102 cartridge. Anybody have a good source for aftermarket inksets? I have at least a dozen 102 lying here with caps on that I'd hate to just toss.

erie

**Gordon Moat** · 26-May-2007, 14:16

I know a few places running an HP DesignJet 130, and a few others with the DesignJet 5000 and 5500. All those seem to run with few problems and little maintanence.

Tough to browse through all the chaff at LL, though it seems a firmware update on the Z3100, and some Windows XP problems are the biggest complaints (other than someone complaining about the price dropping from launch until a few months after launch).

I almost wonder about the target audience of the newest Z series from HP. With the materials I get about professional products from HP, only the DesignJet 130, 90, or 5500 series (and a few other dye ink based machines) are included. It almost seems like the pigment ink based wide printers are intended for well funded enthusiasts, not proofing, pre-press, nor printing businesses . . . at least not yet.

I know a couple people working at the local HP wide printer division. While I did not get a direct verbal response about it, the general feeling I got was that the move into pigment based inks was more a push of a marketing direction, in that some potential customers were still biased against any dye based ink printers.

Ciao!

Gordon Moat
A G Studio

**sanking** · 26-May-2007, 16:21

BTW, in the article in View Camera it was mentioned that there are some third party RIPs available for the HP B9180. Ted, or anyone else, could we have some more information on this now?

Sandy King

**Steve Clark** · 26-May-2007, 17:59

Okay Kirk, not the 9180 in particular, but HP in general. Feel better now?

**Kirk Gittings** · 26-May-2007, 19:30

Steve,
Nor was there any HP bashing in general. Show me one. There were simply cautionary comments about the Z3100 and a couple of random comments by other people about a couple of other HP printers. How does reporting problems constitute HP bashing? You should hear me comment on some of the stupidity of Epson or Adobe or Kodak or Canon or Microtek or any of the innumerable expensive photo products I have bought that were not as advertised or simply did not work on delivery like PS3 Bridge for instance. Of what use is the web if we don't use it to inform.

Because you bought a piece of equipment by some manufacturer which works doesn't mean you have to become a cheerleader for their whole product line and dismiss all critics as HP bashers.

**Pete Watkins** · 27-May-2007, 07:34

Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear! Back to reality lads, set up a darkroom. Once all your problems are sorted with these printers Microsoft will bring out a replacement for Vista and the manufacturers will refuse to produce drivers and all your equipment will be redundant. In my opinion one of the great advantages of L.F. is that the equipment does not become redundant. I can still use lenses made over one hundred years ago, you can buy and use ancient cameras, that's why I'm here, going semi-digital is really sad! Not to mention the fact that you're being manipulated into an imferior printing option by manufacturers with little or no loyalty to their customers and you're also crapping on those of us who are trying to preserve the photographic traditions of the last hundred years by using a proven medium to record our images.
Best wishes,
Pete.

**Steve Clark** · 27-May-2007, 14:44

Hi Pete!
I`m with ya on the planned obsolesence of the electronics world. The majority of my work is done on a 1938 5x7 with lenses from both the past and present. The darkroom in the basement doesn`t share space with anything else. I find the digital quick and convenient for snapshots, and for my kids school projects, sports, etc. At this point the HP 9180 has been very reliable, and quite sufficient for what I use it for.

**Doug Keyes** · 27-May-2007, 17:36

Originally Posted by Kirk Gittings

I am looking forward to serious competition to Epson. HP and Canon are right there on the cusp. It will be good for all of us, but at the moment.......I have two friends, one who bought the HP Z3100 two weeks ago and has spent around 18 hours on the phone with customer support. The other friend bought a 3800. We installed it, had it up and running in 20 minutes, and in the first month have not had to contact support once. HP will get there with their larger machines, but personally I am still leary.
Kirk

Kirk,
I haven't heard of many reliability or other issues with the b9180.
As for the other HP printers, I've owned the z3100 for three months now. Called tech support once since and had things figured out immediately. Of course, we only hear the problems on the discussion forums. I've been reading them daily. It is usually the same 10 people with problems. There have been very few major problems if this is taken into the larger context of printers out there. As with all new technology, waiting is better than being a beta tester. From what I understand and have experienced the problems are mostly minor software issues (not print quality or hardware). These should be fixed soon as it is generally easier to fix software than hardware.
By the way, you can't really compare the 3800 to the z3100 in set-up time or any other way for that matter. One is a desktop printer, the other a large format printer with built-in spectrophotometer. Very different beasts.