Thanks Sergey!
Thanks Sergey!
I got a z3100 24 inch about a year after they came out and I've had a z3200 44" for about two years. Each machine has had one significant repair, the z3100 had a drive issue quite awhile after I sold it, but that was solved for a couple of hundred dollars by a local independent service firm. It continues to run fine. My z3200 blew a red print head and spewed ink inside the machine. I diagnosed the problem, did the cleanup and replaced the head. There have been no further problems. I've heard varying experiences from z-series users I keep in touch with ranging from no problems whatsoever in most cases to a succession of expensive repairs in two cases.
Personally I have not bought the extended warrantees, feeling that one or two repairs over the warrantee period would be unlikely to exceed the price of the warrantee. If I were running a job shop and depended upon the machine to earn income everyday, I might decide differently. Also think about who in your region could do a repair for you if you do not have the warrantee.
Bill
I would definitely get the longest warranty available for the HP Z3200 if you decide to get the Z3200. I am on my 4th--- that's right 4th ---formatter board for the Z3200. If I didn't have the extended warranty I would have had to replace them at about $1250.00 apiece. The PCA board has also had to be replaced which is not a user replaceable item. There have been four service calls on the printer. In fact, the last technician said that he would contact the company about possibly replacing the entire printer if I had another issue. So far I haven't had any belt trouble which seems to be another common problem. Also, the inks have the habit of expiring and you get a terse little message saying the the warranty will expire if you don't replace the cartridges with fresh ones (at $70.00 apiece). I am happy with the spectrophotometer/calibration features and print quality but the reliability concerns would make me not consider another HP product when the current one dies and is out of warranty. Don Kellogg
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