Z3100 Printing on hard surface

[Harris]

Does anyone have any experience printing on metal or other hard surface with the Z3100.  If it can be done, it would need to be fed straight through into the printer.  The sheet paper feeder can be removed and it appears that something could be fed directly into the printer by hand but do not know if this would be the way to do it or even if the printer can handle it.
Harris

[Ernst Dinkla]

Does anyone have any experience printing on metal or other hard surface with the Z3100.  If it can be done, it would need to be fed straight through into the printer.  The sheet paper feeder can be removed and it appears that something could be fed directly into the printer by hand but do not know if this would be the way to do it or even if the printer can handle it.
Harris
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

For several reasons the Z3100 isn't the printer to experiment with for prints on rigid sheets. The media transport is limited to 0.8 mm and has a slightly inwards curved path + the transport wheel clamping is a strong one. Even if you can find a suitable printable material of that thickness you may see damage to the coating as that always will be the softest side of that media and it is touched by small rolls.

I'm not afraid to experiment. On my older Epson wide formats I have pulled through 1.3 mm polycarbonate with an inkjet coating that I had applied with silkscreen printing and on other occasions museum carton of 1.8 mm (0.3 mm more than recommended by Epson). The media transport paths of the Epsons are different though. It would not be in your interest or HP's to go to the limits of the Z3100 as I foresee damage to the moving parts and there's more in that head assembly than just the heads.

Ernst Dinkla

try: [a href=\"http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Wide_Inkjet_Printers/]http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Wide_Inkjet_Printers/[/url]

[Harris]

Thanks for the advice Ernst - guess I will let someone else be the guinea pig on this question.

Harris

[neil snape]

Thanks for the advice Ernst - guess I will let someone else be the guinea pig on this question.

Harris
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=138598\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

Although we have successfully printed on >+500gm/2 paper thickness being probably a little more than 0.8mm , metal is not going to work in the Z.
The little 9180 though does almost anything you can through at it.

[Avalan]

Harris

I doubt about it too. You may want to check it with Booksmart studio. They sell prinatble metal sheets and in their studio they use several differnt printers including Z3100. If it is possible to do so, they will know about it.

Avalan

[casterle]

Harris

I doubt about it too. You may want to check it with Booksmart studio. They sell prinatble metal sheets and in their studio they use several differnt printers including Z3100. If it is possible to do so, they will know about it.

Avalan
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=138635\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

I'm also interested in this. I've already bought the metal sheet sample pack (before I'd decided on the Z3100).

I spoke with Kory at Booksmart Studio, and he told me he thought it would work OK but hadn't tried it. He said that he had it on his to-do list, and thought he'd have a chance to get to it next week. He took my email address and promised to email me with the results. I told him about this thread, so I wouldn't be surprised if he followed up here as well.

[casterle]

I received this from Kory today:

I have successfully loaded the metal in the HP Z3100.  To do so just line the meat up with the blue guides in the front.  Make sure to use the custom media - fine art media pearl.  I am working on making a profile and the calibration will not work with the metal.  I will let you know more as I continue development of the metal on the Z3100.

[Mark Lindquist]

Very cool - looking forward to hearing more about this-

M

[Ernst Dinkla]

I received this from Kory today:

I have successfully loaded the metal in the HP Z3100.  To do so just line the meat up with the blue guides in the front.  Make sure to use the custom media - fine art media pearl.  I am working on making a profile and the calibration will not work with the metal.  I will let you know more as I continue development of the metal on the Z3100.
[{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

What gauge are the plates ?  I would be really worried about using them on a Z model. not just the head assembly but the starwheels after that may get a hard time with metal edges and surface. That the coating survives is a wonder in itself. Not that it wouldn't be nice to have them printed on a Z3100.


Ernst Dinkla

try: [a href=\"http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Wide_Inkjet_Printers/]http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Wide_Inkjet_Printers/[/url]

[casterle]

What gauge are the plates ?  I would be really worried about using them on a Z model. not just the head assembly but the starwheels after that may get a hard time with metal edges and surface. That the coating survives is a wonder in itself. Not that it wouldn't be nice to have them printed on a Z3100.
Ernst Dinkla

try: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Wide_Inkjet_Printers/
[a href=\"index.php?act=findpost&pid=142164\"][{POST_SNAPBACK}][/a]

It looks like the metal sheets range from .005" to .020", so they're pretty thin.
I understand your concern about the starwheels - the sheets are aluminum, so presumable they're softer than the starwheels. I bought a sample pack of sheets some time ago, but haven't tried them yet.

-Leroy