Buying a 2nd hand z3100 24" ONLY for b&w printing

[chichornio]

A few days ago I posted a topic about using my z3200ps 44" for making the best b&w printing (http://www.luminous-landscape.com/forum/index.php?topic=70625.0).
Now I have the chance to buy a second-hand z3100 24" in mint condition. Is it worth to buy this printer and dedicate it only for b&w printing? As once read from Ernst Dinkla, linearizating this printer only for b&w printing gets better results over the z3200. I think that 24" will be enough, because many of the print I´ll make will come from 35mm b&w negatives.
Any feedback will be very welcome.

[aaronchan]

I personally have a Z3200 and using QTR to linearize the B&W print mode.
I can't say anything about if the Z3100 is better than the Z3200,
but according to my vision, the Z3200 B&W prints are better than the Canon iPF8300 and the Epson 9900 which I also have.
Specially on the matte paper, the contrast defiantly better than the other two.

My suggestion would be try to use the Z3200 with QTR and if you think the result is good enough, or reach to the point that you like,
why bother to get another smaller machine which is even older then the Z3200 (Z3200 is already pretty OLD).

Just my $0.02

aaron

[Roscolo]

What's the price of the 24" z3100? That would be my sole determining factor, assuming it's in mint condition as you describe. If it's cheap, I say snag it. You'll always have a backup printer as well, and except for the Red, I believe you can use the same ink carts in the z3100 and z3200. I own a 44" z3100 and 44" ipf8300, and while I don't exclusively use the z3100 for B&W, I definitely love the B&W output on the z3100, and do print all of my B&W work on it.

[Justan]

Ernst Dinkla is without any doubt one of the best sources of technical information you could hope to find anywhere.

I have a 24” Z3100 and it has been a GREAT asset. The major detail to check is that the print head belt is in good shape. The belt tends to deteriorate after 4-5 years and pieces start to fall off, and continue doing so. It’s easy and cheap but a time consuming process to replace the belt. It’s expensive to have it done.

Also, while I’ve read of problems with saturated reds on the Z3100, as mentioned above, I’ve had no problems with this in the several years I’ve used mine. Not saying it doesn’t exist, but that it’s not been a problem in my experience. It’s possible that the issue was resolved by a firmware update at some point, or that the defect only comes out in some cases. I dunno.

[Damir]

I agree with you eniterly. I also never had problem with red, and B&W prints are among the best I ever saw.