In the UK, our Canon Large Format supplies come from www.ipfstore.co.uk

Latest LF info

2012 April

• 16th The Drupa show is in May, perhaps time to see an update for the rather long in the tooth z3200 from HP. The 'Pro' replacement for the 5100 is also rumoured to be on its way from Canon. In the UK, Epson 3880 prices have been dropping recently, to around the £1k mark (includes 20% tax).

2011 December

• 28th Upcoming new LF printers from Canon will likely have optional spectros (see Canon LF news)

September

• 1st HP have announced their printer lineup that will appear at Viscom Dusseldorf in October. I note that it includes:
• "... the Designjet Z6200 Photo Printer, which uses HP Vivid Photo Inks to deliver high-quality output and high speeds. Designed for photo labs, digital print shops, advertising agencies, design firms and commercial printers, the HP Designjet Z6200 Photo Printer series delivers photo-quality prints at 2,400dpi"
• The current z6200 was announced for photokina last year. This is still only an 8 colour printer (in 44" and 60" versions) so I'm wondering what will replace the smaller z3200?
• At IPEX in May 2010 (see May below), I noticed that the new z5200 had blank spaces where the extra inks could go.

August

• 30th No signs yet of anything new from HP.
• Over the last few years I've found it more and more difficult to spot the increases in print quality between new printers. I was recently told that Epson are not expecting any big advances over the x900 series without any significant new technologies. I'd also have a pretty small list of things to improve on our Canon 8300.
• And... where is the Canon response to Epson's near ownership of the A2 printer market?

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July

• 6th The z3200 is getting on a bit, and we hear of new printers in September from HP. Why the z3200? well, it seems that they are being seriously discounted by some suppliers in the US (also with offers of free sets of ink)
• The Z3100 appeared in September 2006 and the Z3200 appeared around September 2008.
• In other news, we also hear of HP looking to expand its use of its latex ink technologies although as yet we've seen nothing to suggest it's use in photographic/fine-art applications, where environmental and material handling concerns count for little if the print quality isn't good enough...

May

• 15th If you're looking for a LF printer in the US, there is an $1800 US rebate - up to June 30th 2011

February

• 18th In the US, Canon announce 8 colour versions of the 6300 and 8300 - iPF8300S and iPF6300S info
• 2nd Is it time at last to see the iPF5100 updated to the iPF5300?
• The 5100 is looking increasingly out of place compared to the newer x300 printers and and announcement could come in the next week or so in time for the CP+ show (9th-12th Feb).
• One reason we might not see it at this show is that it traditionally fits into the Canon LF print business, rather than part of the Pixma range.
• Is it time for Canon to bring out a 12 ink competitor to the Epson 3880 - a printer with a market segment all to itself?
• We've had suggestions that this was due, but never any details - also suggested at [CR]

2010 November

• 10th We've now got a Canon iPF8300 at Northlight and are updating the 8300 page with info as we find it.
• 

October

• 21st Keith visited Epson UK and had a look at the 4900 (and 7890)

September

• 29th We're told by Epson that the 4880 will remain a current product and available alongside the 4900.
• 21st The 4900 is announced (along with 7890/9890)

July

• 30th Epson 4880 and 11880 to be updated? - 4900 rumours page
• 29th We've a detailed review of the Canon iPF6300

June

• 11th We've been contacted by Sample Print in the UK who are providing a free sample print from any one of a number of Canon large format printers from a wide range of test images and media choices.

2010 May

• 18th HP announce the z5200 PostScript 44" printer - 8 colour.
• Aimed at higher volume rather than the fine art market - 300ml cartridges.
• This was on display at the IPEX show in the UK [more IPEX info]
• 
• Note the space in the left hand ink bay for taking it up to 12 inks... ;-)
• 
• z3300 any time this year?
• I also took a look at the Canon iPF8300
• 
• [more IPEX info]

April

• 27th A good review of the iPF6300 from Scott Martin who notes (in his clear HP/Epson/Canon comparisons)
  • "HP clearly does the best job providing clearly named media types, custom media types and custom profiles on-board. This is truly something Epson and Canon could learn from and is a huge ease-of-use advantage for HP. Should HP release a faster, refined printer with an inkset to match Canon’s Lucia EX and Epson’s HDR inksets, they could have a winner on their hands."
• Think I might go along to IPEX...
• 24th It's the big IPEX show in Birmingham (UK) next month (18th to 25th) and Canon, Epson and HP will all be there.
  • The Epson 7900/9900 are not yet 2 yrs old, so unlikely to be replaced yet - a 4900 is more likely.
  • The Epson 11880 dates from July 2007, so a 11900 with HDR ink set might be expected this year (we had some comments pointing to this, but no direct info).
  • The Canon iPF6300 is still waiting for a European release...
  • The HP z3200 is nearly two yrs old (see below).
• 23rd Although not announced in the UK, I see that there is an initial review of the iPF6300.
• 22nd Full SP3880 review
• 10th It's noted [YG] that HP have had a 2 year gap between announcements.
• "Looks like the Z3100 appeared in September 2006 and the Z3200 appeared around September 2008 so a refresh might be expected this fall especially if competitive forces come to bear"
• We had a detailed look at the HP Z3200 last year (right), and will be keen to see what follows it.
• 8th Still no news on when the new Canon printers will be announced in the UK.
• 5th We've an Epson 3880 on loan from Epson and will have a full review later this month.

2010 March

• 9th At WPPI, Canon US show the iPF6300 et al.
• Meanwhile, in the UK, Canon still have the iPF6100 and 8100 on display at the Focus trade show.
• There is no news of an official UK announcement yet, but that does mean there are some very good deals available on the 6100/8100 at the moment in the UK.
• We recently had a long look at the iPF6100 (below) and intend to look at what's changed as soon as one is available here in the UK.

The 7880 from our SP7880 review

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