Quad Black printing on canvas with the HP Z3100

When you profile a new paper type on your Hewlett-Packard Designjet Z3100 printer, you need to choose the correct paper preset from the many that are supplied by HP. HP does have a “Fine Art Paper -> Canvas” preset, but it does not allow the use of Quad Black inks. However, there is a way to print Quad Black inks on canvas with the Z3100 (and perhaps other Z-series printers).

In Table 1 of their tech note Working with Other Commercially-available Paper (updated for firmware 6.0.0.8), HP sometimes recommends using a non-canvas preset for some commercially available canvas. For example, they recommend using “Fine Art Paper -> Fine Art Paper>250 g/m2” for some of the Fujifilm canvas. According to Table 3, this preset enables the use of Quad Blacks and increases the Ink Limiting to 60.

It also sets the print mode to 8 passes, unidirectional in the “Best Mode” setting.

I was interested in the Quad Blacks and the increased Ink Limiting for the Breathing Color Chromata White canvas that I use, so I chose the “Fine Art Paper>250 g/m2”. So far I am very happy with the result. I believe this preset expands the gamut slightly, especially in the blues and magentas. The additional Ink Limiting should result in more ink on the surface and fewer missed spots (sometimes there is a minor bump in the canvas texture that doesn’t take a full shot of ink).

VERY IMPORTANT NOTE

Using the “Fine Art Paper>250 g/m2” preset also enables the Cutter. YOU MUST DISABLE THE CUTTER manually before starting the calibration and profiling. If you don’t, the printer will attempt to cut off the calibration chart and it will jam the cutter.

Here is the proper procedure:
1. Load the canvas into the printer.
2. On the front panel, choose “Roll” and “Fine Art Paper -> Fine Art Paper>250 g/m2”.
3. Using the HP Printer Utility, open the “Color Center” tab.
4. Click on “Create and Install ICC Profile”.
5. Enable the following: “Add a new paper” and “Print target and create ICC profile”. Click “Next”.
6. In “Paper Name:”, type a suitable name for the paper.
7. In “Paper Type:”, choose “Fine Art Material -> Thick Fine Art Paper (>250 g/m2)”. Click “Next”.
8. A custom paper will be created.
9. On the next screen, you will see the profile name for the new custom paper. CLICK “Cancel”.
10. Click on “Manage Papers”.
11. Click on “Change Printing Properties”.
12. Choose the custom paper you just added.
13. UNCHECK THE CUTTER OPTION. Click “Apply”. Click “OK”.
14. Click “OK” then “Close”.
15. Click on “Calibrate Your Printer” and run a calibration for your new custom paper.
16. When the calibration is done, click on “Create and Install ICC Profile” and create a profile for your new custom paper.

NOTE: At step 7 above, you might think you can click on “Change Printing Properties” and disable the cutter. However, there is a bug in the software and this procedure does NOT disable the cutter. You can only disable the cutter through “Manage Papers”.