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Plotter recommendations

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Message 1 of 11
Anonymous
314 Views, 10 Replies

Plotter recommendations

Hi everyone-

 

I'm looking for advice on plotters.  I
currently have a Cal TechJet 5524 that's been a fine workhorse, but has pulled
up lame. And of course, I had let my service contract lapse and now find that it
may cost me beaucoup $$$ (well over $1000 to fix).  Granted, I've
already saved that $1K by not having renewed for more than a year, so spending
that isn't as painful as it sounds.

 

HOWEVER, given that it's old tech and getting
drivers will be harder, and I may be going for ADT 4 or Revit soon (running ADT
3.0 now), and maybe they won't even be able to communicate with it, should I
give up the old girl and get a new model?

 

That asked, which model would be
comparable/better?  HP? Canon? I'm comfortable with paying up to $3,000,
but need a valium if I'm going to be paying more (I'm told my local dealer will
take a trade in to help soften the blow).

 

So, what plotters do some of you use? 
I'm a one-person architectural firm, probably put out 30-40 plots a week, want
to do some photo/color work, but am a perfectionist and would like good quality
linework.  I run my own sets off if on the weekend, otherwise will print 1
set and go to the blueprint shop for the rest.

 

Any advice is greatly appreciated?

 

Chris Broda


 

 


 
10 REPLIES 10
Message 2 of 11
Anonymous
in reply to: Anonymous

We have an HP 500ps with an hp/gl2 card. No complaints, works great. There
was a write up about in Cadalyst Nov 2001 I think it was.

--
Cory McConnell
BJ pipeline Inspection
Message 3 of 11
Anonymous
in reply to: Anonymous

I had one of those at a job that I worked at for a month and hatted it.
I have used 600,650,700,750,1050 and highly recommend them all.

The 500 was so basic that it was just missing stuff. I had issues with
the drivers and ended up using the 750 driver just to get it to work.

I would kick up a little more cash and get the next up model

Sorry

"Cory McConnell"
|>We have an HP 500ps with an hp/gl2 card. No complaints, works great. There
|>was a write up about in Cadalyst Nov 2001 I think it was.
Message 4 of 11
Anonymous
in reply to: Anonymous

Strange. The only problem we have found is that you have to put ink and
paper in it.

--
Cory McConnell
BJ pipeline Inspection
Message 5 of 11
Anonymous
in reply to: Anonymous

What stuff was it missing?  I have a small
network of 3 computers (a part-time bookkeeper and my PC and my laptop), and
don't do a huge volume.  But I do like a good printing speed - the
specs say 90 seconds for a standard ACad plot and that seems OK to me (not
any slower than my Calcomp).  And I do want to do photos with
it.

 

Any downside to it?  It is a much nicer
price.

 

Thanks

Chris
Message 6 of 11
Anonymous
in reply to: Anonymous

We use an HP500 and it has served us well the past
two years.  One con that I have with it is that you cannot manage the
queue.  Other than that, it works great, and I also print aerial photo's
with it.

 

Pyro Dave.


style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
"Chris Broda" wrote...

What stuff was it missing?  I have a small
network of 3 computers (a part-time bookkeeper and my PC and my laptop), and
don't do a huge volume.  But I do like a good printing speed - the
specs say 90 seconds for a standard ACad plot and that seems OK to me
(not any slower than my Calcomp).  And I do want to do photos with
it.

 

Any downside to it?  It is a much nicer
price.
Message 7 of 11
Anonymous
in reply to: Anonymous

http://www.hp.com/united-states/tradein/promo/designjet/

Hey Chris, check out the link, HP is having a rebate offer of the 1055 and
5500 series. We've got a 1055cm. 36" and like it alot. Had it for 2 years
and no problems at all. You can't go wrong with HP plotters.

Chris Broda wrote in message
news:F1CFE5C710CC584EC04F03D488765869@in.WebX.maYIadrTaRb...
> Hi everyone-
>
> I'm looking for advice on plotters. I currently have a Cal TechJet 5524
that's been a fine workhorse, but has pulled up lame. And of course, I had
let my service contract lapse and now find that it may cost me beaucoup $$$
(well over $1000 to fix). Granted, I've already saved that $1K by not
having renewed for more than a year, so spending that isn't as painful as it
sounds.
>
> HOWEVER, given that it's old tech and getting drivers will be harder, and
I may be going for ADT 4 or Revit soon (running ADT 3.0 now), and maybe they
won't even be able to communicate with it, should I give up the old girl and
get a new model?
>
> That asked, which model would be comparable/better? HP? Canon? I'm
comfortable with paying up to $3,000, but need a valium if I'm going to be
paying more (I'm told my local dealer will take a trade in to help soften
the blow).
>
> So, what plotters do some of you use? I'm a one-person architectural
firm, probably put out 30-40 plots a week, want to do some photo/color work,
but am a perfectionist and would like good quality linework. I run my own
sets off if on the weekend, otherwise will print 1 set and go to the
blueprint shop for the rest.
>
> Any advice is greatly appreciated?
>
> Chris Broda
> CBroda@CBroda.com
>
>
>
>
>
Message 8 of 11
Anonymous
in reply to: Anonymous

If you are doing color for proposals or presentations I would go with the
hp800.
It does color (1200x2400 dpi) better than the 1050. If you are doing just
construction documents with an occasional aerial I go with the 1050, it is a
real work horse.

Whichever way you go I would check magazines for reviews, so you can do a
side by side comparison.

"Chris Broda" wrote in message
news:F1CFE5C710CC584EC04F03D488765869@in.WebX.maYIadrTaRb...
Hi everyone-

I'm looking for advice on plotters. I currently have a Cal TechJet 5524
that's been a fine workhorse, but has pulled up lame. And of course, I had
let my service contract lapse and now find that it may cost me beaucoup $$$
(well over $1000 to fix). Granted, I've already saved that $1K by not
having renewed for more than a year, so spending that isn't as painful as it
sounds.

HOWEVER, given that it's old tech and getting drivers will be harder, and I
may be going for ADT 4 or Revit soon (running ADT 3.0 now), and maybe they
won't even be able to communicate with it, should I give up the old girl and
get a new model?

That asked, which model would be comparable/better? HP? Canon? I'm
comfortable with paying up to $3,000, but need a valium if I'm going to be
paying more (I'm told my local dealer will take a trade in to help soften
the blow).

So, what plotters do some of you use? I'm a one-person architectural firm,
probably put out 30-40 plots a week, want to do some photo/color work, but
am a perfectionist and would like good quality linework. I run my own sets
off if on the weekend, otherwise will print 1 set and go to the blueprint
shop for the rest.

Any advice is greatly appreciated?

Chris Broda
CBroda@CBroda.com
Message 9 of 11
Anonymous
in reply to: Anonymous

no cue management and the driver (edited). Had to use an alternate driver

"Cory McConnell"
|>Strange. The only problem we have found is that you have to put ink and
|>paper in it.
Message 10 of 11
Anonymous
in reply to: Anonymous

Thanks for the recommendations, everyone. HP will take a trade-in, but the 800,
1055, etc. are a bit too rich for my wallet.

I think the 500 is more my comfort level. However, my old girl may still have
life in her. I tried getting rid of the driver, then reinstalling and she seems
to be working (at least one plot did - haven't had time today between site
visits to try again). I'll try getting her checked out, then maybe sell her and
get the 500.

Thanks again for the advice.

Chris
Message 11 of 11
Anonymous
in reply to: Anonymous

With your requirements, I don't think you can go wrong. I do from 50 to 200
plots a week on my 500 and it performs just fine. I don't have any
additional memory or the hpgl card. I do civil drawings that are merely
vector based. I don't have a clue as to the needs of ADT4.0 or Revit. If
you're only doing 30-40 plots a week, I wouldn't think you would need much
more than I have.

Good luck with your decision!

Rick

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