Autocad compatibility with B size sheet printer.

[Bill.Groulx]

Hello Autocad community, Let me formally introduce myself, my name is Bill and I have been a technical draftsman for close to ten years now. I work for a company who specializes in HVAC units. I have been designing eletrical diagrams and as the years went by, everything got alot more complex, hence bigger drawings. Our electricians are now assembling pannels using magnifying glass to properly see the drawings printed on B (11x17) format. I am now looking to purchase a plotter for the following specs: Works on 120/1/60 Prints up to size D Prints in Black and White Roll and auto cut for D sized paper (preferred) since its going up against a wall. Reasonable price I am also wondering if anyone has good experience with a model that matches most of the specs and how compatible it is with Autocad. Thanks 🙂

[pendean]

AutoCAD will plot to anything with a Windows or dedicated AutoCAD driver.

How much do you want to spend?
Ink or laser?
Color or mono?
What region of the world are you in?

[Bill.Groulx]

Trying to keep it under 2 000$, Ink or laser, mono and I'm in Canada 🙂

[Bill.Groulx]

The printer would be used approximately once a week all year long. Not sure if Ink is the best solution as it tends to dry out if not used often (to my knowledge).

[pendean]

Once a week is very low: that really justifies using a print-shop instead of buying something in-house.

[Bill.Groulx]

I forgot to clarify, one project of 5 pages a week. That's 25$ in a printshop in Canada.

[M_Hensley]

The only wide format plotter I know of under $2,000 would be a low spec HP Designjet. Staples carries a couple of models under $2,000. I don't have any personal experience with one. All the plotters I have ever used cost tens of thousands. I suppose you may be able to find a used Xerox on the internet cheaply now that they are out of the wide format business.

[dgorsman]

Out of the box suggestion: its a good opportunity go digital, either through DWG TrueView, Design Review/A360, or PDF.  Only print full size hardcopy when its an absolute must ie. wet-ink signatures to be delivered to the client or regulatory agency.

Sending that amount out for printing is piddling small change compared to the purchase and maintenance cost of a decent full size plotter.  Most print shops will give a discount for regular business.  We do substantially more full size printing than that and still struggle to justify the ongoing cost.

[Bill.Groulx]

One of the issues of using a print shop is the delay, I am looking at a 48 hour delay to get drawings out and our production schedule is too tight for that. Searching through Google, I ran into Canon imagePROGRAF iPF605. Decent specs, low cost of operation, just under 1500$, would take only a few years to make it profitable. Still looking for the perfect printer 🙂