LT2021 and Designjet 510 printer

[mail]

Hi All,

I have just upgraded to LT2021 from LT2018,  and am having problems printing A2 to my HP Designjet 510 printer.

In LT2018 Page Setup when I select the printer, it gives me the option of selecting an ISO A2 (Landscape) size, which then rotates the page correctly so that it fits on half an A1 sheet.

However, in LT2021, there is only an ISO A2 size, which then doesnt rotate and so ends up printing in portrait which then means I have to cut the top half of the paper manual, which is most annoying.  I cannot see any option to sort this out withn AutoCad LT.

I have noticed that in LT2018 the program uses a file called hpgd14.hdi in the drvs directory, but with LT2021 it uses gdiplot16.hdi, which seems to be a generic windows system driver.

Any help would be much appreciated.

[pendean]

Nothing with plotting has changed between the 2018LT and 2021LT: looks like in 2018LT you installed a generic HPGL driver to use there, in LT2021 you are trying to use "something else".

Can you print to A2 or any other size sheet from any other program on your PC by chance?
What is the name of the driver (and version) in Windows for that plotter?

Post screenshots from each program's OPTIONS command's PLOT/Publish pop-up as well as PLOT command pop-up if you can, high res. If you've never done that before, here is a quick tip https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RbPAxcTf8h8

TIA

[mail]

Hi Pendean, thanks for your reply.

Hopefully ive attached the screenshots below:

Im using HP DesignJet 510 driver from HP (v7.10 for Windows 7) and have never had any trouble with it before, and I can certainly print to if from any other programs on my system.  That isnt the problem though.

The problem is, as you can see in the screen shot from LT2018, the paper size allows me to select ISO A2 (Landscape), which then prints correctly without wasting paper.

NOTE: This uses the Optimized driver (hpddi10.hdi file in AutoCad DRV folder)

ACad 2018LT Plot screen

Whereas in this screenshot from LT2021, I can only select ISO A2 paper size, which then prints the wrong way on the printer and thus have to manual cut the top of the sheet to get it to a standard A2 size.

NOTE:  This seems to use the standard Windows System Driver (gdiplot16.hdi file in AutoCad DRV foler)

ACad 2021LT Plot screen

Hopefully these help to narrow down my issue.

Thanks

[pendean]

Yes, you are indeed using two different drivers: what options do you have to correct the issue if you click here 

Otherwise see the Legacy and Generic driver options as an alternate here https://knowledge.autodesk.com/support/autocad/troubleshooting/caas/sfdcarticles/sfdcarticles/HP-pri...

[mail]

Ive also tried this with Windows 10 and using HP Designjet Driver v8.1 and still the same issue occurs.

If I click on the 'properties' button, all I get to is Custom Properties page, but there arent any options that relate to anything useful.

So it certainly isnt my system(s), its an AutoDesk issue and not included the right HDI driver file.  Why do they always seem to break things when they do a new release?  Or is there anyway of using the HDI driver file from the 2018 DRV folder to get 2021 to work right?

The link you provided doesnt assist, as I havent got a problem printing to the device, just that I cant select the right paper size / orientation to avoid wasting paper!

Thanks for trying to help though.

[pendean]

Well, that's a shame. Now you'll need to find and install the V7.10 driver to install, removing all the other drivers. Give it a unique name so it's easier to select from your PLOT command pop-up, see if you can only select the V7.10 driver (if it will install).

BTW the link I provided was for you to see the specific sections I noted for you to try on the page (see my earlier post), the top half indeed has nothing to do with your issue. Did you also try the "generic driver" option also listed below the v8 driver tip?

If yes and that did not help, you will now need read the workaround portion at the very bottom of the page while you wait for others to chime in.

[mail]

Hi again,

Yes, I have found the workaround option of setting up a Generic printer based on an HP Designjet 450 printer, and it does work.  But it is a very clunky solution, which now means that whenever I open up a previous drawing, ive got to remember to change the printer in all the layouts to the new version!

Is there a way of changing the printer in all the layouts in one go, rather than having to do it individually?

Thanks

[pendean · Accepted solution]

No, there is nothing built in to do that: but you can automate with a custom button and a macro like this (scroll down to the plotting tip section)
https://www.cad-notes.com/how-to-automate-autocad-with-command-macros/

Removing the driver that does not work from your system would be another option: then you are forced to select the other driver everytime.

[mail · Accepted solution]

Just to add as info;

I installed other versions of AutoCad LT from 2018 through to 2020, and they all included the file hpgdiXX.hdi in the DRVs folder. 

Its only 2021 version that doesnt.  Tech help desk informed me that

'As you correctly inferred, there have been some changes in AutoCAD 2021 which would impact less recent HP plotters. This is mainly due to the fact that the HP recommended driver for the HP DesignJet 510 is now 7 years old and only supported for Windows XP and Vista.'

Strangley enough, if you add a Plotter using the 'Add a Plotter' and then use AutoDesks dialogs to select Hewlett Packard, there is support for the DesignJet 450c - which is a plotter MUCH older than the DJ510!