terry.mortimore

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Hi Gang:

I'm thinking about picking up an older HP pen plotter that would allow me to print out RC plans.

Can someone educate me on the current availablity of pens and supplies? I see pens on Ebay, but I'm wondering if they are still available by retail.

How were these plotters to use? How well did they work?

Any thoughts or comments would be appreciated.

Thanks, Terry.

jetplane

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try cadwarehouse.com,,,,,they still carry lots of supplies,,,i have two hp there great ,,,for plan work ,,up to "D"&"E" size drawings,
maybe this would help

Ed Smith

You might want to enquire about drivers for this plotter. Some of the older CAD programmes had drivers built in. If you already have drivers or are able to download some the issue then becomes compatability with the newer operating systems.

I have a Calcomp inkjet plotter that was new in '97. I have been told that the drivers are obsolete for the latest Windows programme.

Ed S

CoosBayLumber

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Supplies for H-P pen plotters seem to be like fleas on the back of a dog. Everyone has them, and no one can get rid of them.

You didn't state which plotter model. I have used several since the original Draftmaster days through the 7585b to inkjet, but as for pen plotters I prefer the Calcomp as they are 50% faster when you want a simple initial or rough plot. If you use it on an occasional basis, like once per day, it ought to last you several years. Any problems will immediately be known once you boot up the plotter. Most of the later HP pen plotters use pens with 64-HP somewhere in the part number.

I would think it OK to buy via Internet auction, as the pens via the local blueprint shop run $10 to $18 each. Don't buy just one, but get several to make up for postage, and you may have to through away one or two as non-working. Stay away from the felt tip pens as they tend to dry out too fast. Go for ball or roller ball tips for rough plots. Doubt you will be able to find original replaceable tip liquid ink pens, so you will have to go with disposable. I have known of folks who have reloaded these, but I still have an original plotter kit so can load my own from a $3 bottle of plotter ink, and they go for years on paper (but only 5-10 plots on mylar). Aim for tip diameters of .25, .35 and .50 as you can multistroke to get other linewidths. Sizes smaller than .25 tend to plug up too fast around here due to heat.

The older H-P pen plotters ran on HP-GL language. This interface was popular though until about 1995 when the inkjets became popular and things got switched over to HP-GL2. Autocad had a driver installed through their vesion R-13, and available separately in R-14, but is not compatible with more recent versions. If you are going to run a graphics program, you may be in for trouble, as many were not compatible 'cept in their early versions. The WinLine driver is made up just for compatibility between HP pen plotters and graphics software, but runs about $395 retail. This driver was free with purchase of Intellicad 98. The pen plotters may NOT run in late model Windows environments, but do run fine with 98 and earlier. Calcomp will not run in XP, but will in 95 or 98, and "on occasion" with versions in between.

For this evening, you ought to investigate the compatibility factor. Visit sites such as www.cadalog.com, www.autodesk.com, then http:lorand.net/wwwboard for installation problems, and then what you can gather from some of the questions placed at www.hp.com under plotters. This last place is more interested in inkjet now.


Wm.

cu. in.

I have purchased pen plotter supplies from Numeridex for years. They are located in Wheeling, IL. Their phone number is 1-800-323-7737. I use an HP "D" size DraftPro Plus pen plotter equipped with HP-GL/2 for plotting out of CadKey.

Bruce

terry.mortimore

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Hi Gang:

Thank you for the replies, looks like pens should not be a problem.


The plotter I've been looking at is a HP 7580B and I want to be able to use AutoCAD 14 with it. I have no loyalties to operating systems. I'm currently running windows 98, but it looks like I may have a dedicated computer to use with it so I can easily run windows 95 with it if need be.

HP's web site states that windows 95 and 98 have drivers for the 7000 series hp plotters, so if they work ok, that should solve the driver concerns. Looking at Autodesk.com I see that they have a driver download for version 14 and the hp plotters.

This is just a hobby for me, so a $395.00 driver is out of the question.

I'm a real rookie when it comes to autocad and now the plotter, so any thoughts or comments you can pass along are greatly appreciated.

thanks, terry.