I located a URL for a web site that was on plotters run by a lady and one topic was the H.I. type of drivers and plotters. I have a few Calcomp plotters here. All of which run on the PCI interface plotter language. Have been using the type since about 1979, and gotten used to em. I like the blinding speed at which it runs, such that I can plot out a full sized drawing (in their colored ink ball point pens) in less than two minutes. An ink plot of same may take an hour, as the pens have to move so much slower in order to flow. The Calcomp PCI drivers are reactive to Autocad pen colors, same as you found on the HP-GL2 system. The Calcomp pen holders will only permit a certain count, then the numbers tend to wrap around and repeat.

I do not like to use the .25 mm pens, as the resulting lines tend to fade off into the Universe when copied. They only get used for the occasional wood graining effects. I have numerous nibs here, but .30mm is about a thin as I go normally. Not too often, but I can hit an odd ball line width using the Polyline (multi-stroking) width option of Autocad, but is simplier and faster to just choose the correct pen diameter. Did many of the plans for House of Balsa years ago, using only one pen, for Don did not know how to adjust the widths according to colors at that time.

The pen plotted ink drawings when done on cheap Fade-out or junk paper make very good copies off a Xerox type map machine. They also cost far-far less for me than one via Kinkos or some place. The quality is better than a Raster type. So the older ink plotter has a need and use here. Most all of my work is only straight or curved lines and text so this fits the parameters of the plotter well. Had a local here want to do drawings using a Mutoh pen plotter that he got for free and took home. He found a driver, but then when running it, the pictutes he was thinking of adding only showed up as a big square. Nothing noted as to the twenty years difference in technology he had. There is a special Calcomp driver for raster images using a pen plotter, but have not seen what end results look like either.



Wm.