topic Re: What Plotter should I buy? in Documentation

What Plotter should I buy?

Anonymous — Thu, 18 May 2023 22:27:32 GMT

I would like to get some input on what the best plotter to buy for archicad 8.1. I am thinking about getting the new HP Desk Jet 430 24" but I am not sure if it will standard 24X36 plots. Do I need to get the HP 36" or can I print it in a landscape form.

I have a budget of about $1500.00 US and I would like to get color.

Thanks

Jon

Re: What Plotter should I buy?

Anonymous — Sun, 29 Aug 2004 21:32:02 GMT

I am not familiar with the 430, i think it is only B&W. I have the 24" HP500ps which has worked well with both my pc and my mac, good color printing, grayscale, and black and white. I would be very surprised if the 24" would not print a standard 24X36. Just make sure whatever you get has a roll feed and automatic cutter, loading each sheet individually is definitely not worth the $$ saved.

Re: What Plotter should I buy?

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Aug 2004 01:07:11 GMT

The 430 is the black only version of the 450. I know at least one firm that used the 450 for years (starting in '99?) with good reliable results. The 24" model is fine for D-size (maybe a little slower than the 36" - maybe not). If you don't need E-size or color the 430 could be just the thing for you. Keep in mind that it is a very old model (I think it was introduced in 1997). This is not necessarily a problem just something to be aware of.

Re: What Plotter should I buy?

Anonymous — Mon, 30 Aug 2004 16:30:06 GMT

If you are using a Mac I would avoid the HP 500PS. HP has failed to provide a workable driver for this plotter, and do not seem the least bit interested in providing their Mac users an update anytime soon.

For more info, check out the HP 500PS driver forum at:
https://www.designjet.hp.com/forums/tree_display.html?forum_id=8&pageseq=951154.

Re: What Plotter should I buy?

Stress Co_ — Tue, 31 Aug 2004 05:15:34 GMT

Jon:

I am not sure if it will standard 24X36 plots. Do I need to get the HP 36" or can I print it in a landscape form.

I'm using an HP DesignJet 130nr. (w/ Mac OS 10.4)

It's a 24" wide printer and I can print 24" x 36" sheets, no problem. I assume the 430 will do likewise.

A word of caution on the 130. It's geared more to the Graphic Artist / Photographer..... it uses a "dye" ink, instead of a "pigmented" ink. As a result, T-bond and vellum papers are not "supported" media. I've been able to print using t-bond by trial and error (print settings). The prints are a bit soft (FUZZY). Has anyone else dialed in these settings??

The HP purports? it's 100plus is a CAD printer. " No compromise CAD results".
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF05a/18972-236251-236266-12600-236266-352395.html
It's a color printer and it uses pigmented ink. It should print cleaner black lines (like the 500 series) but it seems useless to me as it lacks a roll feed attachment. I spoke with an HP Rep, and she said they may be adding a roll for this printer (US market), but you may have to wait awhile to see it. On the plus side.... it sells for under US$1,000.

Good shopping.

Marco

Re: What Plotter should I buy?

Stress Co_ — Thu, 02 Sep 2004 21:44:13 GMT

Jon:

Check out HP's website.
http://h10010.www1.hp.com/wwpc/us/en/sm/WF06b/18972-236251-236266-12600-236266-352395-295943-423837.html
The DesignJet 110 plus nr is now available (Sept.9th) ..with a roll feed. The price has not posted yet.

Re: What Plotter should I buy?

Stephen Dolbee — Fri, 03 Sep 2004 11:39:28 GMT

Jon,
We are also having a hard time deciding on which plotter would be best for us. We don't need color, but will probably go for the HP500. It comes standard with things the 430 offers only as options-color, roll feed, cutter, and more standard memory. It retails for about $2,095. Stand and media bin are extra.

Steve

Re: What Plotter should I buy?

rgarand — Thu, 09 Sep 2004 20:51:35 GMT

IF you want to stay with HP, look into a refurbished one. With your budget of $1500 you can probably get a pretty good DesignJet that prints color. If it is an HP DesignJet, they tend to last a long time. IMHO

Re: What Plotter should I buy?

Jacek — Thu, 09 Sep 2004 23:54:21 GMT

The DesignJet 110 plus nr is now available (Sept.9th) ..with a roll feed. The price has not posted yet.

The price is $995.00 plus extras

Re: What Plotter should I buy?

Anonymous — Thu, 30 Mar 2006 20:46:43 GMT

Dear AC talkers.
This is a pretty old thread, but I would like to revisit this question.

Our Epson 3000 has worn out it's welcom. From day one it has had paper feed problems. With that said, anyone interested in buying it. It has an ethernet card and will print to 17" x 22" (C size) paper.

We are looking at either an Epson Stylus Pro 7800 or a HP Designjet 500. The Epson lists for about $3,000.00 but is ready to use on a Mac network (Firewire or USB). Epson seems to be more reliable when it comes to Macs. Do you agree?

HP lists for about $2,100.00 but by the time you get it to talk to our network it's price will likely be near the Epson.

The Epson is an 8 color ink system while the HP is only 4, but the way we are thinking, the 4 colors are more then enough and don't really see the need for Epsons 8 colors.

I would appreciate any thoughts that you have as to helping us make a wise descision.

Thanks in advance
Dave

Re: What Plotter should I buy?

Steve Jepson — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 20:57:49 GMT

Don't buy...lease!

HP800

Re: What Plotter should I buy?

Anonymous — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 21:19:00 GMT

Steve; Why lease? Where is the advantage. Why the HP 800. What does it have / do that the Epson and the Cannon don't have. If you are leasing this printer now, what is the cost per month? How long is the lease?

Thanks in advance.

Re: What Plotter should I buy?

Steve Jepson — Wed, 26 Apr 2006 21:46:58 GMT

I am leasing an HP800. My main reason is the 2400dpi!

The results are truly outstanding. I love working with color. The ink is all the same price anyway. Graduated gray scale fills are incredibly smooth. Event the most delicate variations is shade or pen widths are perfectly printed. What you see is what you get. If you can see the difference on your screen, you will see the difference in the print too. Very fast too for quick check sets.

I lease because the tax advantage for me is better than depreciation.

Like computers, their is no advantage in ownership. By the time you get it paid for is is obsolete and needs to be relpaced. Maintainance for a large format printer is not cheap. I have included with my lease, bumper to bumper coverage for the duration of the lease. I have no worries.

I have had mine for about 6 mo. It has worked flawlessly since I turned it on. Many, many media types including film, mylar, and weather proof fabrics kind of like Tyvek for outdoor signs and posters.

Good for tiny little things like business cards on hi gloss photo paper.
You can print on media as small as 8 1/2 x 11 single sheets or 42" X 150' or what ever your role length is.

Be sure to visit the HP website. you can get these for as little as $96-$100/mo. My lease payment for 36 mo. is $121.00 because I added some things like the stand and mainanence agreement, etc...

Don't buy a used printer. It's like buying used food.
Don't buy on Ebay. The plotter area is full of fraud. Very, very risky.
Lease direct from HP. Watch for the promos. Free shipping ect...

Re: What Plotter should I buy?

Anonymous — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 15:29:06 GMT

Anybody have experiences with the HP DesignJet 4000? We're looking into an additional plotter, and this looks to suit the bill. Does a mult-roll feeder work with the Mac drivers?

Thanks in advance!
Wes

Re: What Plotter should I buy?

Anonymous — Fri, 02 Jun 2006 17:23:30 GMT

I have a 430 and have used it for the last 5yrs.
I have never had a problem with it and it is fairly fast.
It will print 24" x 36". As a matter of fact, it will print 24" x ?.
I once accidentalyy printed a 24" x 42'-0" plot.
You can get a color upgrade from HP for about $500.
I have't gotten one yet, so I can't comment.

Re: What Plotter should I buy?

Anonymous — Thu, 20 Jul 2006 14:21:20 GMT

A final update on our plotter/printer purchase.
Our budget just did not allow us to go with the Epson Stylus Pro 7800 or the HP Designjet 500. What we settled on was the HP Design Jet 110 nr. It will do D size paper (on a 150' roll) (24" x 36"). It also will feed individual sheets from letter size to C-size. The delivered price was just over $1,000.00. Set up on our network was a breeze, using the included ethernet connection. The nice thing was that it only uses 4 inks. No, it is not a photo quality printer. For Cadd drawings we just felt this was not a neccesity. The printer has worked flawlessly. 5 to 10 times faster than the Epson 3000 using gimp print. The Epson used to be just about as fast when we didn't need to use gimp print, but since updating to OS 10.4.6, gimp printing was our only solution. If you are using Microsoft OS, Or if you are still using Mac OS 10.3 this printer will work very nicely for you. Keep in mind that the paper needs constant attention to feed properly. We would love to sell the Epson Stylus Color 3000, and will let it go cheap. We have $200.00 of Ink refills, and the printer has almost full ink cartridges. It has an ethernet card, parallel printer port and the old Mac serial port. If anyone is interested let me know and this printer could be yours for an attractive price. Printer will do C-size paper - 17x22.