HP 500 : PS or not?

[Anonymous]

I'm running AC 7.0 r3 on a pc (xp pro), and I'm going to buy a plotter. I've decided to buy the HP 500 with HP-GL/2. My problem is that I don't know if should get the PS model or the simple one. I'd prefer not to spend more money buying the Post Script model, but I wonder if the PS is needed for good plots from Archicad and Plotmaker.
Please, I'd like your advice. What are the advantages, if I buy the PS model?
Thank you.

[Stephen Dolbee]

We got the HP500 without PS last year. Works great and is fast. We don't do fancy color renderings-just construction documents (although I think it would do renderings just fine). Using PC's-don't know if Macs require PS or not. We are happy with this machine.

Steve

[Anonymous]

Just another two cents, but I use the DJ500/HPGL2 on a network with Macs and PCs with great results. PS would help you if you were using certain graphics application on a Mac, but for architectural work (and renderings, with the right settings), the 500 works well (if a bit slowly) for architectural work. IMHO, this is one of the better large format printer deals out there.

[Anonymous]

Thank you for your replies.
I finally bought the HP 500 + HP-GL/2 + jetdirect card, without the PS. I hope, I won't have any problems.
Thanks again...

[Anonymous]

You shouldn't. We used an 800 for quite a while with plotmaker and didn't have any problems with it.

[Erika Epstein]

wallcrawler wrote:
Just another two cents, but I use the DJ500/HPGL2 on a network with Macs and PCs with great results. PS would help you if you were using certain graphics application on a Mac, but for architectural work (and renderings, with the right settings), the 500 works well (if a bit slowly) for architectural work. IMHO, this is one of the better large format printer deals out there.

Could someone please elaborate on what exactly the PS does? I have an epson 3000 workhorse that I never installed it on but always wondered if I should have, is it even for windows or just mac? etc. It hasn't kept me up nights, but I have been wondering for years.
thanks

[Anonymous]

I could elaborate on the PS for you. I used to support that particular model when I worked at HP Designjet support.

The PS has more memory, a Jet Direct Card, and an embedded postscript processor. This feature helps to integrate with the MAC platforms easier; although it is not too hard to hook a standard 800 up to a MAC either. . . Essentially you could get a standard 800, and a jet direct card (because the standard 800 ships with a gl2 card), and save quite a bit of money by not having that PS sticker on the front.

Another option is that you could see how much the Designjet 500 costs. The 500 is the exact same print engine as the 800. BUT! in order for it to work with ArchiCAD you'd need to get the HP GL/2 card, as well as possibly getting a Jet Direct card for it.

Hope that helps.

[Erika Epstein]

Thank you, Chad,
but I was actually wondering what "Post Script" does.

[Anonymous]

oh.
Take a look at this then.

[Erika Epstein]

A colleague of mine recently bought the HP 500.
He was having a terrible time getting it to plot.
Graphisoft said he needed to get a special card ($7-800) which he did yet he still had troubles.
I remembered a tip here that was mentioned to PRINt, not plot and he returned the $$$card and has been happily using it that way.