Plotter recommendation for Mac OSX

[David Maudlin]

ArchiCAD Talkers:

My HP 650C plotter has finally made its last plot and I need to get a replacement. My requirements are black and white (I don't need the color), 24" wide roll feed and automatic sheet cutter, and compatibility with Mac OS10.6.8. This will be a light duty operation, I only run a few sets a few times a month, and plotting speed is not critical. I would appreciate any recommendations and insights into plotters that users have acquired in the last few years, both machines to consider and machines to avoid.

Thanks for your input.

David

[David Maudlin]

I am posting a update to this thread so others can know of my experience.

I got the HP T120 about a month ago, it was about 30% less than the Canon Ipf605. So far I have only done black & white plots. The HP T120 prints about the same speed as my old HP 650C, but the printing starts much more quickly on the new machine after hitting OK to send the print job, so overall it is faster. The wireless connection was very easy to set up, now I can print equally well from my laptop or desktop machine. I would say the noise level between the two machines is about the same.

The only downsides I have experienced so far is that the old machine would keep the print job in memory, so if a paper roll ran out it would just resume where it stopped once the new roll was loaded, the T120 requires that the print job be sent again after loading a new roll. Also, the T120 will not print if any of the cartridges are empty or otherwise not working, the 650C was not so fussy (and I realize that from HP's point of view I did not purchase a printer, I bought a single source consumer of print cartridges).

The T120 also has sheet trays that handle sheets up to 12" wide, this is a plus as I have a builder using a 11x17 printer, so prefers output that size. With the 650C I had to run the prints on the 24" wide roll then cut them down. The roll margins are .2" on all sides, the sheet feed takes a .67" margin on one end, so some printable area is lost with sheets.

Thanks for everyone's input, I am happy with the new machine.

David

[Anonymous]

My first post:

David, is your new HP Postscript compatible? Did you pay extra for the capability?

For José, I've been told that the Canon is Postscript capable without having to purchase that capability extra from HP. Is this so?

All participants, is it necessary to have Postscript capability for printing/plotting? I'm on a Macintosh iMac and MacBook Pro; 10.6.8.

[aahatimo]

i print to my hp t770 with no problem. we do not have postscript option just using hp drivers.

[David Maudlin]

Kenneth wrote:
David, is your new HP Postscript compatible? Did you pay extra for the capability?

It does not have PostScript, adding PostScript is not an option, there are other HP printers that will accept PostScript.

Kenneth wrote:
All participants, is it necessary to have Postscript capability for printing/plotting? I'm on a Macintosh iMac and MacBook Pro; 10.6.8.

I don't see any need for it. For ArchiCAD PostScript is not needed (or used), I think you would need to identify specific applications that output PostScript to determine your need for that capability.

David

[Anonymous]

AFAIK Postscript is no longer needed on Macs at all except for perhaps some esoteric file exchange uses. Printing and display on Macs has been based on a version of PDF built into the OS for some years now. So if a printer has Mac drivers it should work with everything.

Minor aside: "Plotter" is getting to be an archaic term. None of the major manufacturers are calling them that any more. They are all printers now.

[Stress Co_]

Hi David:
Still happy with your T120?

I'm having issues with my 110plus and looking to replace it.
(with the HP T120 or the Canon IPF 605)

[David Maudlin]

Stress wrote:
Hi David:
Still happy with your T120?

Yes, still happy: no problems to date. I use it mostly for large size black & white output (11x17 to 24x42), I use a standard printer for the 8 1/2 x 11 pages.

David