# Anyone have a plotter?



## Greg Di (Mar 12, 2005)

I'm thinking about getting a cheap plotter so I can print plans.

I currently have and 11x17 printer that I use solely for plans, but the steel framing we are doing requires a lot of detailing and it gets really crowded on 1/4" scale drawings.

Plotters ain't cheap, but I found a used one for $150 on CL I might grab. 

Is there any PITA with a plotter or are they similar to laser printers?

Anything to look for or avoid?


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## Kent Whitten (Mar 24, 2006)

I think Brian has one. No reprographics places nearby? Pretty cheap to go this route but inconvenient.


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

Greg Di said:


> Is there any PITA with a plotter or are they similar to laser printers?


Plotters are almost universally inkjets, at least in the price range you and I would consider. Never had one myself, but I've been around a few.

About the only thing you'd need to worry about with a used one, assuming you see it demo'd and it prints okay, is the age/condition of the rubber paper-handling rollers. 

Wear is one thing, but the rubber can also harden over time and lose its tackiness, resulting in a lot of slippage. That can be restored to an extent as long as it's not too big a PITA to get access to them.

If you find yourself in that situation, let me know and I can give you some tips. I dealt with that sort of thing regularly when I used to servie fax machines.


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## Willie T (Jan 29, 2009)

If you get an older 'pin' one..... talcum powder and a dehumidifier are going to become part of your life. Those things don't like moisture in any form.


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## Timo (Nov 22, 2006)

I inherited an older hp inkjet when my last in-house designer left.

We used 36" rolls and it was as simple to operate as any other printer even though it was so old that you could only find refill cartridges on eBay.

I listed it on craigslist for $250 and didn't receive much interest.

You will wonder how (mainly why) you waited this long to step up to a plotter.


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## 480sparky (Feb 1, 2009)

*Anyone Have A Plotter? *

Not since my wife filed for divorce.

:laughing:


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## mrghm (Nov 19, 2006)

got large HP mono color, for a few drawings its good but for 20+ its easy to use print house.

only issue is that have a PC setup that runs XP as the software doesnt like widows 7.


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## Nac (Apr 16, 2006)

I use a 13x19 right now. But am looking at HP's 24" wide format printer it is about $1,000.00 new


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## Joasis (Mar 28, 2006)

Wow...anyone remember blue prints, ammonia and drafting tables? Man, I miss the smell and look of the prints.


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## tgeb (Feb 9, 2006)

I bought a used HP500ps plotter, it prints up to 42" wide.

It worked but had some error messages when I picked it up, I have since put about $120 in parts into it and now it prints flawlessly. I paid $600 for it.
I've had it about 1 year, it has not paid for itself yet, but it will. I was dropping as much as $45 at FedEx/Kinkos to get a set of plans printed in order to bid jobs.

I can print 24X36 pages for less than 50 cents/page, FedEx was $3.50/page if I recall.

I'd watch Craigslist, that is how I found this one.

As far as what to avoid....The older ones do not have parts available so beware of that. The one I have has been discontinued by HP, but parts are readily available.
Smaller models print pretty slow.
Roll paper is cheaper and easier to use than sheet feed.
Color printing is something you definitely should have.
Auto cutter is nice too.


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## zoltan (Jun 16, 2012)

Don't buy a HP Designjet 430 like we did. its a dinosaur. spent $500.00 and worked for just passed the 3 month warranty we got. after that your on your own. parts and service is really expensive for these things. so now i am looking for something that will last at least a couple years.


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## txgencon (Jan 4, 2011)

Joasis said:


> Wow...anyone remember blue prints, ammonia and drafting tables? Man, I miss the smell and look of the prints.


I still have a drafting table I use on occasion. I modified it to fit as a cap over my desk. It has that mat material on it that is perfect under vellum paper for making consistent pencil lines.


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## FGCC (Mar 1, 2012)

I have a 36" HP 1055cm Plus, and it makes excellent prints. I still have a Xerox 2510 also for making copies when I am given hard copies by architects that do not send PDF's. I was going to get rid of the copier and get a whole new set up so I could scan also, but then came across the plotter, and couldn't pass it up. I don't have experience with other brands, so I can't help you out there. I can tell you that you will not regret a plotter, especially if you have to give plans to subs.


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