anyone use a plotter at work?

ive got a buddy who has asked me about buying a new plotter, and its not really something ive looked into before.

ive done a bit of googling on best place to buy em online and it looks like HP and Canon are the go;

anyone with any real experience with plotters and purchasing of them?

Plotters at work?
Yeah there's a few guys here always plotting revenge.

Nah, last time i installed a plotter it was a HP - A0 size, printing off a roll with a cutter etc. Was pretty impressive, but you'd want it to be for $12k.

I've played around with some HP equipment at my uncle's shop (he's a signmaker).

He uses a HP.

I'd suggest getting in contact with someone that supplies Business printing equipment.

yeah we have HP here at work

What size do you need to print.

we used to have a a0 hp pen plotter ... like 10years ago! laser printers took over ages ago i thought. i know pcb manufacturers still use gerber plotters for pcb artwork... but they are very job specific... essentially a light plotter onto photographic film. what is the guy wanting to plot?

hes a roofer/builder, so im guessing building plans:

ill find out exactly what he needs

http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_6eonppuEMEo/SQY_XpgV0EI/AAAAAAAAC4U/QTTxPt1xw3U/s320/Skinhead_Plot_sff_standalone_prod_affiliate_8.jpg
He's plotting something

i used to when i was a drafty. if hes only doing the odd a1/a0, he should look at using a pro service too. they're pricey to buy and pricey to run.

last edited by mooby at 17:28:55 02/Mar/09

Yeah, we had an old plotter where I studied, turned into a nightmare once it turned a certain age - ink was pricey and paper was quite pricey too IIRC.

He's plotting something

Looks like a chick, is that eye shadow & lipstick?

We use a HP DesignJet 5500PS, HP DJ1055 and a Mutoh Value Jet 1304 at work.

The HP is great for maps and plans, and with the right paper it's cheap as chips to print with. It uses 6 ink tones and can produce some fine looking images IF (and only if) you correctly calibrate the thing and are using Pantone matching. Even then, it has trouble printing blues. We have dramas printing the blue in the Queensland Government logo. That blue and other blues similar to it tend to come out purple. Ink cartridges, print heads and head cleaners are all user serviceable but the parts themselves can add up. This plotter is also 60", so it's probably a bit overkill for just doing A0 plots.

The VJ1304 is an awesome plotter. It can plot onto paper, canvas and all sorts of vinyl. You can print directly to decals, window appliques, canvas banners and many other useful things. The media can be a bit pricey though, but the ink and media are UV resistant for like 2 or 3 years, which is quite respectable. If you print pictures onto the general purpose vinyl to hang up in your house, they'll last decades if you keep them out of direct sunlight. The colour production is amazing considering it's only CMYK, and the rip software that comes with it does excellent colour matching.

If you're after something to do plans and stuff on, I'd probably recommend an HP. They seem good enough to me. You can pick up a 42" CMYK one for pretty cheap these days that would be more than sufficient. The Mutoh is damn awesome, but the media isn't good for drawing on. It's far superior if you're looking for a machine to produce advertising paraphernalia on though.

Looks like a chick, is that eye shadow & lipstick?

You need to get out more.

also ++ for HP, but I hate the damn things so prone to failure

HAHA yeah. Wait till you burst an ink feed pipe in one of those bad boys. That's a messy bit of fun!

I used to service the sign industrys' machines in Queensland and NSW predominantly and found that each product is quite personal in a way.

I've used ranges of Canons/HP/Mimaki/Roland/Gerber/cheap chinese/indian knock-offs and found really that they all have merits and pitfalls.
I've always like Roland hardware [sometimes their software is lacking...] and Mutoh are nice to service [Mutoh need regular and proper servicing].
Mimaki can be reasonably priced depending on time of year and market.

This is a general overview [and quick! gotta start work...] of what I like.
Feel free to ask me questions.

Looks like a chick, is that eye shadow & lipstick?

Whoop is saying he'd tap that.

Is the OP actually planning to use it to draw? I know in my uncle's case, its normally used to cut.