[saslandscape]

I've been using hand graphics for all of my designs, but I'm thinking of biting the bullet and using AutoCAD for some of my bigger projects.

My question to y'all is: what type of plotter do you use? There are so many to choose from, I don't know which ones are reliable. I'm thinking a 24" plotter should be big enough, because most of my designs are 18 X24 or 11 X17, but I don't know what brand or model to get...

[agla]

I found good bang for the buck with an HP 500c. I'm not sure if they still make that model, but it ran about $2,500 about 5 years ago for the 24". Ink lasts a long time and is relatively inexpensive.

One of them was in the engineering office that I worked in and one I bought for the desin/build that I worked for. The one in the engineering office sees a heavy work load and has only had to have a "routine" maintenance when it hit a certain milestone. The one in the design/build sees light duty and has only had ink cartridges replaced.

I have a very old b&w 36" HP Designjet 1663 which you can't even get a driver for at my home office. I fool it with another driver. I got it on Ebay for $151, but I had to pick it up. It gets the job done, but it is not great.

A lot of engineering and surveying companies are switching to laser scanner/copier/printers, so you may be able to get a deal on a good used plotter. Sometimes the regional ASLA or AIA organizations have classifieds on their websites where you might find one. Ebay tends to be high priced in my opinion and the shipping costs will kill any bargain.

HP is pretty much the standard for large format inkjets.

[PSUscaper]

I hava a HP 750c plus that I bought about 8 years ago that has been all but flawless. Only problem I have is the colored ink never work because I don't use them and they get clogged up.

Paid around $2500 also. I kind of would have liked the 36" wide sometimes though, so I would think about that. You can always print smaller, but can't go bigger.

[agla]

If you go with a used machine, try to get one that has separate print heads rather than printing directly from the cartridge like most home inkjets or they will need to be wiped if you don't use them. That is not hard, but then it wants to re-align and wastes time and ink.

I know PSU knows this, but it should be pointed out that a 24" machine will print 24"x36" or longer. A 36" on the short side is a very large plan and hard to handle, so it is not often used.

[saslandscape]

Y'all are life savers- I don't know what I'd do without this forum! I will definitely look for the plotters you have talked about and see if I can get any good deals on them.

I've designed for landscape companies that used blue printing machines in their office, but the amonia smells awful, and they were extremely high maintenance (one of them had a plotter and a blue print machine). That's why I think a plotter will work the best, plus I love the black on white look (the color stands out better with AD Markers too). Thanks for the recommendations!

[Cochran]

One other idea, depending on the amount of larger designs you would need printed...

I have an 11 X 17 printer in my office, but for larger stuff 24" and above, I sent over to the local printing shop in town and they print it out for me on their plotters. If you don't print out enough designs to justify the expense of a plotter, this is a good alternative. I have a PDF Converter and convert my designs to PDF format and email it over and they print it out and have it ready to pick up.

I would like a plotter, but don't have enough room in my current office so I use the printing shop route.

[PSUscaper]

The only reason I would like the 36" job is really for commercial jobs, as they like to have the entire project on one page and many of the local engineering firms use them, so it ties in with their plans.

I personnally don't like using the big plans, as they become quite cumbersome on clients kitchen tables.

It's funny, but lately, I have been just printing out my work on 8.5x11 pieces of paper without much concern, even on more detailed projects.

[agla]

Another thing you may want to do that might be very beneficial is to go to a local engineering firm to see if they could charge you a rate to plot on their machine on a regular basis. It is a real good way to get them familiar with you. They are at the beginning of the job pipeline and if they refered you, you'd be getting contact with clients before anyone el$e. That is a good thing.

[saslandscape]

Agla- do you sometimes color render your designs with AD Markers? The problem is some plotters' ink doesn't set right (or perhaps it's the paper) where the markers smear the ink. I've been having to go to Kinkos to make my copies because I don't have that problem with their copies, but I do with the other copy centers.
Have you or anyone else run into this situation? I color most of my drawings (one of my favorite parts of the design process and really makes the project easier for clients to read), so this is a really important factor for the plotter I decide to get. Thanks for all of y'alls comments!

[Inspired]

I have an HP Designjet 100C. I bought it for about 1400.00. It prints 24" x 36" from the short side.

It will print in color. The ink runs with some markers so I've been using art pencils. I don't color very much, but I'd like to more. Clients seem to understand the drawing a little better if it's colored.

[agla]

I do not use markers. Very rarely do I add color. If it is a commercial job with basic planting, I use solid hatching in Acad. If not, I use colored pencil.

[papercutter]

Any inkjet ink will bleed or run when hit with Chartpak or Prismacolor markers, but a laser won't (at least, not as badly). Believe it or not, Copic markers don't make inkjet prints run, nor do they bleed over as much as the others (on standard CAD bond, I can color right to the line with a Copic). They look more expensive at first, at about $4 a marker, but they're refillable- a $5 refill equals 3 markers or so. I still use Chartpaks, but I love my Copics.

Dave

[agla]

You could print on vellum or mylay and add color on the back. It is a different effect, but looks pretty nice.

When I was in school they showed us that technique. Adding prismacolor over it on the front was very cool.

[FungusMudGrub]

I bought a 36" HP 650c, rebuilt. I really only needed a 24" though, ' cause anything bigger than 24x36 is just too unwieldy. Live and learn.