HP Pen Plotter

[Doug_P]

I have been given an old HP 7586b plotter. Is there a way to use it with Autocad 2009? I would like to know before I accept the offer, it's big and I need to move it about 15 miles.

[lpseifert]

See if you can get a driver from HP for your operating system.

[Doug_P]

I've tried to locate a driver from HP and there isn't one available. I'm running Windows XP pro. I was wondering if anyone has tried to run one of these older plotters on a newer computer.

[Rickard5]

I use the same Roland Plotter Driver on all my HP Pen Plotters and they work Flawlessly

I'm using the Roland DXY980 plotter Driver in win 2k, XP and Vista

I have a Draftmaster Pen Plotter at the shop

a 7475A and a 7470 here in my Home Studio

and I have a 7550 out in my home shop I use to plot templates and such

All of them work flawlessly with this driver! I'm also using Autocad 2002

I think the 7586B is an HPGLII Plotter so the stock windows HPGLII driver will work ! but some things to remember

 

1. Plotters are not printers, You are pretty much going to use it with Autocad or Illustrator only, they don't print Raster Graphics

 

2. HP Felt tip pens suck! It is worth the time and investment to buy some Rapidograph pens off epay to convert to plotter pens I can tell you how.

 

3. Hord every OLD DRIED up pen you can get your hands on thay are real useful for conversions, Like I build CHEEP CHEEP Balpoint pens for doing checkplots and for plotting pattrens

 

4. if you do go the Rapidograph pen rout you'll save a TON OF MONEY on ink, Cartridges for my HP DesignJet 600 cost me like $28 each but a bottle of Rapideograph Ink costs me $2.75 (Higgins T100) and with 00,0, and #1 pens a bottle will last though 2-3 rolls of paper

 

5. HP Serial Plotters REQUIRE a special Null Modem Cable

cables to go has one for $9

 

6. HP Serial Plotters like real Serial Ports, I've had real bad luck with the usb to serial stuff, but then it might be that I got the $9.99 special

 

I'd go and get the thing before I DO !!!!!!!

 

Ohh and one more thing Autocad will have a driver in the plotter wizzard! and it sucks so bad plots look like they were done on a dot matrix printer, and that driver beats the pens all to hell!

 

do me a favor if you decide not to get the plotter at least get me all the pens he has

[ReMark]

I will suggest not taking the plotter. Do you really want to be stuck using pens? Find a used/refurbished inkjet.

[Doug_P]

Rickard5,

Thanks for the info I'm going to try to find the driver from roland and see if I can get the plotter up and running. I know that there are only a couple of pens in the carosel.

 

Remark,

This plotter is free, I know that a inkjet is more versital than the old pen plotters. I just like the uniqueness of them and I'm a bit of a tinkerer. It will be fun to see if I can make it work.

[ReMark]

I thought most of the pens were sealed units. How does someone actually go about refilling them? We actually deep-sixed a Mutoh pen/pencil plotter because we could no longer get pens from the manufacturer and Mars-Staedtler discontinued making and selling similar type pens that would work in the plotter.

 

Funny how pen plotters would jump around the drawing as the media rolled back and forth compared to inkjet plotters were the drawings are just spit out in a straight line.

[Rickard5]

Thanks for the info I'm going to try to find the driver from roland and see if I can get the plotter up and running.

 

Doug the file name is d028220j.exe located here and go to Roland DGA and get their "Dr.Stika" app if you want to mess with cutting vinyl stickers (it's Free)

if you need a Cable check these guys out

 

I know that there are only a couple of pens in the carosel.

I'd keep ONE at least to have as a guide to the model pens it uses, You Probaly got lucky and they are the Taller style pens that give you more room for modding. I'll try to work up a brief how to on converting Koh-I-Noor Rapediograph pens for use with the HP Plotter pens . Remember epay is your friend I picked up a full set of Rapediograph pens for $20 and about 150 Felt tip pens for another $20 so now for a $40 upfront investment I can use $2.75 Bottles of ink that last twice as long as the $35 Cartriges in my Design Jet 600

and if you want to mess with cutting you can use a Roland type blade holder $45 off ebay NEW and Blades are out there for $10 for 4

 

 

This plotter is free,

 

Best Price !!! I paid $300 in shipping to get my Draft master E size plotter here from FLA

 

I know that a inkjet is more versital than the old pen plotters.

 

WRONG WRONG WRONG

1 can't cut vinyl Paint masks or stickers

2 can't get that wounderfull Pen and ink look in your drawings

3 can't use Illustration board

4 a roll of Vellum Costs a fortune and you'll waste 1/2 of it

5 Shinny object Factor, Pen Plotters are an exercize in Robotics Like an automated Drafting robot !

 

I could go on for pages

 

I just like the uniqueness of them and I'm a bit of a tinkerer. It will be fun to see if I can make it work.

 

That's the spirit Good to se some one else willing to tinker with something instead of being spoon feed

 

I thought most of the pens were sealed units. How does someone actually go about refilling them?

 

Where there's will there's a dumb redneck that don't know you can't refill them

 

We actually deep-sixed a Mutoh pen/pencil plotter because we could no longer get pens from the manufacturer

 

You're KILLING ME. I'd love to have a Mutoh Plotter

 

Pens are easy if you can't buy them MAKE THEM

 

Mars-Staedtler discontinued making and selling similar type pens that would work in the plotter.

 

epay

 

Funny how pen plotters would jump around the drawing as the media rolled back and forth compared to inkjet plotters were the drawings are just spit out in a straight line.

 

Shinny Object Factor , that's what makes them soo kool

[Doug_P]

Here's 9 and I've got 1 more before I can add a signature.

[Doug_P]

Rickard5, I couldn't agree with you more. I think that the pen plotters are very cool. What I meant about ink jet plotters was the ability to print photos, color logos and such.

 

Some years ago I stood in an engineers office watching the pen plotter doing it's drawing and was amazed. We have a graphtec plotter at work for doing vinyl and it works on the same principal.

 

I also found the driver you sent me the link for and there is a cable place close to our house. http://toplinecables.com/ They are a little more expensive than the link you sent.

 

Thanks so much for all your help. Doug

[Rickard5]

Thank you for saving a wonderful old plotter from the scrap heap PM me any time if you need help

[Fibonacci]

Rickard, you comment that the HP needs a special null model cable? Do you know how this is different from a normal null modem cable?

 

I rescued a 7856B from the garbage at work and am looking to be able to use it as both a pen plotter and a vinyl cutter. I have A null modem cable, but am concerned about whether or not it will work.

 

As I can't send PMs, can you give me some pointers on converting this?

 

I got Dr.Stika and have started messing with it. Cool program.

 

I would appreciate any advice you might have. I remember using plotters back in highschool and being fascinated with them. In the last few years, I have wished that I had one for doing arcade projects, and now I am really excited to get one.

[Rickard5]

Fibonacci

 

This Guy's site is a great resource for conversion information

 

you can find the cable pin out for the Serial Cables here

 

and this guy has the best deal on pre made cables

 

You might check out this thread about using Roland Drivers too. Hp never offered a driver for win2k, xp, or Vista for HPGL Plotters but I use the Roland DXY990 Drive flawlessly!!! it's availsbe from Roland as a free download also the Roland Driver smooths out the plotting which is better for Cutting vinyl straight from Acad I always cut straight from Acad so I always get correct sizeing for Paint Masks! and one last thing get some teflon Knife protection strips from like signwearhouse.com you'll savwe blades and not ruin the machine for paper plotting What kind of arcae projects do you do? I'm jonesing to do another MAME Cabinet

[Fibonacci]

Thanks! Of course HP would use a non-standard cable.

 

It looks like that has all the info I could possibly need.

 

Thank you for the help, I appreciate it.

 

I have built a couple mame machines, but I mostly restore and rebuild older (early 80s-mid 90s) games. I also rebuild pinball machines and am in the process of building one from scratch.

[Jack_O'neill]

Thank you for saving a wonderful old plotter from the scrap heap PM me any time if you need help

 

How about helping me save an Ioline LP-4000? It still works very well, or I should say, it does it's test plot very well. It was working when it was taken out of service many years ago. Has been sitting in my back closet for some time. I dragged it out about a year ago and it powered right up and again, did a beautiful test plot. I can't get Autocad07 to recognize it. I've used every old plotter driver I can find. Some of them makes Acad think there's some sort of plotter there, but it just won't plot. It may be the cable, I made one from plans I found on the internet, but I'm not sure the plans were correct.

 

Any ideas?

[Rickard5]

How about helping me save an Ioline LP-4000? It still works very well' date=' or I should say, it does it's test plot very well. It was working when it was taken out of service many years ago. Has been sitting in my back closet for some time. I dragged it out about a year ago and it powered right up and again, did a beautiful test plot. I can't get Autocad07 to recognize it. I've used every old plotter driver I can find. Some of them makes Acad think there's some sort of plotter there, but it just won't plot. It may be the cable, I made one from plans I found on the internet, but I'm not sure the plans were correct.

 

Any ideas?[/quote']

 

DANG IT That ain't no Plotter, it's a cutter for cutting RUBYLITH ! I guess you could plot on paper with it, but that's kinda like Planting a Flower with a Sledge Hammer Seriously the IOlines are the Cadillac oof cutters so you got you s nice mochine there, I'd try the same HPGL1 Drivers and see if they work.

[Jack_O'neill]

DANG IT That ain't no Plotter, it's a cutter for cutting RUBYLITH ! I guess you could plot on paper with it, but that's kinda like Planting a Flower with a Sledge Hammer Seriously the IOlines are the Cadillac oof cutters so you got you s nice mochine there, I'd try the same HPGL1 Drivers and see if they work.

 

This one has never been used for anything but paper and vellum drawings, and it's plotted literally thousands of them. The company I worked for at the time bought it new in 1986 or 87, and it ran all day every day until I replaced it with a Designjet 600 in 1998 or 99 (I think, can't remember). I've even got two 8 slot pen carriages for it!

 

I've tried all the drivers on the autocad disk, and every new one i could find on the web. Some of them make the computer think there's a device there, but I just can't get it to talk to it.

 

I did run across a product called Winline that according to their website supports a variety of devices. Anybody reading this have any experience with them? Not a bad price for the software if it does all they say it does.

[K6KFH]

Jack O'Neal

Greetings,

I've been spending several weeks sucessfully getting a WinXp/ACAD2000/HP plotter system going. In my search for drivers I found a Winline CD that I bought for use with a Calcomp plotter and I no longer have need for it as I bought an HP plotter instead. It does have a driver for the IOLine LP4000. All their drivers work on Win 95, 98, Me,NT4, 2000, XP and they say higher but I don't know about Vista. It supports many other plotters as well. I also ended up with the CPGL Rom cartridge for CalComp (Ver. 4.02) that Winline works with in all the versions of Windows listed above. I have no use for that either. If you or anyone else is interested in either of these make me an offer.

 

Thanks,

Art

[GeorgeAlbert]

Hi Rickard, I'm a young Electrical & Electronic Engineer looking forward buying an old HP pen plotter, in fact it's a 7440A ¿any better suggestion? I'd like it to draw electronic circuits directly to copper clads instead of printing them on transfer sheets and ironing them.

 

The software I use for circuit design has the ability to export my designs in this formats: .EMF Metafile, .DXF, .EPS, and .HGL.

 

I'm a bit familiar with AutoCAD but haven't used it since a while and don't have it right now. Will any version work well on WinXP with the DXY980 driver you spoke of?

 

By the way, I need a USB to RS232 cable right? Is it ok if I get one with DB9 but has a DB25 adapter?

 

I will really appreciate your advice.

 

Best Regards!

George A.

[Rickard5]

By the way, I need a USB to RS232 cable right? Is it ok if I get one with DB9 but has a DB25 adapter?

 

I will really appreciate your advice.

 

Best Regards!

George A.

Hi George

Sorry it took me a few days to get back to you. But I'm a huge fan of using the 7470A Plotter if you can get one, they go for less anyway because they are a 2 pen plotter.The 7440 will work, Just bigger cost more to ship The modding potential is much higher. and I've done what you describe etching Model parts. the Key thing is you'll have to make your own Sharpie pens to use as a resist! and you'll have to get an HP Null Modem serial cable. these are kinda special serial cables and for $6 you can get one 9 to 25 pin! and they DXY driver works with any version of autocadd or autosketch ! GOOD Luck you might be able to plot directly from you auto router, I know you can out of SPICE