TJ Murphy

quote: Originally posted by PeterT: We are running VectorWorks and plot to our HP DesignJet 230 using Microspot's Raster Driver, but for "out of the office" plotting, we have a similar problem in that our service bureau cannot use our plot files, and they don't own VectorWorks. As a work around we have found that Adobe Acrobat is great. If you purchase the full version of Acrobat you can save your VectorWorks drawing as a PDF file. We have done this with our service bureau as a test. We Plotted a "D" size drawing on our own plotter, then we made a PDF of the same drawing, and sent it to our service bureau. When we got the plot back from the shop we laid it side by side with our own plot, and you could not tell the difference between the two. Hope this helps, PeterT Peter, We think we solved the problem. I should say that VW Tech Guy Matt Giampapa solved it and his instructions are as follows: Ok, here you go, the new and improved (and tested version)... To create a HPGL-2 .plt file using VectorWorks 9 and MicroSpot MacPlot 5.1.2 w/ GraphicPak 1. Install the MicroSpot software. 2. In the Chooser, select the MircoSpot Raster driver, and enter your user information. Name, Company and Serial number. 3. Here you need to select the printer that your print shop is using, or the closest you can find. For this example I am going to select the HP DesignJet 455CA. (We have one here to test the file with at the end) You should also set your paper category as well. Here I am using US Arch since our 455CA has a D sized roll. 4. Using the Setup wizard from MicroSpot, you will need to select that you wish to print to a "command file". (You should also be able to just change your destination to file in the print dialog as well) 5. Open VectorWorks 9.0.1 and the document you wish to print. 6. In the file menu, select "Page Setup" and select the paper size you will be using at the print shop. I am using the Arch D sheet set to landscape mode. Click "OK". 7. Go to the Page Menu and select "Set Print Area..." and make sure you size menu is set to "One Page". This ensures that VectorWorks knows how to set the print area in a way that accounts for the minimum margins for your printer. 8. Use the "Print" command in the "File" menu. 9. In the upper right hand corner, change the "Destination" menu to "File" 10. Click on Save, then save the file as "SomeFileName.prn" or "SomeFileName.plt" All you should need to do is either email this file, or save it to a PC formatted disk and the print shop should not have a problem with it. The only hitch that may come up is if you are using a printer which MacPlot does not directly support. But, even in that case if you choose a printer that has similar hardware it should work, or you can use the Setup Wizard to use a custom printer that is not in the list. (I did not see any way to do this in the chooser however) Once you bring the file to a Windows machine, sending it to the printer simply requires going to the command line and typing, copy filename "path to printer". So if the printer is shared on the network for instance, it would be "copy myprintfile \\server\printer". So there you go and good luck and thanks for the PDF solution. Go A's Terry Murphy

quote: Originally posted by PeterT: We are running VectorWorks and plot to our HP DesignJet 230 using Microspot's Raster Driver, but for "out of the office" plotting, we have a similar problem in that our service bureau cannot use our plot files, and they don't own VectorWorks. As a work around we have found that Adobe Acrobat is great. If you purchase the full version of Acrobat you can save your VectorWorks drawing as a PDF file. We have done this with our service bureau as a test. We Plotted a "D" size drawing on our own plotter, then we made a PDF of the same drawing, and sent it to our service bureau. When we got the plot back from the shop we laid it side by side with our own plot, and you could not tell the difference between the two. Hope this helps, PeterT Peter Thanks so much. I thought I was crazy and... maybe I am. I havn't given up and if I find another answer I'll let you know. Terry Murphy

I'm trying to set up an office using Vector Works and, though I'm pretty familiar with the software, I'm somewhat technology- challenged with respect to the hardware. We need to purchase a plotter and are looking for any suggestions for brand and type. We are looking into the Hp designjet 500PS 24". I had heard that this model replaces the HP 488 and, from another souce, that there were problems with the 400 series of the HP. Can anyone help? In a related topic, can anyone straighten me out on the best way to get plots in the meantime, through a service bureau? We purchased Macplot from Microspot but our bureau hasn't yet been able to read the files. Thanks in advance. TJMurphy