Kevin

Thanks Eric. My 455 works great except for the speed issue. It would appear that your 130 is 3 times faster. GimpPrint has made the difference between the plotter working under OSX or not working at all. So I am thankful for that. But the speed is definately slower than when it operated under OS9 using the HP driver.

Thanks Eric, this is good information. Please keep us informed. It would be great if HP were renewing it's commitment to the Mac. My experience is that the hardware is great, but the software is poor or non-existent. I think there are a lot of Mac users out there who are thinking of buying a 130, including me. So anything that you have to offer will be appreciated. How is the speed on the 130? My HP455 takes about 15 minutes to print one D size sheet in greyscale line drawing.

quote: Originally posted by CipesDesign: Hi Mike. Get LOTS of RAM. I just bought 2 gigs more, for a total of 3.5 gigs. There is a noticeable improvement. Peter I am curious about this. I have 2.5 GB. When I check memory usage, I always have spare memory unless I am running lots of open applications. I do not see how more memory can help in VW speed, unless you have your memory being used by other applications. Isn't this a matter of the computer either using RAM or the hard drive? If there is enough RAM, then the computer does not need to access the slower drive. I could put 8GB in my machine, but I do not see how this will help.

Thanks Peter. I did not think about Renderworks, I was only considering VW. Perhaps Renderworks will use all the memory that you can throw at it. I too would welcome advice from those who know the answer.

I understand your frustration. I have an HP455ca which I originally ran under OS9 by using the HP supplied drivers. HP does not provide OSX drivers for their older printers. As Peter points out, you may be able to setup a new print driver in OSX. Give it a try it might work. Do a search on this forum and you will find lots of info on how to set up an older HP printer using OSX. As long as you have a dedicated computer in the old configuration, you can print to the plotter. Make a PDF from VW12 and send it to the old computer, then print from there. Just as computers and software have improved, so have plotters. You may want to bite the bullet and invest in a new printer that is fully supported in OSX. My 455 works but it lacks the image quality, speed, and convenience of a modern printer. You can also buy a used plotter if money is an issue. My 455 is over seven years old. You could get one like that for a good price. Just remember that your Boss would not be able to stay with OS9 and VW8 forever. The change/upgrade was inevitable.

Try quiting VW and then reopening. This might help. I seem to remember a similar problem some years ago and this was the solution.

Skot, we need more info in order to help. The question is whether this is a VW specific issue. You say you upgraded your workstations. Upgraded to what? What OS? What is your connection to the plotter?

Travis, you mention the 4800 but not your 9800. Are you able to rotate prints on the 9800?

This is not a topic for this board. Call or email your distributor.

Roberts statement on Gehry is right on. The design for Disney Concert Hall was done in a model and then transferred to computer by 3d digitizing. Comments by Gehry and the Engineer were that without the computer they could not have built the design as it was so complex. But the genesis for it was in the real world of a model. The same is done for computer animated films. The character sketch is just that.. a pencil on paper sketch. That artist's sketch is then made into a 3d model which is then digitized into the computer. I hope I never see the day when a nude drawing class is done on a laptop computer.

Life is about balance. Architecture is no different. The purpose of a formal education is to give you that balance. After all, aren't you in school to learn something new? So relax and learn how to use that pencil and paper. As Robert Anderson, and others have said, sketching is a fundamental form of thinking. One of my greatest regrets is questioning "the reason" for some of my classes during my schooling. Now that I am older and wiser, I appreciate the reason and purpose of those classes. I only wish that I could have had that appreciation back then and have paid more attention to the course material. There is more to life than being proficient in CAD drawing.

Thanks Mike. I did not know about this feature.

Contact the sales department. You can buy a full working version. If you do not like it, you may return it for a full refund.

Here is some more info: http://techboard.nemetschek.net/ubb/ultimatebb.php?ubb=get_topic;f=22;t=000579;p=1#000017

The DesignJet 600 is not listed as a supported printer under OSX. This does not mean that it will not work. It might work by using a 400 or 700 series driver. See this thread: http://techboard.nemetschek.net/cgi/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=22;t=000463 You might also take a look at other threads under Printing, regarding types of printers that are compatible and/or recommended. When I get a new plotter it will be an Epson. I am not confident in HP's commitment to the Mac. The 500 and 800 should be natively supported by HP drivers, but as you say, the website is vague. I will say that HP tech support has always been good. It is a toll call to contact them but they have always been willing to help. Of course now that I use OSX, I have never needed to call them as my 455CA prints directly from OSX without HP drivers, (of which there are none).

There is a parallel thread to this one: http://techboard.nemetschek.net/cgi/ubb/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic;f=22;t=000579;p=1

My thanks to mclaugh for suggesting re:solve's batch print plug-in. However, I do not see it as a benefit. I tried both the VW and re:solve batch prints and they work the same with one exception. The re:solve menu did not list my saved views in alphanumeric order. The stock VW batch print dialog was much better in my opinion. I tested these on VW11.5, OS10.4.3. The batch print under VW12 was not different. So the question still remains... Is there a way to automate the naming of PDF sheets so that a user can start a batch print operation and then walk away?

For the sake of this thread I will revisit the Resolve plug-in. I have used it before and did not see any difference or improvement over the stock VW Batch Print.

Perhaps Mr. Armstrong could figure this one out. Islandmon, are you listening?

This is an old issue and certainly one that should be remedied. Batch printing will not automatically create uniquely numbered PDF images. The process requires the user to click the print button for each sheet and give that sheet the desired name. Once all sheets are printed they can be combined with various programs. Page size is controlled by Page Setup. I have no difficulty creating 24x36 documents in PDF. OS10.4.3, VW11.5

As an architect I design with pencil and paper. Those designs then get input to Vectorworks. I agree that the use of hand drawing is very much a part of design. You will find architects crawling all over Italy taking photographs. You wil also find some with a pencil and sketch pad. To capture Michelangelo's David, you can take a photograph or sketch it. Which do you think would lead to a greater understanding of the sculpture? I understand your frustration, however. As an architectural student, we were required to use slide rules in our engineering courses. We all had those new fangled electronic calculatiors by Texas Instruments. The instuctor's defense of his position was that the batteries in our calculators could go dead. So today I have a slide rule in a glass-doored case that says "Break Glass in Case of Emergency".

This article gives some test data on the new Core Duo iMac. This is using a G5 iMac and not a G4 Powerbook. http://www.macworld.com/2006/01/features/imaclabtest1/index.php

I am not so sure of that. NNA did say that they would support the Universal Binary. I do not believe that they have made any statements regarding Rosetta. If you can find that statement, it would be useful.

I learned something too. I did not realize that there was a "Classic" workspace. Thanks Skot.

Thanks Travis. It does not sound difficult, but certainly could be tedious. I will give it a try.