Plotters/ Compatability/ Service Bureaus

[TJ 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

[Matthew Giampapa]

Right now the only plotters we are having a major problem with are the ones using the HP Rip software version 1.1a. This includes the DesignJet 455CA. There are some print jobs which refuse to print no matter how much memory the RIP software is given. However if you already have MacPlot, you can use that as an alternative to the HP software.

Generaly we reccomend printers/plotters that have good operating system level drivers (Which for the Mac, usualy limits the feild to postscript models),

Since it has been a few days and no one else has reccomended anything, you may want to read the VectorWorks mailing list archives as this topic has been discussed there many times.

Matthew Giampapa

Technical Support

quote:

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Originally posted by TJ 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

---

[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

[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

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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

[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