Newbie - Which HP Plotter to Buy?

My wife uses Autocad for electrical design, and we were looking at the HP 500 and the HP 800 series plotters. I am not sure which graphics standards we need support for(HP-PCL3, HP-GL2, CALS G4, HP RTL, Postscript). I just need advice on what capabilities we need to get. We will use the plotter for Autocad 2004. Thanks in advance.

 

HP Draftmaster II

 

Is money a criteria?



If so, call a few of the plotter suppliers listed on the internet and ask about refurbished plotters.



You don't say what size sheets you need to plot (a lot of electrical design is done on 11"x17" these days), but if you need 24" x 36" I would look at the HP450 (refurbished) and HP500. The HP800 is higher end, for higher volume, and costs more, but if that's what you need, I say go for it.



 



If you rarely, or just have a few 24"x36" plots from time to time, a plotting service is a no-brainer, reasonably priced and convenient (just email them your plots and go pick them up) alternative.



 



Whichever way you go, I would also pick up an 11"x17" printer for correspondence, the occasional color photo and check plots.



 



- Jim



"jmcinnis_us" <> wrote in message news:...

My wife uses Autocad for electrical design, and we were looking at the HP 500 and the HP 800 series plotters. I am not sure which graphics standards we need support for(HP-PCL3, HP-GL2, CALS G4, HP RTL, Postscript). I just need advice on what capabilities we need to get. We will use the plotter for Autocad 2004. Thanks in advance.

 

That's just evil...

 

Cool.



 



- Jim



"jmcinnis_us" <> wrote in message news:...

Thanks to all (except SLEO) who replied. We went with the HP 500 w/ the GL2 card, more memory, and the ethernet print server. We could not justify the expense of the 800 for the low volume of plots. We got out the door at $3287 after the rebate. We considered the refurbished units, but the risks outweighed the benefits for us. Again, thanks!