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John Cruet
Joined: 30 Apr 2004
Posts: 267
Location: Guilford, CT
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 Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 1:58 pm Post subject: OT- New Plotter |
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My Cadjet 2 finally died. I put in a new black cartridge and it won't print, and the parts are no longer available from the parent company, Kodak.
So, it looks like it is headed to the local recycling or dump.
Meanwhile, my search for a replacement has located some really good deals on a refurbished HP DesignJet 750C 36" color plotter.
Anyone have any experience with these?
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John Cruet
G4/733 w/1028 mb RAM & OS 10.4.10, Classic-free, skuzzy-free (runs PC7)
MacBook Pro 2G Intel core duo 2 gig RAM & OS 10.4.11
PowerCadd 8, WT 9
Canon iP710 printer
www.johncruet.com |
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Peter Severin Carlsen
Joined: 29 Oct 2004
Posts: 75
Location: St. Paul, Minnesota
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| Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 2:58 pm Post subject: |
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I had luck fixing an HP 750c. I was surprised to learn that there are people selling mother boards and power supplies stripped from other plotters...and suddenly it is working again.
Of course it depends on how much you liked the old plotter . What is that jingle you guys have out there...
Fix it up
Make it right
Make it do
or do without...
I know. You don't live in Maine or the 19th century.
I talked with Blue Print Bob about the economic downturn. He remembered back to his dad extending credit to architects for two sheets of vellum and a pencil getting started once again, comming out of the depression. It's different now he said. Technology has made it very expensive to be in business.
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Peter Carlsen |
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fred johnson
Joined: 04 May 2004
Posts: 57
Location: CT
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| Posted: Mon May 05, 2008 10:49 am Post subject: HP750 |
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John,
The 750 is no longer being made or supported; I remember a service technician saying that the parts were no longer available. I'm still nursing my 350 along but its getting old. I am considering either the HP designjet 500 or the new Canon prograf ipF610, both about 2K. if you need larger output the canon iPF710 runs another $500, I believe. There are some 750's around but their future is going to be limited - one snag and its all over. Good Luck. (Nice job on the West Haven Church!)
Fred |
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Rob C
Joined: 14 Apr 2004
Posts: 529
Location: Southern Connecticut
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| Posted: Tue May 06, 2008 5:56 am Post subject: |
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My 650c/ps died a couple years ago and I got rid of it with the intention of getting something new, but I've ended up "doing without" so far. I've been getting prints from Service Point which which works well most of the time, but I've abandoned color in the process because of cost, and not having the ability to quickly make a print and run out the door is a real inconvenience many times.
Being an avid photographer, my choice for a new 24" plotter would be the HP Z3100, but that doesn't mean it would be the right choice for everyone else here. The ability to switch from matte black ink (for most CAD work) and photo black ink (for photography) is a winning feature for me. The Epson 7800 doesn't do that for example. The build it spectrometer is a real bonus too. I don't know much about the new HP T#### series plotters.[/i]
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Rob
www.robertcoolidge.com |
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raleighross
Joined: 12 Aug 2004
Posts: 347
Location: Raleigh, NC
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| Posted: Fri May 09, 2008 2:28 am Post subject: |
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Just a point here. The 6xx/7xx lines of HP plotters are so old that there are multiple issues with them.
1. The plastic parts are wearing out and replacements are getting very hard to find. And even old parts stripped from older units are worn to begin with. Things like the rail pads wearing out can be a real hassle to deal with.
2. They are slow. 6 minutes for a D sheet give or take. A new 110 series is about the same speed with much better support and features. Also the CPU in them is very old and thus slow and with the limited memory options they take a real long time on complicated files or just flat out choke.
3. They are expensive to buy. I think the market price for them is driven by folks buying them for compatibility reasons, not pure value. CESPLOT has a 755CM for $1500 and a 1055CM for $3000. The 1055CM is 10 times the plotter and 2 to 3 times as fast. Has a built in disk drive and holds a lot more ram.
4. They are expensive to operate. A 10xx unit holds 8 to 10 times the ink per refill but the cartridges only cost 3 to 4 times as much.
And yet the 1055CM has been out of production for a year or two. But this is still a good plotter unless you're working with 300MB tiffs or very complicated files. Very complicated compared to what most folks here plot these days.
Don't be penny wise and pound foolish.
David |
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John Cruet
Joined: 30 Apr 2004
Posts: 267
Location: Guilford, CT
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| Posted: Sat May 10, 2008 4:08 pm Post subject: |
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I just ordered a Canon Image Prograf iP710. I expect it on Monday or Tuesday. Interesting, I'm getting a $400 allowance for my Encad printer.
Thanks for all your help.
_________________
John Cruet
G4/733 w/1028 mb RAM & OS 10.4.10, Classic-free, skuzzy-free (runs PC7)
MacBook Pro 2G Intel core duo 2 gig RAM & OS 10.4.11
PowerCadd 8, WT 9
Canon iP710 printer
www.johncruet.com |
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Rob C
Joined: 14 Apr 2004
Posts: 529
Location: Southern Connecticut
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| Posted: Sun May 11, 2008 8:02 pm Post subject: |
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Who did you purchase it through? Have you had a chance to see one in person?
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Rob
www.robertcoolidge.com |
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fred johnson
Joined: 04 May 2004
Posts: 57
Location: CT
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| Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 11:20 am Post subject: |
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John,
Nice machine from what I've read. Let us know about ease of setup, speed, quality of output, etc.. when you have used if for awhile and have the chance.
Fred |
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John Cruet
Joined: 30 Apr 2004
Posts: 267
Location: Guilford, CT
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| Posted: Mon May 12, 2008 12:01 pm Post subject: |
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OK, I took delivery of it today.
It is a bulky machine, so I may have to rearrange the office furniture to better accommodate it. Now, I'm in a real office setting so that should not be a problem.
Three cheers for Canon for getting the software and setup communications right. It loads into the printer setup utility in OSX. Note that an OS9 driver is also available.
The first thing that I notice is that, in the roll feed mode, the printer prints a 24 x 36 print and no overscan is required. I have already sent a PowerCadd print job and the job of 4 sheets printed in 5 minutes, so the speed is very acceptable. The print quality is outstanding. I can print in the short direction for a 24 x 36 sheet.
I tested the sale of the print- and it's right on the money. No print reduction.
Interesting enough, I was up and running a lot more quickly than when I first purchased the Encad.
I am using a USB2 connection to my G4 desktop. I plan to test the ability to print from a remote computer via AirPort and printer sharing. A USB connection to the desktop allows me to do this.
I have not printed an Adobe PDF yet on this machine, but I don't think it will be a problem.
I purchased the machine from Joseph Merritt and Co. They may have a demo you can check out at any of their stores.
The machine came assembled and all they did was wheel it into place, plug it in and turn it on. I already switched the roll paper; this operation is easier than on an HP printer.
So far, so good. The machine is impressive in every way.
_________________
John Cruet
G4/733 w/1028 mb RAM & OS 10.4.10, Classic-free, skuzzy-free (runs PC7)
MacBook Pro 2G Intel core duo 2 gig RAM & OS 10.4.11
PowerCadd 8, WT 9
Canon iP710 printer
www.johncruet.com |
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John Cruet
Joined: 30 Apr 2004
Posts: 267
Location: Guilford, CT
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| Posted: Wed May 14, 2008 12:40 pm Post subject: Re: HP750 |
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| fred johnson wrote: | Good Luck. (Nice job on the West Haven Church!)
Fred |
OT
Thanks, we got approval on it last night.
_________________
John Cruet
G4/733 w/1028 mb RAM & OS 10.4.10, Classic-free, skuzzy-free (runs PC7)
MacBook Pro 2G Intel core duo 2 gig RAM & OS 10.4.11
PowerCadd 8, WT 9
Canon iP710 printer
www.johncruet.com |
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fred johnson
Joined: 04 May 2004
Posts: 57
Location: CT
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| Posted: Tue May 20, 2008 2:35 pm Post subject: |
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John,
Glad to hear the new plotter was a breeze to set up and print with. Merritt in New Haven was where I saw the unit first and probally where I'll get mine too.
Fred |
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John Cruet
Joined: 30 Apr 2004
Posts: 267
Location: Guilford, CT
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| Posted: Thu Jun 12, 2008 1:35 pm Post subject: |
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| John Cruet wrote: | I have not printed an Adobe PDF yet on this machine, but I don't think it will be a problem.
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Well, it is NOT a problem. It is as easy to print PDFs on this machine as it is on any inkjet printer. Canon got it right with the iPF 710.
One thorn- the replacement cartridges cost $65 each. But they look like they have more ink in them than the HP 25 or 40 cartridges.
_________________
John Cruet
G4/733 w/1028 mb RAM & OS 10.4.10, Classic-free, skuzzy-free (runs PC7)
MacBook Pro 2G Intel core duo 2 gig RAM & OS 10.4.11
PowerCadd 8, WT 9
Canon iP710 printer
www.johncruet.com |
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