HP DesignJet T1100 Plotting Is really slow

[lorenolepi]

For some reason our HP DesignJet T1100 is extremly slow plotting from NX (5-7 mins per E size w/no shadding)... Are there any options to speed it up? Our legacy CAD programs plotted at a normal speed (30 sec to 1 min)

Thanks,
LB

 

[uwam2ie]

try this.

http://support.industrysoftware.aut...otting_faq.htm#_Why_is_my_HP_printer_so_slow?

HIH

 

[lorenolepi]

Thanks for the link! I will give it a try on Monday when I get back to the office and let you know if it worked
~LB

 

[lorenolepi]

It worked = much faster!
Changing the rendering didn't do anything for me but setting it up as the geniric HPGL-2 printer did the trick. Posting below what was on the site.

Why is my HP printer so slow?
Many of the HP printer models are set up by default to use RTL which has a default output setting of High Quality. While this generates the best plot, the speed of the output is very slow. There are two choices for a solution. You can switch your output to a HPGL-2 format if the plotter supports it (most will support it). In this case, just select the Generic HPGL-2 model. The second option is to bring up the Print Administrator and go to the Setup page for the printer queue, and then select advanced options. Enter in either +QDRAFT or +FAST755 as the rendering option for the printer. +FAST755 should only be used when you will only be plotting line drawings. Using +FAST755 for Solid fill drawings (like raster images or High Quality Visualization) will cause the ink flow to exceed what the print head is capable of. Using a sample C size drawing the performance was:
RTL by default 11 minutes 13 seconds
+QDRAFT 4 minutes 35 seconds
+FAST755 1 minute 33 seconds

 

[DaSalo]

I was having trouble with a slow HP plotter also so I changed the plotter setup to the generic HPGL/2 type also. It does plot much faster but it doesn't seem to distinguish the line weights. The plots look similar to when you use "print": all lines are equal. With the plotter setup as the appropriate HP model instead of the generic I was getting great distinction between line weights. The object lines really jumped off the page... very easy to read. I haven't tried the alternate rendering options yet.

 

[lorenolepi]

The weight lines are done with the "Color and Width" --> "Define Widths" within the plot dialog.
You can change it to be single width,standard width and custom widths. Custom widths are a good way to test it out (lets you setup custom widths within the Define width area)...then change it within your customer defaults so it is setup that way every time.
Hope this helps.
~LB