Upgrading from R14 to 2000

[Sparweb]

Hello,
(I'm new to the forums so please excuse any upteenth-time questions)
I spent a frustrating few days attempting an upgrade from R14 to 2000. The software installed just fine, including the migration assistance. When I discovered that a considerable amount of time would have to be spent re-configuring our drafting templates and layouts to standardize the "page layouts", I got worried. When I did get a few drawings converted and into a presentable form, I tried to plot, and that's when the trouble started. Our network system has the HP Designjet plotter hooked up thru a jet-direct print server. The old autocad driver produced excellent plots at maximum resolution, even when line work is combined with rasters in the same image. AutoCAD 2000 forced me to use HP's Windows driver. Scratchy line work and no rasters at all (crashed the system). I checked HP and yes, this is the newest driver. The line weights were messed up, too, in spite of Migration Assistance's claims.

Is this a common experience?
Has anyone solved the driver problems with a HP 488CA plotter, on a Win98 network?
I'm still not convinced that the upgrade would be economical (4 engineers X 1 wasted week = 160 wasted man-hours of labour = $$$$$)

STF

 

[borgunit]

AutoCAD 2000 and up gives you varying ways to configure a printer, which did you use? Was it through PlotterManager or are you just using a system printer?

"Whether you think that you can, or that you can't, you are usually right "
.. Henry Ford

 

[Sparweb]

(Sorry I didn't get back sooner)

The response I get as I use the Plotter Manager is:

"If you have an HP DesignJet printer, we recomend you press Exit and install the HP DesignJet Windows System printer supplied on the AutoCAD 2000 installation CD instead."

Using this driver produces the result I described above.

When I ignore this warning, and use the plotter manager to set up my DesignJet, the plots are dithered, no matter what I do. I have turned Dithering Off in the Styles. This has no effect. Line weights were successfully brought in from ACAD R14, and they are applied correctly to the drawing, but I use coulors not to specify colour/dithering/shading on the drawing, but for line weight only.
Using the Windows driver was the "solution" to the dither problem, but its results were poor, too.

What else could I have missed?


STF