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Can't believe my old post got picked up! If anyone's looking to get a plotter I would still highly recommend an old HP 7475A as a gateway drug — they're relativ

Can't believe my old post got picked up! If anyone's looking to get a plotter I would still highly recommend an old HP 7475A as a gateway drug — they're relatively cheap, not too big (the size of a large-ish inkjet printer) and incredibly well made. I've had a lot of fun using the Geomerative library for Processing.org to play around with my plotters, but really anything goes as long as you can access your serial port and don't mind reading the plotter's manual. I generally save the HPGL output to a text file and then use a small utility app I've written to send it to the plotter. Sometimes I'll check the output in Cenon.app before wasting any paper or ink.

fogleman 9y ago
Nice post. You should post some plotter stuff on Twitter. ;)
- tobiastoft 9y ago
  I should, but I'm frankly too lazy to get it done! I've really enjoyed browsing your post history — awesome work!
AlphaWeaver 9y ago
Thanks for posting! I just ordered one myself to try out making some plotter art of my own!
sleepybrett 9y ago
The axidraw from evil mad scientist is also a great gateway and super hackable, though generally more expensive than a vintage hp plotter you can find on ebay. https://shop.evilmadscientist.com/productsmenu/846 https://shop.evilmadscientist.com/productsmenu/846
Tomte 9y ago
Can you still get new pens for that plotter? Do serial-to-USB cables generally work?
- tobiastoft 9y ago
  Yeah, fortunately pens are relatively easy to find on Amazon, eBay, and a few online stores (just Google 'HP Plotter Pens'). My Roland and HP plotters use the same type of pens, btw. All USB-Serial cables and adapters I’ve used so far have worked (including Arduinos!), but you might need a DB-9 to DB-25 null modem to physically connect your adapter to the plotter. Biggest thing to watch out for is to make sure you get an RS-232/Serial version of the plotter and not an HPIB/GPIB version. The easiest way to check is to look for a DB-25 connector on the back of the plotter instead of a Centronics-style connector (looks a bit beefier). EDIT: Btw, some plotters (like the HP 7550A) will have both types of connectors on the back. In that case you’re good!
  - deleted 9y ago
    [deleted]
  - matte_black 9y ago
    The only reason I didn’t buy that HP pen plotter is because I’d want the freedom to give it any kind of pen or marker, not just ones made specifically for it. I imagine it’s not possible?
    - tobiastoft 9y ago
      You can make your own adapters depending on the pen you want to put in it. I've made some out of dried out HP pens that I cut the ends off and jammed a Sharpie into. I've seen nicer 3d printed adapters on eBay and Thingiverse as well. When using a heavier pen like a Sharpie, you might want to set the plotter's speed a little lower to avoid knocking the pen loose when it accelerates.
Kadin 9y ago
Though there's a lot to be said for the old HP plotters, if eBay is any indication, there's a very thin supply and any uptick in interest is going to cause them to dry up and prices to increase. It looks like that may have already happened. One alternative for people who just want to get started today is to buy a modern version: they don't sell them as "pen plotters" exactly, anymore, but they do sell desktop vinyl and paper cutters (sometimes a/k/a "die cutters", although that's an inaccurate name used by papercrafters for historical reasons) that are very, very close in terms of operation to a 1980s moving-media pen plotter. And most of them can be trivially adapted to use a pen or marker in place of a cutter blade. I have a "Silhouette" brand cutting plotter, which can take two tools, and it cost me about the same as what used 7475As are currently selling for and worked via USB out of the box. It'll never challenge the old HP on its great 1980s aesthetics, and the paper traversal speed isn't quite as fast, but it produces output that seems equivalent and I can jam pretty much any type of pen I want into its toolholder. It uses a variant of HPGL that's supported by several open source tools in addition to the OEM software. The one important note is that you must absolutely avoid "Cricut" brand cutting plotters, which are unfortunately the dominant modern manufacturer. They have an awful razors-and-blades business model that revolves around selling the machines at a discount and then charging users for overpriced vector drawings through an "app store" type system, and they enforce this by obfuscating the communication protocol used by the plotters, and abusing the DMCA and engaging in other bits of sharp practice to discourage 3rd-party software. Unless you're buying one to reverse-engineer, they are best avoided. The Roland STIKA line is very well-regarded if you want to spend a bit more. Can't speak for many others. I'm hopeful that the current resurgence of interest in plotters will result in more third-party, open-source software for these current-production commercial machines, in addition to the older surplus ones. Once the parts supplies dry up for the older machines, these newer ones will be the easier path forward for people who want to start playing with this technology.
- blackguardx 9y ago
  Do you have the Curio?
  - dcuthbertson 9y ago

fogleman 9y ago

Nice post. You should post some plotter stuff on Twitter. ;)

tobiastoft 9y ago
I should, but I'm frankly too lazy to get it done! I've really enjoyed browsing your post history — awesome work!

AlphaWeaver 9y ago

Thanks for posting! I just ordered one myself to try out making some plotter art of my own!

sleepybrett 9y ago

The axidraw from evil mad scientist is also a great gateway and super hackable, though generally more expensive than a vintage hp plotter you can find on ebay. https://shop.evilmadscientist.com/productsmenu/846 https://shop.evilmadscientist.com/productsmenu/846

Tomte 9y ago

Can you still get new pens for that plotter? Do serial-to-USB cables generally work?

tobiastoft 9y ago
Yeah, fortunately pens are relatively easy to find on Amazon, eBay, and a few online stores (just Google 'HP Plotter Pens'). My Roland and HP plotters use the same type of pens, btw. All USB-Serial cables and adapters I’ve used so far have worked (including Arduinos!), but you might need a DB-9 to DB-25 null modem to physically connect your adapter to the plotter. Biggest thing to watch out for is to make sure you get an RS-232/Serial version of the plotter and not an HPIB/GPIB version. The easiest way to check is to look for a DB-25 connector on the back of the plotter instead of a Centronics-style connector (looks a bit beefier). EDIT: Btw, some plotters (like the HP 7550A) will have both types of connectors on the back. In that case you’re good!
- deleted 9y ago
  [deleted]
- matte_black 9y ago
  The only reason I didn’t buy that HP pen plotter is because I’d want the freedom to give it any kind of pen or marker, not just ones made specifically for it. I imagine it’s not possible?
  - tobiastoft 9y ago
    You can make your own adapters depending on the pen you want to put in it. I've made some out of dried out HP pens that I cut the ends off and jammed a Sharpie into. I've seen nicer 3d printed adapters on eBay and Thingiverse as well. When using a heavier pen like a Sharpie, you might want to set the plotter's speed a little lower to avoid knocking the pen loose when it accelerates.

Kadin 9y ago

Though there's a lot to be said for the old HP plotters, if eBay is any indication, there's a very thin supply and any uptick in interest is going to cause them to dry up and prices to increase. It looks like that may have already happened. One alternative for people who just want to get started today is to buy a modern version: they don't sell them as "pen plotters" exactly, anymore, but they do sell desktop vinyl and paper cutters (sometimes a/k/a "die cutters", although that's an inaccurate name used by papercrafters for historical reasons) that are very, very close in terms of operation to a 1980s moving-media pen plotter. And most of them can be trivially adapted to use a pen or marker in place of a cutter blade. I have a "Silhouette" brand cutting plotter, which can take two tools, and it cost me about the same as what used 7475As are currently selling for and worked via USB out of the box. It'll never challenge the old HP on its great 1980s aesthetics, and the paper traversal speed isn't quite as fast, but it produces output that seems equivalent and I can jam pretty much any type of pen I want into its toolholder. It uses a variant of HPGL that's supported by several open source tools in addition to the OEM software. The one important note is that you must absolutely avoid "Cricut" brand cutting plotters, which are unfortunately the dominant modern manufacturer. They have an awful razors-and-blades business model that revolves around selling the machines at a discount and then charging users for overpriced vector drawings through an "app store" type system, and they enforce this by obfuscating the communication protocol used by the plotters, and abusing the DMCA and engaging in other bits of sharp practice to discourage 3rd-party software. Unless you're buying one to reverse-engineer, they are best avoided. The Roland STIKA line is very well-regarded if you want to spend a bit more. Can't speak for many others. I'm hopeful that the current resurgence of interest in plotters will result in more third-party, open-source software for these current-production commercial machines, in addition to the older surplus ones. Once the parts supplies dry up for the older machines, these newer ones will be the easier path forward for people who want to start playing with this technology.

blackguardx 9y ago
Do you have the Curio?
- dcuthbertson 9y ago