Apparently I'll be in the market for a new plotter soon. My HP T520 is giving me printhead error messages and I'm not sure I want to spend $300 for a new printhead on the hopes it actually works.
Anyone have any replacement recommendations? I only need a 24" roll. I rarely plot anything (it is an 3/4 hour round trip to the nearest print shop) so it would be nice to have to constantly have ink drying up in the print heads. I'm not unposed changing brands.
I've been using an Epson T3470 D-size plotter for 4 years now. after finding that I could no longer buy ink for my HP 450C. At the time I wasn't impressed with the HP offerings, so I decided to give Epson a try.
Almost all of my deliverables now are digital, but I do need to produce mylar Records of Survey, and every once in awhile I'll produce a paper print for field checking a topo or ALTA. The plotter sometimes goes unused for months, but so far has been working reliably. I'm a satisfied customer.
Thanks Jim, I'll take a look at them now that I'm back in the office for a couple of days.
I ended up sticking with HP. Given my plotting use, I was looking to stay in the $1k to $2k range. The Canon's plotters in that range do not support 22" wide rolls which seems like a short coming since most engineering plans are ANSI D. Epson does not make the T3470 anymore and the replacement, the T3475 is almost $3k. They do make a lower end T3170 but it does not have very good reviews. The HPT650 seems to fit the bill and as a bonus I can keep the roll spindle from my T520.
I replaced the print head on my HP T120 and it wasn't a big project. Also, it was recommended to me that I leave the printer on to prevent the ink cartridges from drying up.
What does this mean?
"...so it would be nice to have to constantly have ink drying up in the print heads."
Translated that says he uses his plotter so infrequently he would like to have a plotter with ink that won't dry up if used only once in a while.
Or it means he was having a mild stroke while typing.
Editing error on my part. It looks like a deleted something.
I was trying to say that I don't plot much. If it wasn't such a pain to get it plotted elsewhere I would ditch the plotter. As it is, I would just like to have a plotter that worked without a big hassle the once a quarter I need it. If it sits for an extended time, even when left on, the printhead gets fouled with ink.
The problem is I'm not sure it is just the print head. I cleaned it but get the same error. The cost of a new printhead is a big % of the cost of a new plotter. I would not be happy if I pissed that, and more time, away only to find it was something else. To be honest, I've never been a happy with the T520 as I was with the old 800.
I hope you have better luck with your new printer.
