HP has an amazingly simple little app that you can download and use with 500. 800, Z series and T series plotters. It is the HP Instant Printing Utility 3

It allows you to drag your file to the open application and click PRINT and it just simply prints....easy peasy.

It works with these operating systems:

Microsoft Windows 7 (32-bit)
Microsoft Windows Vista (32-bit)
Microsoft Windows Vista (64-bit)
Microsoft Windows 7 (64-bit)
Microsoft Windows 8 (32-bit)
Microsoft Windows 8 (64-bit)
Microsoft Windows Server 2012
Microsoft Windows 8.1 (32-bit)
Microsoft Windows 8.1 (64-bit)
Microsoft Windows 10 (32-bit)
Microsoft Windows 10 (64-bit)

 Just another day, tripping over things that you might find useful while researching a new model.  I'm getting a Z2100 ready in the workshop and it appeared that PDFs couldn't be printed...but I was wrong and had used the wrong driver. In the meantime I found this HP article about printing PDFs and decided to share.  

I'm getting beautiful prints now...very happy!
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I also figured out something else - It can use expired ink...you get alerts, but you can ignore them. I love plotters that can use expired ink!

1. Determine what size the drawing was originally. This is the size you will want to print. Right click on the name of the file and/or open the file and click on FILE and choose PROPERTIES.
2. If the Preview Window on lower right doesn't show a preview of the original drawing in the correct size - change the paper size to a size that will accommodate the original drawing size. Note: D size is 24" and E size is 36" and F size is 42".
3. Set ZOOM scaling to 100% - Go to ADVANCED options to choose which types of sizes the software should show you. You can even make your own custom setting if you use the PAPER SIZES window.

PDF files can contain layered content if they are created from layered documents by using applications such as Adobe InDesign. As a result, a single page of the PDF file can contain different layers with different content. If you print a PDF that contains layered content, only the layer that is currently visible onscreen is printed. Acrobat Pro and Pro Extended let you specify which layer is visible and printable. Merge or flatten the layers in the PDF to determine if one of the layers is causing the printing problem.

Note: Merging or flattening layers can't be undone. For this procedure, use a copy of your PDF.

To determine which version of Acrobat you are using, choose Help > About Adobe Acrobat (Windows), or Acrobat > About Acrobat (Mac OS).

For Acrobat 8 Professional or later:

1. Make a backup copy of your PDF file by choosing File > Save As and giving the copy a new name.
   
2. Open the copy and choose Advanced > PDF Optimizer. If asked whether you want to save and continue, click Yes.
   
3. Select Discard User Data.
   
4. Select Discard Hidden Layer Content And Flatten Visible Layers, and then click OK.
   
5. When prompted, save the Optimized PDF with another new name.
   
6. Open the Layers panel (if the Layers panel is not visible, choose View > Navigation Panels > Layers). Click the Options pop-up menu, and then select either Merge Layers or Flatten Layers. Merged layers acquire the properties of the layer into which they are merged. Flattening layers discards any layer content that isn't visible onscreen. 
   
7. Save the PDF file and try to print it.

For Acrobat 7 Professional:

1. Make a backup copy of your PDF file.
   
2. Open the copy and choose Advanced > PDF Optimizer.
   
3. Click the Clean Up tab.
   
4. Select Remove Hidden Layers Content and Flatten Layers, and then click OK.
   
5. When prompted, save the Optimized PDF with another new name.
   
6. In the Layers panel, choose Options, and then select either Merge Layers or Flatten Layers. Merged layers acquire the properties of the layer into which they are merged. Flattening layers discards any layer content that isn't visible onscreen.
   
7. Save the PDF file and attempt to print it.
   

Jim from Michigan has shared this with us...He's figured out how to make his HP Designjet 600 print faster and with less memory consumption:

1. Baud Rate -- My factory default was set at 9600 Bauds, I went into the settings and changed it to 38,400(?) - At 9600 it printed a drawing from start of receiving data to printing and cutting of sheet in about 13.5 minutes. At 38,400 it prints the same sheet(36”x 48”) in 7 minutes from start of receiving data to sheet cut. And just 4.5 minutes for 24” x 36” sheets

   2.    Flattening PDF’s for Printing -- Foxit Phantom PDF Business 6.1 will give you a free 30 day trial. Their software is very similar to the ADOBE ACROBAT Pro and the best thing is it automatically flattens PDF’s before printing thus reducing the size of the file! It also has a PDF optimizer and a Reduce Size button.  All for  $129.00 I was having memory issues before and now that it’s flattening the PDF’s I haven't run into any more issues.    


Note from the Plotter Princess: I've also found that PDF Architect is a nice $39.00 piece of PDF manipulation software. It does flattening and allows you to convert files to less memory intensive formats.          

Thanks to Jim for sharing with everyone!     

Someone called today having trouble printing out their PDF's to scale...Here's the best thing I could find on this -- an online step by step with screenshots from the Planning Portal Director -- "Printing Correctly Scaled PDF's"

I'm often called with questions about print jobs that have become stalled in the print queue and won't let anything through.  This can ruin your day! This appears to be a flaw in some drivers and there's only one way to resolve it when it happens...you need to find the jobs and KILL them. You can press CANCEL in the print queue all you want and nothing happens...that's when you know you need to follow the steps below to fix this.

1.  Make sure all  print jobs are complete and that no new print jobs are being submitted. 
2. Double-click  SERVICES in the PRINT CONTROL PANEL and stop the “Print Spooler” service. 
3. Open the  C:WINDOWSSYSTEM32SPOOLPRINTERS in My Computer. 
4. Delete all  files located in this folder. Files in the Printers are named xxxx.spl, xxxx.shd  where xxxx is a hexadecimal number. Files with .shd and .spl extensions are printer files. Double-click Services in the Control Panel and start the “Print Spooler” services. 
5. Re-print any  print jobs AFTER you have determined what caused the stall: Was the job too big for your plotter's memory? If the failed plot was a PDF, try FLATTENING the file. (See my blog posting about flattening PDF's.)

Having trouble printing your large blueprint or graphics files that are PDFs?

When you flatten PDF layers, you remove any layers that aren’t visible and 
consolidate the rest into one layer. You might use this technique if you want
to  make your plots print faster. To do so, follow these steps:

1. Choose File➪Save As to open the Save As dialog box.


2. Locate a folder destination in the Save In drop-down list and enter a new
     name for your flattened PDF document in the File Name text box. It is very
     important that you change the name of this file because flattening the layers
   in  a PDF document cannot be undone.


3. When you’ve saved the PDF file under a new name, click the Layers tab on the
     Navigation pane and choose Flatten Layers on the Options menu at the top of the
     Layers palette. A Warning dialog box appears, stating This operation cannot be
     undone. Would you like to proceed?


4. Click Yes to close the Warning dialog box and flatten the document layers.
     The proof of your flattening action is exhibited in the Layers palette, which
   is  now completely empty.