Tips for Setting Up Your Plotter

Start Up

• Always plug into a surge protector outlet...this is good insurance and will save your plotter from a motherboard being fried by a power surge.
  
  
• They “initialize” when you first turn them on. This means they run through about 15 self tests.
  
  
• Try not to interrupt the plotter while it is initializing.
  
  

Paper (Media)

• Never try to load media unless the plotter indicates that it is ready for media.
  
  
• Roll paper always goes OVER the top of the roll...like toilet paper!
  
  
• A 36” wide machine CAN use a 24” roll...and all Designjets can use legal and standard size sheets of paper, too.
  
  
• Media must be straight when you push the load button...if it skews a little the plotter will sense it and spit the paper back at you. If you have the type of machine that grabs it from you when you insert it, LET GO the moment you feel it grab the paper...or you will make it skew.
  
  
• Most Designjets have a perforated or printed line on the right side of the place where you enter the paper into the machine, try to line up the right side of the paper near, but not past that line.
  
  
• If you are feeding separate sheets into the plotter and it keeps skewing, you may have paper that has too high a cotton content...try HP plain paper and see if that fixes the problem.
  
  Ink Cartridges:
  
  
• Some color machines don't care if the color cartridges are empty, they just need a cartridge in the slot. If colors are empty, it will still print in monochrome.
  
  
• Old cartridges can be revived sometimes by running the print head under hot water, then placing the cartridge on a wet paper towel to “wick” the ink out and clean out those 20 little ink jet holes on the print head. Leave it sit for at least 1 hour. Then take the cartridges outside and do a “whip cracking” shake --- holding it upright do a quick downward motion and a sudden stop, like you are cracking a whip...it should now have two small lines of ink on the print head. If not, repeat. If still not, the heads might be clogged, shake it a few more times, run under hot water again, try the wet paper towel soak again. If you still can't get ink to move, it is probably a bad cartridge that you won't be able to save.
  
  
• If a plotter continues to reject a cartridge that does produce ink (see above), turn off the machine, take a damp paper towel and wipe out the inside of the cartridge holder.
  
  
• Buy hard to find ink on eBay or Amazon.com to find the best deals...however, open the ink the moment you get it to be sure it hasn't bled out of the printhead...there will be ink all over the tape on the printhead when you open it and this means the cartridge can't be saved.
  
  
• If you can find a professional refiller to fill you empty cartridges, try it...if they guarantee their work.
  
  

General

• Leave your plotter turned on. Don't turn it off at the end of everyday. But DO plug it into a surge protector, or a storm could eat your plotter!
  
  
• If your plotter doesn't have enough memory it will print out 75% of the plot on the right side of the paper and the last 25% will be missing on the left. To resolve this, choose ADVANCED on your print driver and check the box that allows the computer to handle the memory for the plot.
  
  
  • You can also add memory – check the manual to see how much you can add.
    
    
  • If you are printing PDF's, try converting them to TIFFs as they are much smaller files.
    
    
  • Read your manual section on QUEUE and NESTING to figure out how best to manage large files.
    
    
• Keep the window on the plotter closed and even cover the machine if your office/work area is dusty.
  
  
• NEVER, when transporting, lay a plotter down...there is a spittoon with old ink that will spill over the interior of the machine AND there will be wet ink everywhere!
  
  
• You can connect your plotter to the USB port on your computer with USB to parallel printer cable. When adding the printer, be sure to NOT use the default LPT port, but instead choose the USB port offered on the dropdown menu.
  
  
• Most plotters on stands can be removed from the stands and sit nicely on a shelf or table if floorspace is scarce in your office.
  
  
• Most plotters have a UTILITIES section on the control panel there find the FACTORY RESET to return your plotter to what it originally was set-up to do. This is a good trick, because sometimes you may have inadvertently commanded the plotter to do something that creates conflicts.
  
  
• If you see small black “mouse turds” under the rubber carriage belt, it is starting to break down and can die at any point. Replace it ASAP....
  
  

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