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Printing in OS X

Hewlett Packard DesignJet 100 Is a multi-format printer produces professional results, from proposals and reports to full-size diagrams or drawings. It expands printing capabilities to include both standard and oversize output. Media handling versatility and convenience. A 100-sheet tray handles standard sizes up to 13 x 19 inches. A wider path accommodates sheets up to 24 inches wide and a rear path supports thick or rigid media for displays or mock-ups.

I have had the HP DesignJet 100 for a week now and have been putting it through its paces on my Dual 867 w/OS 10.2.6 and PowerCADD siX and WildTools 7 latest updates to date. Cost: $995 Optional stand $299 Setup: The installation was as easy as setting up a desktop printer only with a bigger foot print. Total setup time from opening carton to first print 25 minutes. Weight is 46 lbs. Foot print. HP's software driver worked right out of the box (no PostScript available). USB connection or optional ethernet card. Output: The HP 100 is a four-color printer with 2400 x 1200 dpi and 16 megs of ram (max.) I found that the free print sample HP sent me consistent with my prints. I printed a 24" x 36" colored site plan with photos in about eight minutes on the normal setting (the priner has Draft, Normal and Best). The working drawings and photos I printed look very good on standard bond paper and great on coated stock. Paperhandling: The paper tray handles up to 100 sheets of 13" x 19" and it works perfectly.You have to hand feed larger sized paper as there is no roll feed option. 24" x 64" max. sized paper. In my opinion this is the HP 100's biggest shortcoming. So far I have hand-fed a dozen 24" x 36" paper in without a paper jam. Noise level: The printer has a loud sequence for about 5 seconds as it ques up the paper but while it is printing it is not loud at all. Ink: The Black ink comes in 69ml and is $33 Cyan, Yellow and Magenta come in 28ml and are also $33 Warranty - one year with next day business exchange Return policy- 30 days no questions asked. My experience to date with this printer has been very good. If you are looking for an inexpensive 24" this is a great buy. If you need roll feed with 2400 x1200 dpi and 6 colors buy the Hp 120 Nick pellcoro@mac.com Nick, If you draw a thick line in PowerCADD with Quartz imaging turned on, do you get a rounded end on each end of the line, and is the line stair-stepped or smooth? Does text print in the normal appearance that you would get on any laserprinter? Or do you have some degradation in the appearance of text? Alfred Scott alfred@seqair.com I get a perfectly smooth line that is has no stair-stepping and is rounded on both ends. Text print quality is as normal as my HP 600 dpi LaserJet 5mp. Nick pellcoro@mac.com Okay, that means that you have Quartz imaging on your printer. This is effectively a PostScript printer, same as you would get with Gimp-Print or any of the other print drivers. You may remember that a few months ago, people were caterwauling about the lack of plotter drivers in OS X, and I tried to make the point that we would soon have an embarrassment of riches. This certainly proves the case. Since Gimp-Print is based on an open-source PostScript interpreter, I'm betting there is a lot of common code in all of these printer drivers. Of course, a company like HP isn't going to admit to such a thing, but if it is high-quality software, then who cares? Alfred Scott alfred@seqair.com