Practically any
printer you can get working with Windows is a candidate for producing a decent plot from
IntelliCAD.
Some printers are better than others for
certain requirements. Everybody has different requirements, so it is difficult to make
blanket statements about what's best. Most users have access to an A4-sized printer,
either plugged into their computer or sitting on a network somewhere. Laser and inkjet
printers have the capacity to print line weights, as long as you send then the information
in the right format.
Most printers that can be installed as Windows system
printers can generate plots with line weights from IntelliCAD using the software we
detailed elsewhere in this article. Some limitations may arise between software and
printer with regard to color support and maximum printable area. The many possible
combinations make it impossible to list what will work exactly the way you want. Shared
experience is the best way to learn about configurations that other users have tried.
IntelliCAD news group for some two-way
information sharing with other users.
Epson and Canon both produce medium format (A3-A2) printers
which are readily available worldwide and suitable for engineering document output.
Epson
The Epson range is first class stuff. It is
well built, reliable and reasonably priced. Both the medium format printers support
1440x620 dpi and photo quality output as do Espon's A4 format printers. Ink cartridges are
the "gotcha" with this range as with all printers available now. There is
nothing at all you can do about it. To get the prints you have to use the ink. Using third party refills is one cost-cutting option,
but this will void your warranty.
We have had the opportunity to look at both the 1520 and
3000 models in detail. Check these two reviews.
Our reviews of the Epson models do not imply our
preference for these printers. The Canon models are equally impressive, but we haven't had
the chance to look at them up close.
Canon
Canon ships two medium format printers that are extremely price competitive against their
Epson counterparts. The difference lies largely in the resolution. Canon printers are
720dpi. This is really only a consideration for people printing photorealistic color
images. For CAD plotting, the higher resolution is overkill and expenditure would be hard
to justify if all you did was B&W CAD plotting.
BJC-5500
A2-capable color bubble jet printer.
Standard
Print Heads
High performance black cartridge
BC-20: 128 nozzles for black
Four colour standard ink
cartridge (CMYK) BC-21: 64 nozzles for black,
24 nozzles each for CMY
Paper
Types
A2, A3, A4, Ledger, U.S. Letter,
Legal, U.S. #10 and European DL envelopes, Continuous form paper (4 to 16"), Plain,
Coated, Water Resistant and Glossy Papers, Transparencies, High Gloss Film, Back Lit
Display Film, Fabric Sheet
Maximum black speed using BC-20: 694 cps at 10 cpi and 830 cps at 12
cpi; up to 7 PPM in
draft mode and 6 PPM in HQ mode1
Colour print speeds using BC-21: Up to 2.5 ppm1 using colour text tests, 0.3 to
0.8 ppm for quality colour graphics (15% coverage)
Ink
Cartridge Life (Approx.)2
BC-20: 3,840,000 characters in high speed mode (up to 1800 pages)
Draft: Up to 900 black pages, up to 800 colour pages at 7.5%
coverage BC-21: HQ: 225 black pages, 200 pages per colour (A4) at 15% for
quality graphics
Canon BJ 10e,
IBM Proprinter XL24E, Epson LQ2550,
Canon Extended Mode
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Printing
Width
Maximum 16
inches
Built-in
Fonts
5 built-in
20 True Type fonts on disk
Resolution
Maximum: 720 x 360 dpi in full colour (+ text smoothing)
Standard: 360 x 360;
Economy: 180 x 180 dpi
Noise
Level
Approx. 50 dB (A)
Paper
Feeds
Standard: Tractor (pin) feed, manual feed with input/output tray
Optional:Up to two automatic feeds for cut-sheets up to A2 sized
paper; Each accept to 100 sheets of A4 paper (75 gsm) 10 envelopes or 50 transparencies
Line
Feed, Print Width
1/6"-n/360", approx 92ms per
line, max. width 16"
Size
& Weight
600 mm (w) x 196 mm (h) x 364 mm (d);
Approx. 9.7 kg
Print
Direction
Text
Bi-directional, Graphics Uni-directional
Power
Consumption
58 W Max. (printing), 14 W Max.
(standby)
Buffer
Size
Input 64 Kb,
Download 32 Kb
Included
Accessories
Drivers for MS Windows 3.1x/95,
MS-DOS, user guide, power cable, BC-20 & BC-21 cartridge, ink cartridge storage
container
Interface
Parallel
- IEEE 1284 compatible, optional serial interface
BJ-4650
A3-capable, this model also features an optional color/greyscale scanner facility. Unfortunately the maximum scan size is A4 and it
requires the original to be fed through the body of the machine. The option might be
attractive to some. If it would scan A3, then I think the option would have real value. A4
scanners are a commodity item now.
Standard
Print Heads
BC-22e PhotoRealism ink with Drop Modulation
TechnologyTM: 64 nozzles for black,
24 nozzles each for CMY
BC-21e standard colour ink with
Drop Modulation Technology: 64 nozzles for
black, 24 nozzles each for CMY
Paper
Types
BC-21e: A3, A4, A5, B5, Letter, Legal, Tabloid, DL Envelope, #10 Envelope, Plain, Coated,
Water Resistant and Glossy Papers, Transparencies, High Gloss Film, Back Lit Display Film,
Fabric Sheet, T-Shirt Transfer BC-22e: High Resolution Paper, Glossy Photo Paper, Glossy Photo
Film
Optional
Print Heads
High performance black cartridge BC-20: 128 nozzles for black
BC-29F Fluorescent Ink: 64 nozzles for black, 24 nozzles each for CMY
Paper
Weight
64 to 105 gsm
Print
Speed
BC-21e: Black; Draft 255 cps at 10 cpi,
up to 2.0 ppm for colour graphics (15% coverage)
Maximum black speed using
optional BC-20: Draft 510 cps at 10 cpi, 612
cps at 12 cpi, up to 4.8 ppm1
Ink
Cartridge Life (Approx.)2
BC-21e: HQ: 225 black pages,
150 colour pages (A4) at 5% coverage
BC-22e: Approx. 70 pages per colour (A4) at 5% coverage
Optional BC-20: 2,400,000 characters in high speed mode
(up to 1800 pages)
