Large Format Printer / Plotter

[SPerman]

There are times when there is no substitute for a big sheet of paper, and taping together 8.5" x 11" sheets gets old in a hurry. What are the recommendations for a large format (36" wide) printer these days? Does anyone other than HP work in that space?

[mattpeneguy]

We have Oce plotters here. They're expensive, but they're workhorses. I think we also have a couple of HPs in other groups.

It depends on what you need, but if you're not printing much, cheaper is better.

On a side note, I bought a Pixma archival grade Canon "large format" (13 inches) printer in 2013 to print some pictures. I printed them and that thing has sat unused since. My wife wanted some pictures printed 8 months ago, and I said, let's see what happens. Guess what? They printed perfectly with the stock ink cartridges from 8 years ago! So, if Canon is within consideration, I wouldn't be scared to get one of their inkjets...especially if it uses that Pixma Pro archival ink.

[Tom G]

I think that the Designjet series is the only reliable HP product line that I would recommend. It is better than most of their other products, built for long life of occasional use in good conditions.

If your needs are more rare in frequency, I'd go with a local delivered printing service instead of buying something cheap and relying on it. Availability of services varies, of course.

[SPerman]

At my last job we bought a cheaper large format HP. It was a complete disappointment. Every time you wanted to print something it was 10 minutes of rebooting and feeding the paper only to watch it spit it right back out.

[MJuric]

I think that the Designjet series is the only reliable HP product line that I would recommend. It is better than most of their other products, built for long life of occasional use in good conditions.

If your needs are more rare in frequency, I'd go with a local delivered printing service instead of buying something cheap and relying on it. Availability of services varies, of course.

I second the Design Jet. It's the only HP product I've ever recommended. I got one free in 1995-96 and it was still working in 2016. I had to replace the belt two or three times but it just kept on working.