HP DesignJet 755CM Large Format Printer
 | This tool is no longer at the space. Find what actually exists at PS1 on the Equipment page.  |
 | |
| Owner/Loaner | PS:One |
|---|---|
| Make/Model | Hewlett Packard DesignJet 755CM |
| Arrival Date | 2009 |
| Usability | no |
| Contact | CTO |
| Where | Removed |
| Authorization Needed | no |
| Hackable | no |
| Estimated Value | ~$200 |
| Host Area | CNC |
Technical Information
- Specs from HP: http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?objectID=bpp01854
- Drivers (Use HP Designjet 750C) http://sourceforge.net/projects/gimp-print/files/
- Color format: CMYK
- Ink cartridge type: Color - HP 44 (Individual cyan, magenta, yellow) Black - HP 45
- Black cartridge available for ink refill at MicroCenter
- Maximum print area: 3' x 50' (according to HP's website) A0 preset works on ubuntu.
- The printer is hooked up to the IBM ThinkPad immediately to its right. The ThinkPad has all the software on it to print pretty much anything you want to the printer.
ThinkPad
The ThinkPad is dedicated to printing whatever you like on the DesignJet 755CM. It contains the following software:
- Inkscape (latest as of 2/28/2013)
- Adobe Acrobat Reader IX
- Adobe Creative Suite CS2
- Photoshop CS2
- Illustrator CS2
- InDesign CS2
The computer is on the network as Printy. You can connect to it and transfer your files (there's a public share called "Printing") that way or just use the USB ports (located on the left).
Let's make this machine better
- I got the printer working for black and white. I'm doing some experimentation with scaling and orientation and will write up clear instructions soon. The current process of getting your prints jobs to the printer is convoluted. I'll be working on improving that. Once we replace the color cartridges, they may also work. - Mark
- It seems as if the print heads are getting clogged and this machine needs to be used 1-2 times a month. Any way that we can ask the area host to print a job that often as part of maintenance?
- I, Bry, have a hard time getting my prints in the correct orientation. Any way we can add instructions to docs?
- After testing, we should start spreading around a "rumor" that the machine is working again. So, that people start using it.
- If we are still having issues, maybe we should get a different machine.
- The machine has resisted efforts to network it. Let's set up a better host machine.
Ongoing hardware Problems
This machine does not produce high quality prints. Usually a few square feet of ink need to come out before this machine even starts working. When it does the colors never get close to correct.
The Expansion card appears to not work, 3 different expansions cards with ethernet ports have been tried. Sometimes the in system menu has updated with the card information. Packet sniffing has revealed that occassionally the machine makes bootp/dhcp requests, but acts as though it never gets a response. Setting a static ip address has not yet worked either.