Hewlett-Packard DesignJet 1000 series

Inkjet, thermal, and LED plotters reviewed

Hewlett-Packard Co.
Star rating: 5 stars out of 5

I first looked at the Hewlett-Packard DesignJet 1000 series for CADALYST in the March 1999 issue. At the time, it was a pretty impressive machine. Now, after living with it for quite a while and talking with many other users, I don’t think that anymore—I know it beyond a shadow of a doubt. The Hewlett-Packard DesignJet 1000 models are simply the most advanced large-format general-purpose inkjet printers made.

The DesignJet 1000 Series have been favorite plotters for a long time—and with good reason.

The 1000 series (which includes the 1050C and the slightly more loaded 1055CM) are 36" full-color printers with high-capacity extended ink supplies. They use Hewlett-Packard’s modular ink delivery system, which consists of four long-life 600dpi heads connected by tubing to replaceable ink cartridges. You can buy cartridges that hold either 350mL or 175mL (the latter for folks who don’t print color very often). This system is designed for high quality and long-duration unattended operation.

The printers include a standard network interface and support media rolls up to 300long. Despite this, the printers are fast enough to go through a couple of rolls of media in a work day. A D-size plot takes about 45 seconds to print in draft mode and about two minutes in normal mode. That’s more than twice as fast as any competitive machine. And the print quality in all modes is quite impressive.

The only argument against the 1000 series is that it might be too much machine for some users. For example, if you print only a few plots per day, you don’t need an extended ink system. Nor do you necessarily need a printer that is this fast. Despite fairly good pricing—($8,995 (list) for the 1050C and $11,995 (list) for the 1055CM—some users may be better served by saving some money and getting a more pedestrian printer. I have a hard time keeping a straight face when I say that, because I personally like having the most advanced large-format general-purpose inkjet printer made. Highly Recommended.