Ever since the economy took a downturn a few years ago, companies across the country have been scrambling to find ways to cope with a declining marketplace. This is especially crucial if your company is involved in architectural, engineering, and/or construction (AEC).

If you are familiar with the concept of cosmic inflation and how it relates to our universe, then you can somewhat get a feel of how fast the web is expanding. The internet is an inconceivably big place with a ton of information—some good, some not so good.

It is amazing to see how accessible wide-format printing has become. It is no longer the niche industry that it used to be. You can find large format plotter printers just about anywhere:

If you are in market for a new, large format, color multifunction unit, then you probably have checked out the HP Plotter T2300. It just takes a quick web search to see what kind of buzz HP has created about this unit.

There sure has been quite a bit of chatter lately throughout the large format printing industry regarding Xerox and their decision to get out of wide format systems.

It is amazing the number of companies who I've spoken to lately who  have a mid-to-high-volume Océ plotter who expect a monthly service call from their supporting dealer. The fact of the matter is that you generally don't need that type of support unless your volume warrants it.

No matter which brand of plotter you champion, ALL wide-format printers are susceptible to the same types of operational issues.

Features added to the Océ TDS750:

So, have you ever asked someone to "Help me pick a plotter?" Chances are you have not but probably should have. You see, often people search for a new wide-printer with "the lowest price" as the only criteria. That can be a mistake. There's actually a lot more involved in the decision process than that.

Let's face it, all toner based printing systems work off of the same principles. The basic design has been around for years. Yet, technology always has a way of improving old models. For instance, LEDs have now replaced lasers as the primary light source. That is a good thing!