Everyone knows that as soon as you buy the latest tech gizmo, it is already outdated. Just look how fast new smart phones are released. This concept appears to dissolve, however, when printers are involved, especially wide-format printers. It is amazing how some companies will hang on to their wide-format equipment for years. Eventually though, the time will come there is no other option. You need to upgrade your plotter. If that is the case, here a few things to keep in mind. 

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Fully assess your current needs

If your system is over five years old, your needs have more than likely changed. After all, your CAD demands are not the same as they were 5-10 years ago. Also, with BIM becoming more prevalent in the construction industry, new factors need to be taken into consideration.

  • CAD/BIM files are larger and more complex than ever
  • More processing power is need for BIM or 3D CAD
  • BIM and other 3D applications require images to render differently than simple 2D drawings
  • Color is a vital component to BIM

It has been promoted for some time now that Color CAD is the way of the future for AEC. After all, the Europeans have been using it as their standard for several years. However, the US market is just now making the transition and it has resulted in a few growing pains. Be sure to plan on a system that will be able to follow the advancement of new software applications as well as other industry changes.

Analyze monochrome vs full-color

Even with color CAD taking off, many companies will still elect to stay with a black/white plotter. After all, the construction industry has been working from blackline (blueprint) plans forever. So, while there is certainly an argument to be made for shifting to color drawings, there is still a value to having a solid, reliable monochrome plotter.

If your print volume supports it, a toner-based wide-format unit will generally give you the fastest print speed at the lowest per square foot cost. Experience shows that it generally requires about 2,000 square feet of printing per month to financially justify a toner plotter. This will soon be contested by the new high-speed inkjet technologies, such as HP’s PageWide, but these new units are just too new and unproven at this point.

Calculate the TCO

This seems simple enough. Take the sum of equipment cost, supplies, service, etc. and divide it by a specific length of time to calculate a monthly (or annual) Total Cost of Operation. However, one thing that is almost always overlooked is intangible costs, like time.

If you have employees waiting around for plots, you are wasting money. How much does that lost time cost your company? Here’s a quick thought, imagine that you have a $25 an hour employee. That person is essentially earning $0.42 per minute. If they have to wait for 5 minutes for a print, that results in $2.05 wasted. Multiply that by several users, several times per day, and you have a big money pit.

Just be sure to account for the time factor when analyzing projected plotter costs.

Takeaways

When upgrading your plotter, consider these things that may not have been relevant 5-10 years ago.

  • Spend some time looking over both your current and projected workflows anticipate upcoming changes or paradigm shifts
  • Do your best to estimate technology changes within your business—both hardware and software
  • Be sure to factor in wasted time into your cost analysis—how much money could you save by running more efficiently

 upgrade your wide format plotter system

Kevin Vaughan
Post by Kevin Vaughan
November 13, 2015
Kevin Vaughan is the Vice President of TAVCO and heads up Sales, Digital Marketing, and E-Commerce channels. With over two decades of experience, he has received various awards for sales performance and channel growth. Published articles focus on AEC technologies including laser scanning, 3D cameras, CAD software, and large format plotters. When he is not geeking out on new technologies, you can find him hanging with his wife and kids, playing guitar, or Scuba diving.

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