How Do Plotter Printers Work?
Computer plotters produce large vector designs for design applications. But how do these printers actually work, and how should you use them? We’ll answer these questions and more.
Plotter Printers: A Quick Breakdown
Essentially, plotter printers create line art on paper using a pen — this means they can imitate designs made on a computer. They may have various pens of different colors, allowing them to create colorful designs.
Plotters do a great job of creating large graphics, like architectural blueprints, but they’re not so great at raster graphics. Fortunately, as you’ll soon see, modern alternatives have been introduced.
Types of Plotter Printers
The exact way that a plotter printer works depends on the exact kind of printer. There are three main types: drum plotters, flatbed plotters, and cutting plotters.
Drum plotters are one of the most common. They move the pen up and down, so for it to go left and right, the drum rotates instead. This might sound inconvenient, but it allows the footprint of the plotters to be smaller than the paper used.
Then there are flatbed potters, which fix the paper so that it stays still as the pen moves across it to create different lines and shapes. Unlike drum plotters, the pen can move in all directions.
A slightly less common type of plotter is the cutting plotter — these don’t actually use a pen, but a sharp blade instead. The use of the blade means the plotter can cut thin materials like vinyl instead of just paper, allowing them to create advertising materials, signs, and more.
Some cutting plotters are oven small enough to sit on a desktop, and they’re a great choice for anyone interested in crafts or technology.
How to Use a Plotter Printer
To be able to print designs, you must use plotter printers alongside CAD software. Simply make the drawings or plans on CAD and watch the plotter imitate it on paper.
Modern Advances
As mentioned already, plotter printers are no longer as useful as they once were. Now, inkjet and laser printers have mostly replaced them due to their faster speeds and greater user-friendliness — advances made possible by microchip and memory developments. They also do a better job of printing high-quality photos, making them more versatile.
Cutter plotters are more in use than other printer types, but laser cutters have replaced them.
As a result, not many plotter printers are commercially used, although refurbished models can still be found.
If you’d like a modern alternative to a plotter printer, you’d struggle to find better than the iDraw XY Plotter. It uses open source technology and is able to produce handwriting, drawings, or engravings on leather, wood, and paper.