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Solved
AutoCad Light - Plotting Issue designjet 800
Posted on 2006-07-07
Hi,
Our engineers plot to a design jet 800 24" using autocad lt 2005.
Our plot jobs are sent correctly & the design jet displays that its processing the job, however the plot rarely comes out, there is no pattern as to when the plot comes out.
The plotter will print windows test page everytime.
The plotter is setup local network - i.e local software points to the ip of the plotter.
It has worked before.
Not being a Autocad person I didnt know what settings in autocad I had to change, I found out after a little meddling that I needed to use the Page Setup Manager - I automatically assumed that there was a generic setting for a page / plotter that you would change when you clicked plot...Obviously not :)
Anyway, with it setup to A1, landscape etc. Click plot - the job sends ok, spools, and displays on the plotter as processing from its given location, and then nothing happens.
I figured that they might not be coming through as id sent so many jobs & the spooler / buffer and thought it might be full so restarted the plotter. - i then restarted the machine.. tried printing again but nothing..
Came back to I.T dept - spoke with a few other guys in the dept - they double checked the settings id made and felt that they were ok, got a call from eng to say there was a black test page coming through - odd.. very delayed if anything and i dont remember printing a black test page..
Anyway, checked the settings again and clicked plot .. it came out - but had the page setup incorrectly - needed to be landsacpe not portrait, so again changed the page by going into the page setup manager and saved it.
Clicked plot - nothing..
Tried deleting the settings, restarting both plotter & machine - still nothing..
Spent far to long on this now and would appreciate some top tips to get it sorted once and for all..
thanks
George
Our engineers plot to a design jet 800 24" using autocad lt 2005.
Our plot jobs are sent correctly & the design jet displays that its processing the job, however the plot rarely comes out, there is no pattern as to when the plot comes out.
The plotter will print windows test page everytime.
The plotter is setup local network - i.e local software points to the ip of the plotter.
It has worked before.
Not being a Autocad person I didnt know what settings in autocad I had to change, I found out after a little meddling that I needed to use the Page Setup Manager - I automatically assumed that there was a generic setting for a page / plotter that you would change when you clicked plot...Obviously not :)
Anyway, with it setup to A1, landscape etc. Click plot - the job sends ok, spools, and displays on the plotter as processing from its given location, and then nothing happens.
I figured that they might not be coming through as id sent so many jobs & the spooler / buffer and thought it might be full so restarted the plotter. - i then restarted the machine.. tried printing again but nothing..
Came back to I.T dept - spoke with a few other guys in the dept - they double checked the settings id made and felt that they were ok, got a call from eng to say there was a black test page coming through - odd.. very delayed if anything and i dont remember printing a black test page..
Anyway, checked the settings again and clicked plot .. it came out - but had the page setup incorrectly - needed to be landsacpe not portrait, so again changed the page by going into the page setup manager and saved it.
Clicked plot - nothing..
Tried deleting the settings, restarting both plotter & machine - still nothing..
Spent far to long on this now and would appreciate some top tips to get it sorted once and for all..
thanks
George
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17 Comments
Have you downloaded the Service Patch 1 from Autodesk for Acad LT2005?
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=4598416&linkID=2475712
http://usa.autodesk.com/adsk/servlet/ps/dl/item?siteID=123112&id=4598416&linkID=2475712
Mmmmm, not sure if you have variable FULLPLOTPATH available in LT2005. If so toggle the value of this variable 0 or 1 and try it again.
If the variable is not available, put your dwg in a place closer to C: and try plotting again.
I think the file path sent to the plotter goes up to only 20 characters. Placing your dwg closer to C:/ will shorten the path.
Next, If still no luck, check the advanced option of your plotter, look if you have the option to 'process in computer'
If the variable is not available, put your dwg in a place closer to C: and try plotting again.
I think the file path sent to the plotter goes up to only 20 characters. Placing your dwg closer to C:/ will shorten the path.
Next, If still no luck, check the advanced option of your plotter, look if you have the option to 'process in computer'
Re-reading your OP, Make sure also that the plot settings specified in Autocad macth the setting specified though windows (ie: Control panel/Printer and faxes/Properties/Printing preferences). that can only help lessen the confusion about what is going to be plotted.
Heh, sorry if i dont provide very precise procedures, i dont have access to a HP DJ400 or Acad LT2005.
These are things that helped out others in the past with similar plotting problems. G'luck :o)
These are things that helped out others in the past with similar plotting problems. G'luck :o)
Hi there,
Tried all your helpful suggestions but no luck, i was sifting through the little starters / troubleshooting guide and it suggested that it could be a memory issue & that it would display on the screen, this wasnt the case as the screen just says that its processing the job then reverts back to the normal screen. HMM
I however did try doing my own image & a few of the standard images that come with the program and they printed out fine, im thinking that the images we have are in some way to high res for the printer to handle or maybe they were created in a diff version of autocad and the images are not forwardly compatible or something similar?!
Any suggestions on what i could do with regards to this?
regards
george
Tried all your helpful suggestions but no luck, i was sifting through the little starters / troubleshooting guide and it suggested that it could be a memory issue & that it would display on the screen, this wasnt the case as the screen just says that its processing the job then reverts back to the normal screen. HMM
I however did try doing my own image & a few of the standard images that come with the program and they printed out fine, im thinking that the images we have are in some way to high res for the printer to handle or maybe they were created in a diff version of autocad and the images are not forwardly compatible or something similar?!
Any suggestions on what i could do with regards to this?
regards
george
Active 3 days ago
Have you tried the preview button on the AutoCAD plot page? It should show what is being sent to the plotter on the paper size selected. If something appears there and still no plot - I would be thinking the plotter driver maybe corrupt and need to be re-installed.
If nothing appears in the preview you may have a bad window selection (nothing in the window).
The only other thing I can think of is - if you are plotting large scanned files (like old blue prints) they could overload your plotters memory. Ours doesn't get overloaded but just runs extremely slow on these.
Do you have a AutoCAD engineer you could call? Ours is very helpful.
If nothing appears in the preview you may have a bad window selection (nothing in the window).
The only other thing I can think of is - if you are plotting large scanned files (like old blue prints) they could overload your plotters memory. Ours doesn't get overloaded but just runs extremely slow on these.
Do you have a AutoCAD engineer you could call? Ours is very helpful.
I have to second that.
If what you are trying to plot includes images inserted in Autocad, the plotter's memory is usually the issue.
You see it being sent because your computer can handle it.
Your plotter, maybe, can't.
I have an old plotter that have the option to 'process in computer' as i mentionned before. If your's don't have it, a memory upgrade is in order.
Save this dwg under another name as a scrap version, strip out the images and try again to plot what's left.
If that works, its certainly a lack of sufficient memory in your plotter.
If what you are trying to plot includes images inserted in Autocad, the plotter's memory is usually the issue.
You see it being sent because your computer can handle it.
Your plotter, maybe, can't.
I have an old plotter that have the option to 'process in computer' as i mentionned before. If your's don't have it, a memory upgrade is in order.
Save this dwg under another name as a scrap version, strip out the images and try again to plot what's left.
If that works, its certainly a lack of sufficient memory in your plotter.
Hmm i see what your both saying ill try removing some detail - but the things got 96 mb of ram as standard.. surely this is enough for a measly 384 k drawing...
Active 3 days ago
When AutoCAD inserts an image file it doesn't include the entire file - it acts more like a reference file. Your file looks small but there is in total alot of data for your plotter to process. So keep in mind the plotter has to read all the files involved - then, convert that information into vector data to drive the plotter so it can plot in one pass.
One last thing - xrefs and image files can cause things not to work if corrupt (try purging and auditing xrefs). Try making a test file (copy of the original) and detach and remove all xrefs and image files and do a purge and audit commands until all unused stuff is remove and the file shows error free. Then, try to plot it - if doesn't work try it on a differernt workstation.
One last thing - xrefs and image files can cause things not to work if corrupt (try purging and auditing xrefs). Try making a test file (copy of the original) and detach and remove all xrefs and image files and do a purge and audit commands until all unused stuff is remove and the file shows error free. Then, try to plot it - if doesn't work try it on a differernt workstation.
>Hmm i see what your both saying ill try removing some detail - but the things got 96 mb of ram as standard.. surely this is enough for a measly 384 k drawing...
Yes, but that is not the "plot file" being sent to your plotter. Open the plotter queue when you send it to see the true size of the file sent to your plotter.
Yes, but that is not the "plot file" being sent to your plotter. Open the plotter queue when you send it to see the true size of the file sent to your plotter.
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