Pen plotters

Plotters at XPUB

HP DraftPro EXL

HP DraftPro DXL, promotion photo (1988), found in the HP Museum: http://www.hpmuseum.net/display_item.php?hw=393

A0+ pen plotter.

Currently borrowed from Varia. It was a gift from Gijs (OSP).

It speaks: HPGL (HP graphics language)

• Link: http://paulbourke.net/dataformats/hpgl/
• Link: https://www.isoplotec.co.jp/HPGL/eHPGL.htm

USB connection

/dev/ttyUSB0

Give the plotter the permission of your user and usergroup!

$ chown user:user /dev/ttyUSB0

$ cat myfile.hpgl > /dev/ttyUSB0

Chiplotle

Make a virtual environment (with Python2):

$ virtualenv FOLDERNAME

Start the virtual environment:

$ source FOLDERNAME/bin/activate

Install Chiplotle (the Python library to speak HPGL to the plotter):

$ pip install Chiplotle 

• Project site: http://sites.music.columbia.edu/cmc/chiplotle/
• Manual: http://sites.music.columbia.edu/cmc/chiplotle/manual/chapters/tutorial/intro.html
• Note: Chiplotle only works with Python2

Run Chiplotle:

$ chiplotle

Inkscape

The plot function is under: export > plot

Error: pySerial is not installed.

Please follow these steps:

1. Download and extract (unzip) this file to your local harddisk: https://pypi.python.org/packages/source/p/pyserial/pyserial-2.7.tar.gz
2. Copy the "serial" folder (Can be found inside the just extracted folder) into the following Inkscape folder: /usr/????????
3. Close and restart Inkscape

Inkscape + Chiplotle

Inkscape

Example settings of a A3 landscape .hpgl file.

Make a vector file in Inkscape.

Save it as a HPGL file. See the image on the right for the settings.

For example: A3 landscape

Super tip (!): landscape file = portrait plot. Make a landscape document, it plots in portrait orientation on the plotter (weird, but works)

Chiplotle

Activate the virtual environment:

$ source FOLDERNAME/bin/activate

Start Chiplote:

$ chiplotle

Check if the default plotter is selected automatically:

> plotter

Send a HPGL file to the plotter:

> plotter.write_file('FILENAME.hpgl')

Rasterize

Color Separation

This ColorSeparation tool from OSP: Tools/ColorSeparation

Source: http://osp.kitchen/tools/pdfutils/

$ sh ColorSeparation FILENAME

Creates:

.
├── gunta-stoelzl-study-cmyk-page001(Black).jpg
├── gunta-stoelzl-study-cmyk-page001(Cyan).jpg
├── gunta-stoelzl-study-cmyk-page001(Magenta).jpg
└── gunta-stoelzl-study-cmyk-page001(Yellow).jpg

GIMP

filters > distorts > newsprint

spotfunction: lines
oversample: 1
cell size: 5

Inkscape

Bitmap tracing time!

However, it would be great to have a trace that does not create outlines of the lines, but renders them as single lines ... (also to speed up the final penplot!).

For this there must be an extention: center trace.

... But where?

Ah! install Inkscape 1.0 (or higher)! It comes with the newer version :).

(removed my inkscape and installed from backports!)

sudo apt remove inkscape

sudo apt -t buster-backports install "inkscape"

Pens

HP Fiber Tip Plotter Pens S Style Pens

• $ 22 for 5: https://www.draftingsteals.com/catalog-plotters---plotter-supplies-plotter-pens-fiber-tip-plotter-pens.html