HP Designjet T7100 with PlotWorks

Overview

The HP Designjet T7100 is a revolutionary color printer due to speed, quality, capacity, and low cost of ownership. With three rolls and up to four A1-sized prints per minute, the T7100 is an inexpensive, high-quality alternative to:

• Other color devices (inkjet, solid ink, or toner)
• Monochrome LED printers

However, to operate effectively and efficiently in most environments, several key challenges must be addressed.

First, while the printer itself is fast, the embedded controller can become a choke point due to processing speed. A common example is related to rotation.

If you have an A0 PDF file in landscape orientation, when you print from Adobe Reader or Adobe Acrobat to the T7100, the landscape data must be rotated to portrait orientation by the T7100's embedded controller in order to print on the 841 mm roll. Rotations of this nature are computationally expensive, and it is not unusual to experience delays ranging from several seconds to over a minute depending on image size and complexity.

Second, when printing from applications such as Adobe Reader, it is often difficult to predict the final outcome. Common problems include:

• Undesirable roll selection
• Incorrect orientation
• Non-standard cut lengths

These challenges are exacerbated when printing half-sizes or scaling-to-fit. You don't know what you're going to get until it comes out of the printer.

Third, in situations where batch printing and image adjustment (scaling, rotation, offsets, labels, etc.) are required, the software provided with the T7100 is insufficient to meet most users' needs.

Finally, while folders from Bay and ES-TE are available for the T7100, without additional software these devices operate in "inline" mode instead of "online" mode. Online mode eliminates the need for attended operation and provides automated rotation and jam recovery.

OpCenter has developed a software solution to address all of these requirements.

Folding Modes

Folding Mode	Productivity	Description
Offline		The folder is not attached to the printer. An operator must manually feed each sheet into the folder, one sheet at a time. Fold parameters must be specified by an operator using the folder's control panel. Sheets that jam in the folder must be printed again, and then folded again. Offline folding is slow, labor intensive, prone to sequencing errors and does not provide automatic jam recovery.
Inline		The folder is attached to the printer. Each sheet printed is fed through the folder. Fold parameters must be specified by an operator using the folder's control panel before the images are printed. Sheets that jam in the folder must be printed again, and then folded again. Inline folding requires attended operation and does not provide automatic jam recovery.
Online		The folder is attached to the printer. Each sheet printed is fed through the folder. Fold parameters are specified using external software when the images are submitted for printing. Sheets that jam in the printer or folder are automatically reprinted, assuring no missed sheets and correct sheet sequence. Online folding provides unattended operation, automatic rotation, automatic jam recovery and the fastest path to finished output.

Solution Overview

PlotWorks for the HP Designjet T7100 is available in three configurations, allowing OpCenter and our authorized partners to provide the right configuration to the right customer at the right price.

PlotWorks Lite T7100

The Lite configuration, available under a perpetual license, provides online folding control, automated rotation and jam recovery. All images to be printed must be placed in one or more shared folders on the network (typically known as "hot folders") that are periodically polled. Images found in the hot folders are encapsulated as jobs and then printed. Supported image formats include HP-GL/1, HP-GL/2, HP-RTL and TIFF.

Each hot folder has an associated parameter file to specify rotation, folding parameters, etc. Printing directly from Windows applications is possible through use of a port monitor.

This configuration may be used to print to a maximum of one (1) T7100 printer.

PlotWorks Standard T7100

The Standard configuration, available under a perpetual license, provides all of the capabilities of the Lite version and includes a client-side application for building, viewing and submitting print jobs.

The WYSIWYP viewer allows end users to visually determine and specify rotation, scale factor, media type, media size, offsets, labels and more for each sheet in a collated set.  Folding parameters are specified at time of output, and each set of folding parameters may be saved as a "preset" to improve productivity.

Supported image formats include HP-GL/1, HP-GL/2, HP-RTL, TIFF, CALS, DWF, DWFx, PDF and PostScript.

This configuration may be used to print to a maximum of one (1) T7100 printer.  Drivers for additional printers may be added for an additional fee, provided that the addition of these drivers is physically and computationally practical.

PlotWorks Pro T7100

The Pro configuration, available under a subscription license, provides all of the capabilities of the Standard version plus:

• The ability to drive up to four printers (if physically and computationally practical)
• Printer drivers may be swapped for other makes and models at any time during the subscription term
• Integration with third-party applications such as online planrooms, document management systems, and ERP systems

Solution Comparison

Included Optional Excluded

Feature/Capability	Lite	Standard	Pro
Unattended operation
Automatic jam recovery (printer)
Automatic jam recovery (folder)
Specify fold parameters without using folder console
Images submitted via drag-and-drop hot folders
Images submitted by printing from Windows applications
Collated sets (by filename or date, ascending or descending order)
Image formats: HP-GL/1, HP-GL/2, HP-RTL, TIFF
Image formats: CALS, DWF, DWFx, PDF, PostScript
Client software for building, viewing and submitting jobs
Collated sets (user defined sequence)
Batch printing
Define fold parameters as needed (packet width, height, margin, etc.)
Save frequently used fold parameters as "presets"
Create template jobs for frequently used job types (example: draft mode + half size + 190x297+20 fold)
What You See is What Your Print viewer
Visually determine and specify rotation, scale factor, media type, offsets, labels, watermarks, overlays, etc.
Drive up to four printers if physically and computationally practical
Printer drivers may be swapped for other makes and models at any time during the subscription term
Integration with third-party applications such as online planrooms, document management systems, and ERP systems

Summary and Pricing

The pricing below is subject to change without prior notification. Please note that the fees shown for software maintenance and technical support are for a period of twelve (12) months, paid annually in advance.

A perpetual software license entitles the end user to use the software as-delivered in perpetuity.  A software maintenance and technical support contract, which can be purchased annually, will keep the software current including patches, service packs, point releases and full version releases.

A subscription license entitles the end user to use the software for the duration of the subscription term, typically 12, 24 or 36 months. Software maintenance and technical support are included.

Please contact OpCenter or your local authorized reseller for additional information.



HP Large format Printer Models supported.