We finally got our hands on a really neat machine from 1988. We’re having a blast with it while testing and repairing it.
The HP7575A DraftPro DXL pen plotter comes from an era where craftsmanship was abundant. The limits of plotting technology were being pushed.
When we acquired it, it had been stored in a garage for about 8 years. Many of the pens were still functional, and the machine itself was in fairly good condition. We brought it home, gave it a thorough cleaning, and performed a full service. The only issues we identified were a broken grit wheel bearing clamp and some missing pen boots in the carousel. (A repair article will be posted here later.)
As you can see, it is operating smoothly, and we are extremely pleased with this addition to our workforce. This is a powerful machine. It’s fast and precise—just what we needed in our shop.
Specs:
The iconic cover of Joy Division’s legendary debut album “Unknown Pleasures” (1979) features a striking image of a pulsar’s radio waves. I always liked Joy Division (and New Order) and thought it would be a fun project to recreate the Ridgeline plot on a period(-ish) correct pen plotter. In this post the approach will be outlined without getting too much into details.
While browsing through the book ‘Colour’ I noticed a fascinating drawing in black ink on white paper that changes colour right before your eyes.
This and more about recreating this artwork from the artist and teacher Arthur Hoener (1933-1987) after the jump.
We have welcomed another big pen plotter to the fleet. The notorious HP 7596A DraftMaster II. In this post I’ll cover the whole process from buying an in unknown working state vintage plotter, hauling it back home, to getting it ready for some serious production work.
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