Versatile Jobsite Plotter Has More Than 253 Shades of Gray
A new large-format integrated multifunction printer from Hewlett-Packard Co. is a scanner, printer and WiFi hotspot all wrapped in a ruggedized shock-resistant casing with reinforced wheels to protect it from dust and damage on the jobsite. Its ink cartridges have enough shades of gray for detailed site drawing, and it comes with an app to print remotely.
“If you want to print a document and you’re out in the field and don’t want to walk 15 minutes back to the trailer and print, this does that,” says Maurice Clarke, VDC manager for Hensel Phelps, Greeley, Colo., whose company tested HP Co.’s DesignJet T830 printer, on a site before its recent release. Clarke says his team used an HP mobile app to send photos from their phones straight to the printer.
“A few times our Internet at the job trailer went out,” says Clarke. “I’d go near the printer and keep doing work off its WiFi.” The $5,995 machine is meant to replace old reliable printers that are still in the field.
“The T830 is made for customers that are holding onto the old DesignJet 500 and 800 series that are 10, 15 years old,” says Todd Hatfield, DesignJet category business manager, for the Americas, HP, Palo Alto, Calif. “Customers don’t want to give back those old printers because they’re so robust.”
The T830’s advantage is it uses less ink and electricity than the older models. The ink cartridges come in various sizes between 40 and 300 ml. The scanner on top of the print assembly can reproduce large-scale drawings, says Hatfield. The printer has a single roll of paper and a cut sheet tray that allows it to do half-size drawings like 13 x 19 in. or regular 8.5 x 11 in. The T830 is one of five new large-format technical printers that HP recently released.
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