How to Increase Plotter Print Speeds

As much as we want it to be true, humans cannot multitask. Instead, we use task switching. Moving quickly between tasks may give a multitasking impression, but the effort merely increases errors and lowers productivity. What project team members need are ways to complete support tasks quickly, such as tools for how to increase print speed.

Waiting for large format plotters to print designs or images can hold up meetings and delay approvals. But sacrificing quality for a faster turnaround may not be the best option when team members need to view project details. Learning how to increase print speed while maintaining print quality can make meeting milestones a little easier.

Resolution, complexity, and infrastructure all impact plotter print speed. In general, the higher the resolution, the longer the print time. Print quality is determined by dots per inch (DPI). Printing a document at 300 instead of 1200 DPI means placing fewer dots in the same space, allowing the print mechanism to move faster.

The print media impacts printing speed. Materials with high absorption rates print faster because the ink dries quickly. Smoother surfaces produce less friction, which also speeds up printing. However, print media can slow printing if it is difficult to feed through a plotter.

Black-and-white printing takes less time than colour printing, which requires multiple passes to produce a given colour. Combining high-resolution colour printing on canvas will extend print times over a black-and-white draft on standard plotter paper.

The size of a print file determines how quickly a document or image will print. Complex blueprints for multi-story buildings will take longer to print than a residential floor plan for a single-story home. The more data that needs to be printed, the longer the print time.

Characters within a file can slow or stop printing if plotters do not recognise them. Making sure that the output file adheres to standard printing conventions can reduce print disruptions that can delay projects.

Hardware limits print speeds, whether it's placed on a network or used as a stand-alone plotter. In a network environment, large files transferred over a network with limited bandwidth can slow printing because of network latency. Traffic congestion during peak usage may also reduce print speeds as data packets are delayed.

Plotters also require maintenance. Poorly maintained hardware can slow printer performance, and older hardware may have compatibility issues with newer network configurations. Keeping printer software up to date ensures the equipment is operating correctly.

Printers come with default settings that should be adjusted for each print job. Settings such as resolution and colour can change how fast a page prints. Ink or toner and paper also impact plotter print speeds.

Not every print job needs the highest resolution. Using draft settings increases plotter print speeds. With fewer dots per inch, draft quality works well, while projects are a work in progress.

Colour slows down plotters, and accurate colour slows them even more. If true colours are an essential project component, users can also adjust colour tone, brightness, and saturation for more accurate representations. However, many organisations use greyscale settings for faster print speeds during a project, saving colour prints until the final print.

Because paper collects moisture, storing it in dry environments helps retain its original absorption properties. Otherwise, the printed image may not be as crisp or as clear. Printing test pages using different inks and paper can help identify the right combination that balances speed and quality.

Also, experimenting with printer settings and supplies can save time and money as users learn the best configuration for different prints.

Proper maintenance can extend a plotter's usable life and ensure that printers perform as designed again and again. Simply cleaning a plotter removes dust and debris that can degrade performance. It also allows users to identify potential issues that can be addressed quickly before they become more disruptive.

Print heads and rollers require regular cleaning to remove residue that can reduce print quality. Plotters need calibration to ensure accuracy. Running basic diagnostics and calibration tests ensures printers are functioning correctly.

HP continuously improves its plotters' firmware and drivers for better user experiences. While missing an update may not seem significant, failure to keep plotters up to date can result in less-than-optimum performance. Try to schedule incremental enhancements that can increase plotter printer speeds.

HP DesignJet plotters incorporate advanced processing features that allow design professionals to automate workflows for faster data transfer. Application programming interfaces (APIs) enable plotters and printers to interface with design tools, reducing the time required to send a file to a plotter. Delays in transmitting data can slow print speeds or disrupt printing.

Built-in management tools let users control colour saturation, tone, and document or image resolution, adding to DesginJet's flexibility. Users can also rely on HP plotters to automatically adjust to ensure an optimum balance between speed and quality.

With supplies such as HP Flex Tech Inks, plotters can maintain quality and speed across applications. Whether blueprints, maps, or posters, Flex Tech Inks delivers the same print quality regardless of the print job. There is no swapping out of inks based on the print media, reducing setup time between print jobs.

Print strategies depend on understanding how resolution, colour, paper, and ink affect print speed. Consider the following options for how to increase print speed:

• Match resolution to need. If draft-quality prints are sufficient, trade resolution for speed.
• Choose greyscale over colour. Colour prints take longer, making a greyscale print a better choice for improved print speed.
• Understand print media. Print media can impact speed. Damp paper can slow print speed, and highly textured materials may increase friction.
• Use a suitable ink for the print media. With HP Flex Tech Inks, users do not have to worry about matching ink with media as they perform equally well across multiple applications.

While these strategies for how to improve print speed can't help humans multitask, they can help improve productivity through parallel processes. With HP DesignJet plotters, architects, designers, and engineers can move to their next tasks, knowing the resulting printout will meet their needs. Take advantage of this DesignJet Promotion to learn more about HP DesignJet products, or reach out to learn more about how to increase print speed.