[HN Gopher] Typewriter Plotters (2022)
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       Typewriter Plotters (2022)
        
       Author : LaSombra
       Score  : 82 points
       Date   : 2025-12-05 15:34 UTC (5 days ago)
        
 (HTM) web link (biosrhythm.com)
 (TXT) w3m dump (biosrhythm.com)
        
       | SoftTalker wrote:
       | I wonder if any of them are still usable. I would guess that new
       | pens are NLA and whatever pens that might be around are long
       | dried out.
        
         | sleepybrett wrote:
         | You might be surprised, I picked up a box of new/oldstock
         | sealed in packaging pens for the HP 7475A, they still work just
         | fine. Also I have some of the weird little ballpoint pens that
         | are used for the Atari 1020, they also continue to work.
        
       | erwan577 wrote:
       | These are objects from a time when people were willing to watch
       | machines work, not just get instant output.
       | 
       | Today, even if small DIY plotters were cheap to build, they'd
       | mostly live in the "art / hobby" space: most users won't wait
       | several minutes for a page when a laser printer does it in
       | seconds.
       | 
       | That said, it would be great if a simple, well-documented DIY
       | standard (protocol + format) emerged that hobby plotters could
       | implement and that common tools (Inkscape, CAD, etc.) could
       | support out of the box.
        
         | MisterTea wrote:
         | > That said, it would be great if a simple, well-documented DIY
         | standard (protocol + format) emerged that hobby plotters could
         | implement and that common tools (Inkscape, CAD, etc.) could
         | support out of the box.
         | 
         | I know just about every CAD program, inkscape and many others
         | use the text based DXF. Might be a bit overkill in some cases
         | so perhaps a simple plotting language such as the plot format:
         | https://man.9front.org/6/plot
        
       | decipherer wrote:
       | I had one of the Panasonic models a long time ago, and I used to
       | love typing with it.
       | 
       | I didn't have a reliable source for pen cartridges though, so I
       | usually saved it for things that were "important" at the time.
       | 
       | Everything else was typed on an IBM Wheelwriter, which in my mind
       | is still the pinnacle of typewriter technology.
       | 
       | Supposedly you can still order the film ribbon cartridges for
       | them online.
        
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       (page generated 2025-12-10 23:01 UTC)