# anyone use the HP designjet 500??



## miktoxic (Feb 21, 2008)

got a chance to scarf up one of these printers/plotter for real cheap. anybody have any pros or cons they can share with me before i decide whether to get it or not? thanks!


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## thutch15 (Sep 8, 2008)

Did you get it? I am in the same boat... I have one I can get cheap, but not sure what it can do. Let me know if you have any info. Thanks


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## miktoxic (Feb 21, 2008)

i got it and it's great.....just haven't utilized it yet to it's full capacity. 

when i got it i got a box of 36" roll paper (bond) most likely used for blueprints. since i have no retail storefront it's hard for me to push blueprints even though i know a lot of people in the construction biz but you can do blueprints, posters, and signage. 

after researching the thing for months i've found that there is plenty of different material that you can use to achieve most tasks. they have banner material made with tyvek that would work for outdoor banners and signage but i'm thinking (having not done it yet) that you've gotta laminate anything exposed to the elements considering that the printer itself is an inkjet.


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## cryptkeeper (Apr 26, 2010)

You also need coated media, which is a lot more expensive than solvent media  I learned this the hard way after picking up my dj5500uv. A roll that costs me 375$ can be bought for the versacamm for 90. 



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## miktoxic (Feb 21, 2008)

cryptkeeper said:


> You also need coated media,


yes depending on the job you are doing. if you are just printing blueprints you can get away with the cheap rolls of bond paper. the coated paper i'm about to buy for doing indoor posters is 36" x 100' at $79.00 @ staples. but the tyvek banner material is over $300 and i'm sure there would have to be some laminate used if doing outdoor stuff.


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## Fenrir (Mar 13, 2012)

A lot of people recommend you laminate outdoor solvent prints too so that may or may not be an issue depending on your personal preference in the matter.

Sihl has several banner materials available for aqueous in various price ranges as well as other products:

Sihl Aqueous products

A quick look at my current supplier that I won't name because I don't honestly know if it's the best price you can get is $83 for 24" x 50' of the regular quality 3604 SMART and $76 for 24" x 100' of the economy quality 3900 SyntiTec.

I'm biased though, since 3988 is pretty much the only affordable printable adhesive vinyl I can find that's _truly_ weather and water resistant for use in a smaller aqueous printer (Epson 1100, 1400, etc).


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## thutch15 (Sep 8, 2008)

Well I just bought one for $75... so hopefully I can find a use for it.


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