Great for Educational Posters

The HP DesignJet 500 has proven to be the perfect large format printer for my office. Because it is relatively inexpensive and very easy to use, my labmates and me have been able to print a number of large posters that look very professional.
As a graduate student Behavioral Neuroscience, I frequently attend scientific conferences at which new data is presented in poster form. Before purchasing the DesignJet 500, my labmates and I usually took our poster to professional print shops to be printed in their full size. For jobs like this, print shops usually charge between $90 and $130 for a single poster. When faced with upwards of ten posters a year, the DesignJet seemed a perfect alternative. It will virtually pay for itself in three years!
To print a large poster, I usually use Microsoft PowerPoint to create a single large slide (such as 42” by 42”). To print it on the DesignJet, all I need to do is select the 500 from the printer menu, check a few options, and press “OK.” It’s that simple. In about ten minutes, a professional quality poster that I can be proud to stand in font of is produced. The DesignJet even cuts the poster when it’s done printing.
Most of the work we do involves text and graphs only. We have very little need for photo-quality printing. However, the few pictures that we have printed have come out very well. While the quality is not as high as our Deskjet 1220C, it is still quite good.
We chose not to buy the 500ps because we felt that we did not need the Adobe Postscript software. Therefore, I cannot comment on the value of this additional software. I also cannot comment much on the cost of supplies. Our printer is still new, so we have not needed new ink cartridges or paper. Also, as an educational institution, we can usually get these items at discounted prices.