I’m looking for quality pen plotters for architectural drawings. I’m seeing websites and in not sure if they are credible.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Hey all, payday is at the end of the month and It's time for new toys! I'm seriously considering getting a nix mini 3 colourimeter, so I can scan my pens colour to get accurate colour representation in my software.

Anyone used/owned one and got any big warnings to tell me before I buy one? If you have one and love it, I'd love to hear that too :)

Hi, my husband recently got a pen plotter and I wanted to get him an anniversary gift related to it. He’s already gotten some nice pens. He writes creative code and has been turning his code into physical art. It’s all very over my head. Any input welcome!

hi my pen Plotter eibot does 8 cm instead of 10 cm. I need to adjust the step size, but I can’t in axidraw control in Inkscape. it’s the a1 alibaba plotter for about 355 € can anybody help me? I tried for three days with ai allready. it sucks

Hey all, quick questions for those more experienced than me. I got some el-cheapo greyscale alchohol markers and I'm super happy with the results, but not with the longevity. I drew 3/4 A3 plots, and the pens seem to run out very quickly. I was expecting them to last longer, like 10 plots easily.

Each plot used around 18% coverage from each pen on an A3. After plotting, I noticed I had a lot of ink bleeding through to the back side of the sheet (A3 300GSM white card), and it seems like the paper is "sucking up" all the ink and emptying out the pens faster than I expected.

So, roughly how long do your alcohol markers last, and am I doing it wrong?

It's ok if this is normal, the pens are cheap enough to replace, I'm just not sure if I'm doing it right!

Just messing around with a Cricut. Plotter Art looks so satisfying.

Apparatus for transmitting electrical energy.

Nikola Tesla

Patent US1119732A

UUNA TEK 3.0 A2 Pen Plotter – Excellent Condition – Central Italy / Rome Pickup Preferred

PRICE: 1500 euro

I’m selling my UUNA TEK 3.0 A2 pen plotter, which is in excellent condition and works perfectly.

I bought it in april 2025, but I ended up using it very little, no more than approximately 300 hours in total. It has always been kept covered when not in use, so it is very clean and well looked after. There are no faults, issues, or missing parts: the machine runs exactly as it should.

I’m only selling it because I’m shifting my focus towards 3D printing projects, so the plotter is no longer getting the use it deserves.

You can check it up my artistic profile on instagram: profilum_

I’m based in Teramo, in central Italy. I would strongly prefer a handover in Rome, as it would be easier and safer for both sides, but I can also consider shipping.

I still have the original packaging: it is a very sturdy wooden crate, with the plotter secured inside using screws. Shipping should therefore be possible, but I would need to check the courier cost first, depending on the destination.

Feel free to message me if you are interested, would like more photos/videos, or have any questions.

Before I dump this thing on ebay. Pens/paper/USB adapter/stand included. Newburgh, NY

I have been intrigued by generative plotter art for years but never taken the plunge. The two main factors are that XY plotters are pretty bulky, and quite expensive. I’m a software engineer so the actual creating part is good and fun to me

Today I came across vinyl cutters like Silhouette Portrait/Cricut that can take pens, can be picked up super cheap, and are more compact.

Would something like this be a good way to test out if it‘a for me before committing to an XY plotter? or is too limiting?

Not really sure what I’d create exactly but I’m into minimalist stuff with cool line patterns etc to give a vague idea, and I just love the photos I’ve seen of this kind of very digital art but printed with physical media!

Any body has a pen plotter or is into building one, I have an Idea for my use case. If yes, DM me let's connect

My engineering studies requires me to hand write lots of documents so i was just wondering what type of pen plotter you guys would recommend. I was eyeing the writing function of a cricut cutter, do you guys think that's a good idea or no? Any recommendations would be great.

I don’t know which one to buy large size needed. Anyone have any opinions? Good experience or bad with either of these?

Hi all – I picked up a MUTOH XP-500 series pen plotter (I have the XP-510/511 user guide as PDF) and want to get it running, but I have no cable, no pens, and no software.
From the manual: standard interface is RS-232C on a 25-pin female port, the plotter is DTE, and it speaks MH-GL (HP-GL emulation, HP-758x compatible).
Questions:

1. Cable: is a USB-to-serial adapter + DB9-to-DB25 null-modem cable enough, or do I need a custom-wired cable per the manual's pinout?
2. Pens: where can I still source the pens + the Type-A pen adapters – or how do you convert to refillable / 3D-printed holders, including faking the optical Pen-ID marks?
3. Driving it: cleanest way to send HPGL/.plt to the plotter (COM port, terminal, chiplotle, djipco/hpgl…), and which serial settings (baud/handshake) worked for you? Any pointers or sources hugely appreciated. Thanks!

I picked up this boxed Roland DXY-1100 at an auction here in the UK a while back.

The plotter itself looks to be in really good condition but its not turning on. I tested the PSU on a multi meter and the PSU is not working.

First question, any idea where I might source a replacement PSU?

Secondly, if I was to sell it as is what would these things go for these days if sold as spares/repair?

It also came with a load of pens as pictured. From looking around online these seem to be pretty rare also. Any idea what kind of value the pens might have?

Thanks.

I was looking at the UUNA TEK 3.0, along with a few other plotter options, but I was kind of shocked at the price. Compared to a 3D printer, the plotter seems way more expensive, despite having less components in the BOM.

Am I missing a reasonably priced option for a plotter? Happy to go somewhat DIY or without extensive support, but wouldn't be interested in a ton of soldering work. I'm also open to used options, but can't find any on local marketplaces.

Hello, I don't have any idea of how to do some kind of pen and servo amortisation anyone here have an idea?
I would like to do somethin as you can see on the picture but I don't know how.
let me know guys

Thanks to some hacks of molotov pump markers, a more reliable plotting head and this new feature in my fork of openbuilds controller I can’t fail plot anymore. The pens can handle 5 hours plots and if they fail I can easily select the failed part and replot them.

This has completely changed the mood I’m in when I plot, I have no fear, no stress and this changes everything.

Also creatively this is such an opening, I’m no more constraining myself, like plotting a black background just because I love how deep the black is.

All of this has led me to this A1 piece.

I will soon post more about the edit gcode features I’ve built on the Openbuild controler

I have an iDraw A3, v1.0. Any ideas on how to upgrade the 2 rods on the Y axis to a single flat rail similar to what's on the newer versions / Axi / NextDraw plotters.

I'm wanting more stability when plotting at the extremes, the pen gets quite shaky. I've already slowed the pen up/down movement & drawing speed.

After many hours I managed to put fluidNC on my bachin T-A4. You can get the config and some thrown-together instructions here.

Pen plotter – or rather, not just a pen plotter, but more on that later.
The device was created out of a need to quickly draw holes on boards, panels, or plywood.
The working area is about 600×450 mm, because that was the largest element I wanted to make.
I wanted to do as much as possible myself, although of course I couldn't avoid using some ready-made parts.
The project was literally made on the fly and is full of strange solutions, like electronics hanging above the Y motor.

The plotter is driven by small NEMA17 stepper motors on the X and Y axes.
On the X axis, the drive is directly connected to a belt.
I used a 12 mm miniature linear guide.
Previously, I tested an aluminum profile guide with printed rollers, but the stability was not good enough.
On the Y axis, I used 8 mm rods.
One motor drives two belts, and both sides are synchronized with a 5 mm rod.
I also added a gear reduction of about 1:3.
The wires are routed in cable carriers – one factory-made, the other 3D printed.

The carriage was probably the part I designed the longest.
I made dozens of prototypes.
Since the plates have different thicknesses, I included the possibility to manually raise and lower the tool by about 2 cm.
This is done by squeezing two blocks and sliding them up or down to the correct position.
Further lowering is done by a miniature servo, and the downward movement happens thanks to gravity.
The tool is mounted on a 9 mm (or maybe 7 mm) miniature linear guide.

Another goal was quick tool exchange – at first, I only wanted to use pens.
I designed a mechanism for detaching the tool holders with a special lever.
When locked, the holder is pressed by a spring element.
Making these parts required testing many filaments and dozens of shapes.
In the end, I made a "banana" shape out of ASA plastic.

Another idea was to connect a laser – not for cutting (a 5 mW laser is not suitable for that), but for positioning the drawing (there was also supposed to be a camera and automatic image analysis!).
For it to work, it needs power, so I installed special contacts on the carriage and in the holder.
Inserting the holder automatically connects the laser to 5V power.

The electronics consist of a simple, ready-made Arduino CNC module based on the Arduino Nano (ATmega328p).
The firmware is uCNC.
Everything is housed in a neat custom-designed enclosure.
This enclosure is actually most of my contribution.

The control software for the plotter was written using Electron JS.
It supports DXF and SVG files and offers (often in theory) many options for importing and preparing files, as well as for controlling the machine: opening, scaling, moving, positioning, and more.

The newest idea was to expand the plotter with a cutting function.
A cheap holder fits perfectly into my tool holder system, and the mechanics probably don't need any changes.
I say "probably" because I don't know if the cutting force adjustment will be needed.
So far, I haven't had the chance to test this solution – partly because I don't have the right cutting mat (metal sheet is not ideal for the knife), and partly because some changes in the control software are needed.

That's all for now.
I'm attaching photos.
No examples of how it works? I know, it's sad.