HP DesignJet T1700 Plotter

The HP DesignJet T1700 is a 44-inch (1118 mm) wide-format workgroup plotter designed for engineering firms, urban planners, GIS departments, land surveyors, and infrastructure consultancies that need to print wider than the 36-inch (914 mm) standard. It uses the same HP 730 six-colour ink system and workgroup architecture as the HP DesignJet T1600 — 128 GB processing memory, 500 GB self-encrypting hard disk, 116 A1 pages per hour — but delivers an additional 204 mm of print width. The T1700 is the correct choice when ANSI E format, B1, 1-metre-wide infrastructure plans, or large-scale cadastral surveys are part of the regular output. For practices printing exclusively at A1 and A0 on 36-inch rolls, the HP DesignJet T1600 is the more economical option.

The T1700 and T1600 share the same print engine, ink system, memory, hard disk, security features, and throughput. The single hardware difference is print width: the T1700 prints up to 1118 mm (44 inches), the T1600 prints up to 914 mm (36 inches). In practice, this means the T1700 can print ANSI E (864 x 1118 mm), B1 (707 x 1000 mm), and any drawing or map with a width dimension between 914 mm and 1118 mm in a single pass without tiling or scaling. The T1600 cannot. If all of your output fits within 914 mm, there is no other functional difference between the two models, and the T1600 is the more economical choice. Both models are available in single-roll and dual-roll (dr) configurations, and both offer a PostScript variant.

You need a 44-inch plotter when your output regularly includes drawings or maps with a width exceeding 914 mm in any dimension. Common triggers in the South African AEC market include: ANSI E format technical drawings (864 x 1118 mm), specified on projects with US-based principals or clients; B1 format (707 x 1000 mm) plans for urban planning and development presentations; large-scale cadastral surveys where the plot extent exceeds 914 mm in the short dimension at the required scale; 1:5000 city-scale GIS output printed at full size; geological sections for mining projects that are physically wider than 914 mm; and infrastructure corridor plans (roads, pipelines, power lines) printed at 1:1000 or larger. If you regularly tile or scale these outputs to fit a 36-inch roll, the T1700 eliminates that workaround. If all your output fits on 36-inch media, the T1700 upgrade is not justified.

Yes. The T1700 prints A0 (841 x 1189 mm) on 1118 mm roll media with margins, and on any roll width of 914 mm or wider. A0 is well within the T1700's 44-inch (1118 mm) maximum print width. The T1700 also prints A0 on a 914 mm roll (with standard 3 mm margins), just as the T1600 does. The additional width of the T1700 compared to the T1600 becomes relevant for formats beyond A0: ANSI E, B1, and custom-width drawings wider than 914 mm.

The T1700dr (dual-roll) adds a second roll spindle. Both media rolls are loaded simultaneously and the printer selects the correct roll based on the page size of each job, without any operator intervention. For example, A1 bond paper can be loaded on one roll and 1118 mm heavyweight coated paper on the other. When an A1 drawing arrives in the queue, the printer uses the bond roll; when a wide-format map arrives requiring the full 44-inch width, it switches to the coated roll automatically. The T1700dr eliminates manual media changes for practices that print across multiple roll widths in the same day. For operations printing a single roll type exclusively, the standard T1700 is sufficient.

Yes. The T1700 PostScript (3EK07A) and T1700dr PostScript (3EK09A) include the Adobe PDF Print Engine, which provides the most reliable rendering of complex PDFs at wide-format width. The PostScript model is recommended when your workflow regularly includes PDFs from Revit, ArchiCAD, or GIS applications containing embedded transparencies, PANTONE spot colours, smooth shading, or vector-raster composites. For standard HP-GL/2 CAD output and GIS raster exports, the standard raster driver on non-PostScript models handles these jobs without issue. If you are unsure which model suits your specific PDF output, contact Graficomp for a workflow assessment. Graficomp will request a sample file and advise based on your actual output, not a general recommendation.

The T1700 uses HP 730 ink cartridges in six colours: cyan, magenta, yellow, photo black, matte black, and gray. Each colour is available in 130 ml and 300 ml sizes. For high-volume wide-format operations, the 300 ml cartridges reduce cost per page and cartridge change frequency. HP 730 cartridges are the same series used in the HP DesignJet T1600 and T2600 MFP. If your organisation runs multiple HP DesignJet models, cartridge stock is interchangeable across all three. The printhead is the HP 727 DesignJet Printhead (B3P06A), a single head covering the entire six-colour ink system with an average service life of three to five years. Printhead replacement is user-serviceable with front-panel guidance. Graficomp stocks HP 730 cartridges and can arrange a consumable supply agreement for your usage volume.

The T1700 carries 128 GB of file processing memory and a 500 GB self-encrypting hard disk. When a large wide-format GIS raster file, a multi-layer Civil 3D export at 1118 mm width, or a complex orthophoto composite is sent to the printer, it processes the file independently of the workstation. Control is returned to the sending PC immediately after the job is queued — the workstation does not freeze or become unresponsive during processing. For PostScript models, the Adobe PDF Print Engine renders complex wide-format PDFs — including those with embedded transparencies, gradients, and smooth shading — without the rendering errors that can occur with standard raster drivers on complex files at maximum print width.

The T1700 is designed for workgroup environments with three or more concurrent users. The 128 GB processing memory and 500 GB hard disk allow it to accept and queue multiple large jobs simultaneously without blocking the sending workstations. The Gigabit Ethernet connection (1000Base-T) provides sufficient bandwidth for multiple large wide-format file transfers at once. In practice, the T1700 handles concurrent queues from teams of three to six users without the delays that compact plotters experience when their limited RAM is saturated. Exact performance depends on file size, complexity, and network configuration. Graficomp can advise on the correct network setup for your team size and wide-format workflow.

At Johannesburg and Cape Town bureau rates of R15 to R25 per A1 sheet, a practice printing 50 sheets per week spends R3,000 to R5,000 per month on outsourced plotting. Wide-format jobs (ANSI E, B1, 1-metre plans) are typically surcharged at double or triple the standard A1 rate by most bureaus — if they can produce them at all. At that combined volume, in-house plotting on the T1700 is clearly more economical. The T1700's 116 A1/hr throughput also eliminates the same-day or next-day turnaround delay that bureau outsourcing imposes on tender deadline days. Contact Graficomp for a detailed cost comparison that includes both standard and wide-format job types based on your actual weekly output.

Graficomp provides on-site installation for every HP DesignJet T1700 purchase. Installation includes: physical setup and stand assembly, Gigabit Ethernet network connection and IP configuration, HP Click software installation and configuration for your wide-format workflow, PostScript driver setup for PostScript models, dual-roll configuration for T1700dr models (both media rolls loaded and tested), print quality validation at both standard and wide-format widths, and operator training covering roll loading, dual-roll switching (T1700dr), cartridge replacement, printhead replacement procedure, ANSI E and wide-format page-size setup in HP Click, and standard batch plotting workflow. You do not set this up yourself.