Typewriter Plotters (2022)
Posted28 days agoActive23 days ago
biosrhythm.comTech Discussionstory
informativepositive
Debate
20/100
NostalgiaDiy ProjectsPlotters
Key topics
Nostalgia
Diy Projects
Plotters
Discussion Activity
Moderate engagementFirst comment
5d
Peak period
7
120-132h
Avg / period
6
Key moments
- 01Story posted
Dec 5, 2025 at 10:34 AM EST
28 days ago
Step 01 - 02First comment
Dec 10, 2025 at 3:55 PM EST
5d after posting
Step 02 - 03Peak activity
7 comments in 120-132h
Hottest window of the conversation
Step 03 - 04Latest activity
Dec 11, 2025 at 4:12 AM EST
23 days ago
Step 04
Generating AI Summary...
Analyzing up to 500 comments to identify key contributors and discussion patterns
ID: 46162643Type: storyLast synced: 12/11/2025, 7:20:30 AM
Want the full context?
Jump to the original sources
Read the primary article or dive into the live Hacker News thread when you're ready.
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.
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
Hell, some plotters used to come with handbook of HPGL, even
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.
Man, I wish I still had it now seeing all the plotter functionality that I was not taking advantage of…
https://youtu.be/aj6u8cEjDK4