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For the DMP-160 and DMP-60 Series Plotters:
I had already installed Autocad 2000 before I realized that there was no support for Houston
Instruments plotters for Windows 98 or 2000. (what a drag--now what?) We have a Houston Instrument (Summagraphics) DMP-161
plotter.
In desperation, I went to HoustonInstruments.com, and downloaded older drivers which were
for Windows 3.1 and Windows 95. But as I went to unzip them I discovered that they wanted money for the password to unzip
the files (and I believe these were the same drivers I originally received with the plotter). Needless to say, I discovered
later that they wouldn't have worked anyway with either Windows 98 (with Autocad 2000) or Windows 2000 at all. The drivers
below are the newest available for Windows 3.1, Windows 95, and they work with Windows 98 (and they're free)
So back to the Autodesk website....I dug through white papers & documentation, only to find out that
they did not support Houston Instruments plotters. Period. After several days of sifting through message boards, we
finally came upon a solution posted by a user. We tried it, and it worked! Yes! Back in action at last.
This works for Windows 98, but is a little different for Windows 2000. (see below)
Solution for Windows 98:
Add a new Windows printer (in the add printer section) and
select HP 7585B. Make sure the language is set to HP-GL on your plotter and the software. When you start the Autocad
plotter wizard, it will see the Windows system printer correctly and accept it. You can tweak the rest of the settings in
the usual way.
I tried the same process with Windows 2000 Pro, and the HP 7585B was not listed, but the HP
Draftmaster RX-MX was (which the DMP-160 emulates in HP-GL/2 mode). Then with the Autocad 2000 plotter wizard, I
was able to select the plotter and configure the settings, and it worked. I also noticed that in order to set the pens and
to get the detailed setup for the HP Draftmaster RX-MX, you have to go to the printer folder itself and adjust it there. I
tried printing from adobe Illustrator, and the advanced plotter settings weren't in the usual Windows printer setup from
within the program. so you can just go either from the start menu to "printers" or access it from the control panel. At
least it's there...I thought for a minute that I was going to be stuck with one pen--or do a lot of switching!
NEW -- I got brave and tried the same process (as above with Windows 2000) in Windows XP
Professional--it worked flawlessly (to my amazement). So we at least know that the DMP-161 works with both Windows 2000
Pro and Windows XP Pro as an HP Draftmaster RX-MX (in HP-GL/2 mode).
Note: Windows 2000 and Windows XP both require your communications settings to be set at 8 data bits.
When using other CAD programs, choose your DMP-160 series plotter model if it is listed. If it is
not listed, choose an emulated plotter for your software and a corresponding plotting language for the plotter using
the following table:
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Plotting Language
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Emulated Plotter Model
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DM/PL
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DMP-160 Series, DMP-60 Series
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HP-GL
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HP 7585B, 7580B, 758X Series
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HP-GL/2
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HP Draftmaster RX / SX / MX 7595B
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Questions or Answers?
Click Below for our Message Board
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Important note on installing your plotter:
Remember to go into the configuration menu on the plotter's LCD display (or setup menu) to set the correct plotting
language to match the software settings. You must also set all of the settings (baud rate, parity, etc.) of the
communications port on
your PC (if applicable) and plotter exactly the same. This involves going into the "Device Manager" on Windows
machines and configuring the communications port that you have your plotter connected to. In Windows
2000 and Windows XP, the data
bits have to be set to 8 and the plotting language HP-GL/2. As I mentioned above, when you're selecting the plotting language, the same will apply to setting
up your communications port on the plotter's end (you'll have to configure the settings in the configuration menu of the
plotter). If
you have selected HP-GL as the plot language, the plotter and port must to be set to hardware handshake. If DM/PL OR HP-
GL/2 was selected, xon/xoff or hardware handshake may be used.
That way, the PC and plotter are able to communicate with each other---hopefully, error-free!
If you have any suggestions, comments, or questions, please feel free to email me or leave a message on
our message board. Also, feel free to request more info if you need HI plotter
information that isn't shown here. (We add more info on a daily basis. Soon, we will have the entire DMP-160 series
plotters manual online --- so check back often.)
Houston Instrument DMP-160 Series Plotters User Information
(DMP-161, DMP-162, DMP-162R)
Houston Instrument DMP-60 Series Plotters User Information
(DMP-60, DMP-61, DMP-62)
- NEW -- DMP-60 Series
Operation Manual
We now have the Houston Instrument DMP-60 Series manual free for you to view, download, or print. It's in PDF format,
so you'll need ®Adobe Acrobat Reader (if you don't have it yet, you can download it free by clicking on the graphic
below).
We would like to give many, many thanks to Dennis C. Potter from Arlington, Tennessee for contributing this manual
to us. He spent lots of valuable time scanning his manual and creating the PDF files. Thank you, Dennis!
To set the diagnostic mode, hold down the enter + load + reset keys while turning on the power.
- Press enter to print the memory, baud rate, settings, etc.
- Press left arrow once to print a sample drawing
- Press left arrow again to print a sample text mode
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