Peripheral Products
 | Pen Plotters Selection: |
| Name: 7580 | |
| Product Number: 7580 | |
| Introduced: 1981 | |
| Division: San Diego | |
| Original Price: $15950 | |
| Catalog Reference: 1982, P. 690 |
Description:
The 7580A (code named "Bertha") was the world's first "grit wheel" pen plotter. This machine combined high speed and high line quality in a small package at a price less than half that of comparable products on the market at the time. Small grit-covered wheels move the paper along the X-axis of the 7580A, thereby replacing the heavy, bulky components used in other plotters with a low-mass, low-inertia drive mechanism. This design permitted the use of lighter parts and less expensive drive motors while retaining high reliability and plot quality. The 7580A also incorporated design innovations in microprocessor design, firmware, language and pen handling. It represented HP's entry into the large-format plotter market, causing great distress to industry veterans Calcomp and Versatec. Within six years, HP commanded a market share of almost 50%. Click here to view a 9 second video of the 7580 in action (1.5 MB). The 7580B replaced the 7580A in February of 1983. The primary improvement offered by the B version was a dual interface (HP-IB and RS-232) as standard. The 7580B was obsoleted in September of 1987.
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