Got a HP DesignJet 500 plotter giving you flakely output?

I've had this problem off and on for a while where lines, symbols and text would randomly drop out of the drawing at plot time although the plot preview appeared to be good. The driver I was using was version 6.15 and could be found on the HP website in the file hpdj500800wumglen.exe. When setting up a plotter one had to use the dsgj800.inf file.

A recent visit (6/30/10) to the HP website revealed a newer driver version 7.10 with the file name hpdj510wumglen.exe. When setting up a plotter one uses the dsgj510.inf file.

With no changes to my cabling and a slight name name to distinguish between the two drivers (same plotter) I plotted the same drawing twice using both drivers. The newer set of drivers plotted everything that appeared in the plot preview. The older set of drivers still randomly dropped out objects.

So, do yourself a favor, before tossing your HP DesignJet 500 on the trash heap and change drivers. Perhaps, like me, you'll see better results.