Plotstream Overview for FM and On-Site Service Providers
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 Easily create plot sets
Easy to deploy
Easy to support
Gain control of your AutoCAD® plotting
Integrated with HP Remote Printing AEC®
Log every plot
No special drivers required
No special hardware required
Plot from your desktop without AutoCAD®
Plot to multiple file types and plotters
Proven track record
Reduce plot training
Scalable to extremely high throughput
Underlying security assigns users and administrators
Works with AutoCAD® or any AutoCAD® vertical
Easy to create plot sets
Whether your workstation has AutoCAD®loaded or not, you can easily create
plots of one drawing or sets of hundreds. Plotstream's wizard-driven
interface is intuitive and easy while giving you the amount of control that
you want. Since the plot processing is done by the Plotstream server(s),
your workstation is free for other activities. Plotstream's monitoring
capabilities enables you to view progress and control priorities (with
sufficient privileges).
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Easy to deploy
Plotstream uses no special hardware or drivers, which greatly simplifies
deployment and maintenance. The Plotstream server can easily be installed by
someone who is familiar with AutoCAD®installation, plotting, and the
associated plotter hardware. Most of the Plotstream server configuration
decisions are related to AutoCAD®and the users' specific project
environment. The Plotstream server installation will automatically create
the necessary network shares for communication to and from the workstation.
The workstation installation is available from a network share created on
the Plotstream server and can be deployed in a no-touch manor. By default,
the workstation installation is a silent, pull installation but can also be
done remotely, scripted, or pushed, if the network has the capabilities. The
workstation installation delivers a fully configured installation.
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Easy to support
The overwhelming response from our on-site services (FM)
providers and end users is
that Plotstream is easy to support. When asked about their support calls
from customers, FM providers comment, "We don't get any support calls - It
just works".
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Gain control of your AutoCAD®plotting
With the newfound control over plotting you can better utilize your team and
hardware resources. Plotting issues and delays are significantly reduced.
The plotting of multiple projects is easily prioritized, paused, or changed
on-the-fly. Multiple plotters can be engaged to increase productivity and
multiple Plotstream servers can significantly increase plot processing
volume. All are choices and control you did not have before.
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Integrated with HP Remote Printing AEC®
Plotstream can detect the installation of HP Remote Printing for AEC®. No
additional drivers or plug-ins are necessary. Simply acquire the HP
subscription and plot.
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Log every plot
Each plot produced through the Plotstream system is silently entered into an
easily accessible log. The logged information can be used to troubleshoot as
well as to calculate efficiencies, project plotting costs, throughput,
consumable usage, and more. Plotstream also integrates into several of the
industry leading cost recovery and print tracking systems. Plotstream data
is transparently passed to these applications without any user intervention.
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No special drivers required
Plotstream is designed to work with all AutoCAD®plot drivers and these are
only necessary on the Plotstream server. No additional drivers are required
by the Plotstream environment. This means any standard plotter controller or
driver that works with AutoCAD®will work with Plotstream. No hybrid
controllers are necessary. Should you want to create PDF files, simply
purchase and install a single copy of Adobe® Acrobat® on the Plotstream
server.
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No special hardware required
Plotstream is a software solution that is not dependent on any specialized
hardware. There are never additional costs associated with Plotstream when
you add new plotters or upgrade AutoCAD®.
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Plot from your desktop without AutoCAD®
From a workstation without AutoCAD®, you can submit AutoCAD® drawings to a
Plotstream server for processing. With all of the technical and project
specific parameters already set, virtually anyone in the enterprise can
create perfect plots. The Plotstream user interface is simple and intuitive,
requiring little or no training. You no longer have to request plots from a
CAD specialist and wait for the results. With Plotstream you have the power
to plot one drawing or a set of drawings to a plotter - in another office if
desired. Extending this "CADless" workstation plotting can greatly empower
you and your team.
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Plot to multiple file types and plotters
Do you need to create DWF, TIFF, EPS, HPGL/2, HPGL, or PDF files of your
project drawings? Plotstream makes plotting to file easy. With a copy of
Adobe® Acrobat® on the Plotstream server, PDF files are quickly and easily
generated. DWF, TIFF, EPS, HPGL/2, and HPGL are even easier since no other
drivers are necessary. Just select and appropriate plotter configuration
file and submit.
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Proven track record
Plotstream has been successfully implemented by on-site
services (FM) providers in several
industry leading companies where all have remained in widespread use.
Plotstream is a proven, reliable, and scaleable enterprise plotting
solution.
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Reduce plot training
Since you or another plot expert will make most of the plotting
configuration decisions, your remaining teammates can be spared additional
training for plotting. Plot jobs (agents) can be saved to file and used as
templates. By using these agents, Plotstream users do not need to be
plotting experts to create perfect plots.
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Scalable to extremely high throughput
With Plotstream you have many growth options - scaling up and scaling out.
To scale up, begin by adding memory or CPUs to the Plotstream server. That's
still not enough? Add another Plotstream server. Plotstream servers can be
configured as master/slave to load balance for the ultimate in high volume
plot processing. There is nothing extra for your end users to do. Their jobs
just complete much faster. Scaling out would include adding plotters. One
Plotstream server can drive multiple plotters. We will be glad to guide you
in designing the optimal configuration of hardware and software for your
specific needs.
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Underlying security assigns users and administrators
Plotstream uses your underlying network security in designating and
differentiating Plotstream administrators and users. You are easily able to
designate administrators who can control the plot queue (PSQueue), configure
projects (PSConfig), as well as who can actually create plots (PSClient). If
you already have security groups for your CAD users, power CAD users, CAD
administrators, etc., you can control Plotstream.
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Works with AutoCAD® or any AutoCAD® vertical
Plotstream is designed to work with all AutoCAD® DWG files. Though AutoCAD®
is not required on the workstation, AutoCAD®must be installed on each
server. This brings plotting access to the entire enterprise while still
delivering the high fidelity plots you are use to getting from AutoCAD®.
Since the server uses AutoCAD®to process the plots, custom objects that are
found in the verticals (LDT, ADT, ABS, etc.) are resolved correctly.
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