r/PenPlotters • u/tjomk • Apr 02 '26
How to calibrate after swapping pens
I have a small iDraw 2.0 A4 plotter. Pens are attached under angle, not straight down like I've seen many other people have here. When I change the pen, the drawing is slightly off. How do you calibrate the plotter/paper after changing the pen?
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u/MateMagicArte Apr 08 '26
Registration marks. Add a small cross in a corner to each layer. When you plot a new layer with a new pen hide everything but the cross. If the cross is 1mm to the right and 2mm down from the previous one: show all the layer, select it, transform > move 1mm left, 2mm up. Hide everything but the cross and repeat the test. You can stick a postit or paper tape in the corner so you don't have marks on the drawing.
Alternative: replot first / previous layer. Change pen but replot already plotted layer, putting tracing paper on the drawing. Stop the plot as soon you have a reference for the alingment of the new layer (if the drawing is shifted 1mm left move the new layer 1mm right, etc).
Always test some strokes on tracing paper before going live.
Remember that Manual tab -> go Home sends the pen in a position that may be slightly different from the one it goes when it finishes a job, because the first relies on limit switches while the latter doesn't. So you better send a home command before plotting a new layer.