<s>
In	O
the	O
past	O
,	O
plotters	O
were	O
used	O
in	O
applications	O
such	O
as	O
computer-aided	B-Application
design	I-Application
,	O
as	O
they	O
were	O
able	O
to	O
produce	O
line	O
drawings	O
much	O
faster	O
and	O
of	O
a	O
higher	O
quality	O
than	O
contemporary	O
conventional	O
printers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
means	O
that	O
plotters	O
are	O
vector	O
graphics	O
devices	O
,	O
rather	O
than	O
raster	B-Algorithm
graphics	I-Algorithm
as	O
with	O
other	O
printers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
They	O
are	O
often	O
incapable	O
of	O
efficiently	O
creating	O
a	O
solid	O
region	O
of	O
color	O
,	O
but	O
can	O
hatch	B-Application
an	O
area	O
by	O
drawing	O
a	O
number	O
of	O
close	O
,	O
regular	O
lines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Plotters	O
offered	O
the	O
fastest	O
way	O
to	O
efficiently	O
produce	O
very	O
large	O
drawings	O
or	O
color	O
high-resolution	O
vector-based	O
artwork	O
when	O
computer	B-General_Concept
memory	I-General_Concept
was	O
very	O
expensive	O
and	O
processor	O
power	O
was	O
very	O
limited	O
,	O
and	O
other	O
types	O
of	O
printers	O
had	O
limited	O
graphic	O
output	O
capabilities	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
An	O
X	B-Device
–	I-Device
Y	I-Device
plotter	I-Device
is	O
a	O
plotter	O
that	O
operates	O
in	O
two	O
axes	O
of	O
motion	O
(	O
"	O
X	O
"	O
and	O
"	O
Y	O
"	O
)	O
in	O
order	O
to	O
draw	O
continuous	O
vector	O
graphics	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
electrostatic	O
plotter	O
uses	O
the	O
pixel	O
as	O
a	O
drawing	O
means	O
,	O
like	O
a	O
raster	B-Algorithm
graphics	I-Algorithm
display	O
device	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Such	O
tools	O
allow	O
desired	O
card	O
and	O
decal	B-Application
shapes	O
to	O
be	O
cut	O
out	O
very	O
precisely	O
,	O
and	O
repeatably	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Three	O
common	O
ASCII-based	O
plotter	O
control	O
languages	O
are	O
Hewlett-Packard	O
'	O
s	O
HP-GL	B-Language
,	O
its	O
successor	O
HP-GL/2	O
,	O
and	O
Houston	B-Language
Instruments	I-Language
DMPL	I-Language
.	O
</s>
<s>
Here	O
is	O
a	O
simple	O
HP-GL	B-Language
script	O
drawing	O
a	O
line	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Programmers	O
using	O
FORTRAN	B-Application
or	O
BASIC	O
generally	O
did	O
not	O
program	O
these	O
directly	O
,	O
but	O
used	O
software	O
packages	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
the	O
Calcomp	O
library	O
,	O
or	O
device	B-Operating_System
independent	I-Operating_System
graphics	O
packages	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
Hewlett-Packard	O
'	O
s	O
AGL	B-Language
libraries	O
or	O
BASIC	O
extensions	O
or	O
high	O
end	O
packages	O
such	O
as	O
DISSPLA	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Computervision	O
's	O
Interact	O
I	O
,	O
involved	O
attaching	O
ball-point	O
pens	O
to	O
drafting	O
pantographs	O
and	O
driving	O
the	O
machines	O
with	O
stepper	B-Algorithm
motors	I-Algorithm
controlled	O
by	O
the	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
1980s	O
,	O
the	O
small	O
and	O
lightweight	O
HP	B-Device
7470	I-Device
introduced	O
the	O
"	O
grit	O
wheel	O
"	O
mechanism	O
,	O
eliminating	O
the	O
need	O
for	O
perforations	O
along	O
the	O
edges	O
,	O
unlike	O
the	O
Calcomp	O
plotters	O
two	O
decades	O
earlier	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
One	O
category	O
,	O
introduced	O
by	O
Hewlett	O
Packard	O
's	O
MultiPlot	O
for	O
the	O
HP	B-General_Concept
2647	I-General_Concept
,	O
was	O
the	O
"	O
word	O
chart	O
"	O
,	O
which	O
used	O
the	O
plotter	O
to	O
draw	O
large	O
letters	O
on	O
a	O
transparency	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Plotters	O
were	O
also	O
used	O
in	O
the	O
Create-A-Card	O
kiosks	O
that	O
were	O
available	O
for	O
a	O
while	O
in	O
the	O
greeting	O
card	O
area	O
of	O
supermarkets	O
that	O
used	O
the	O
HP	B-Device
7475	I-Device
six-pen	O
plotter	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Plotters	O
are	O
used	O
primarily	O
in	O
technical	B-Application
drawing	I-Application
and	O
CAD	B-Application
applications	O
,	O
where	O
they	O
have	O
the	O
advantage	O
of	O
working	O
on	O
very	O
large	O
paper	O
sizes	O
while	O
maintaining	O
high	O
resolution	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
support	O
for	O
driving	O
pen	O
plotters	O
directly	O
or	O
saving	O
files	O
as	O
HP-GL	B-Language
has	O
disappeared	O
from	O
most	O
commercial	O
graphics	O
applications	O
,	O
several	O
contemporary	O
software	O
packages	O
make	O
working	O
with	O
HP-GL	B-Language
on	O
modern	O
operating	O
systems	O
possible	O
.	O
</s>
