Pen Plotter Replacement Pen DIY

Plotter pen and lamy refill with ruler for scale

After totalling three pens of the precious supply I got with our HP DraftPro EXL (7576A) pen plotter (see earlier post), I realised that this was unsustainable and promised myself to find a solution for the future.

So here’s the task: Build a holder that fits the pen plotter for an available refill that uses archival ink.

Helped and inspired by Hans Dehlinger’s demonstration at DAM here in Berlin, I understood that the ink in the pens you get with the plotters anyway are not really meant for archival storage which matters a lot to us artists of course (if you want to sell work that doesn’t fade on the wall that is) and marvelled at his self-built plotter pen holders which looked like biro refills.

Yesterday I made a research visit to Modulor and bought the Lamy M22 compact refill. Not only is it archival and a rollerball, which means no more snagging on the paper I have in the studio, it is also short which means I don’t have to cut it down to fit in the plotter.

Now I feel a trip to a DIY store coming on so that I can source some dowel of the correct diameter and hopefully a washer that will serve as the flange.

I’ll keep you posted.