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13. AxiDraw Tips and Tricks
1. It is often possible to get better print quality on top of a small stack of paper
(say, 5-10 sheets) which gives a little cushion to your writing.
2. High quality paper – especially paper designed for use with pens – tends to
give dramatically better results with pens than does cheap copy/laser paper.
Bristol paper with a smooth finish is a great example of a paper designed to
work well with pens.
3. The flatter that your paper is held, the better your print quality will be. Paper
that is warped or “bubbled” will flex as the pen writes, leading to distortion.
When the bubbles or warping are tall enough, it can also lead to stray marks
on your page during pen-up movements.
4. Reducing the amount of vertical pen travel that is needed will also improve
print quality, since the pen-lift servo motor does introduce vibration. It will
also make your plots faster.
5. If none of the motors move but (1) everything looks correct, and (2) your
computer doesn’t report any errors, triple check that the 9 V power supply is
plugged into a working outlet.
6. When making multiple-color plots, you can get better registration when
switching pens by making sure that each pen is set to the same height above
the paper. A good way to do this is to rest the tip of the pen on a spacer when
tightening the pen in place. Use a small, flat piece of wood, plastic, or metal.
7. It is possible to completely detach the AxiDraw’s pen holder, and ax other
types of tools to the front of the Y carriage. Four M4 tapped (or tappable)
holes are provided for mounting other types of tool heads there.
8. Certain types of pens can “dry up” if left in the pen-up position for a minute
or two. This can lead to an awkward situation where ink does not start flowing
until after the machine has already been drawing for a bit. When working with
pens like this, it may be helpful to “bleed” out the tip with a bit of scratch
paper before printing.
9. Styles applied to paths (width, color, etc) are normally ignored by the Axi-
Draw software. If you have a dashed line and want it to plot with the dashes
visible, you can use Extensions > Modify Path > Convert to Dashes to con-
vert the dashes into separate path segments.
10. All else being equal, you will get the best plotting results with lighter weight
pens. Leaving the pen cap o is usually a good way to save a little weight.
11. One of the simplest things that you can do to improve the quality of your
output is to use a medium or broad-nibbed fountain pen. (Lamy Safari is an
excellent starter choice.)
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