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HP DesignJet 500ps

42" wide-format inkjet printer

Model500ps
Prints42" wide

HP DesignJet 500ps 42-inch printer displaying vibrant produce photograph on output

Authorized HP dealerGenuine hardware & ink

Manufacturer warrantyExtension plans available

Free shippingContinental U.S.

Plotter specialistsAEC experts, not just sellers

Analyst take

The DesignJet 500ps is a discontinued 42-inch aqueous plotter, now an installed-base machine only.
It runs the older HP 10 and HP 11 ink platform with HP 82 black, all of which are increasingly hard to source.
PostScript (the "ps") is its differentiator over the plain 500 for PostScript-based workflows.

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Overview

Built for the work

HP DesignJet 500ps (42-inch) printer

Expert analysis

What you should know

By Ray KowalczykSenior Technical Editor — CAD & Technical Printing

Key takeaways

The DesignJet 500ps is a discontinued 42-inch aqueous plotter, now an installed-base machine only.
It runs the older HP 10 and HP 11 ink platform with HP 82 black, all of which are increasingly hard to source.
PostScript (the "ps") is its differentiator over the plain 500 for PostScript-based workflows.
Line quality on bond is fine for monochrome checks and redlines when the heads are healthy.
It is not a deadline-week production machine; throughput and parts risk both work against it.
For a current purchase, a 44-inch Canon imagePROGRAF is the serviceable replacement path.

Somewhere in a civil engineering office right now, there’s a DesignJet 500ps still humping out D-size check prints because nobody wants to be the one who unplugs it. If that’s your shop, you already know what this machine is. It’s the 42-inch workhorse from HP’s old 500 series — the one that ran quietly in the corner for years, never fast, never fussy, just there.

Here’s the honest part: it’s discontinued. Parts are getting harder to find, and the ink and printhead supply chain is a scavenger hunt. This page is for the person deciding whether to keep feeding it or finally cut it loose.

What it actually is

The DesignJet 500ps is a 42-inch aqueous inkjet plotter with the “ps” PostScript capability that its plain 500 sibling lacked. In AEC terms, that PostScript engine mattered when your workflow leaned on PostScript-heavy submissions or design output rather than straight HP-GL/2 line work.

It runs on the old-generation HP consumable set — HP 10 and HP 11 inks, with HP 82 also in the mix, plus separate printheads. That’s the tell of the era: cartridges and heads are separate parts, and both are drying up on the open market. When a head clogs at 4:45 on a Thursday, your recovery plan is a used-parts search, not a next-day dealer delivery.

42-inchPrint widthhandles D and E-size roll work

HP 10Ink platformpaired with HP 11 color cartridges

HP 82Black cartridgelarge-format black in the same family

discontinuedLifecycle statusinstalled-base machine only

Where it still earns its keep

Line quality on ordinary bond was always the point here, not photo-grade color. For monochrome plots, redlines and internal check sets, it does the job — as long as the heads are healthy. Media range is not the problem: this thing eats everything from HP Universal Satin White to bond and vellum, and there’s a deep back catalog of roll stock still floating around for it.

Where it works today:

A small studio with low, steady plot volume and no deadline pressure that a half-day of downtime would kill.
A backup unit behind a newer plotter — the one you keep so a single failure doesn’t stop the whole floor.
An archive-print role where color accuracy and speed don’t matter much.

What it is not: a production machine for a busy bid week. First-page-out and sustained throughput on a plotter this old don’t keep pace with anything current.

What to replace it with

Staying in the HP family, the step is the HP DesignJet T918 36-in — narrower at 36 inches, but a scanner/MFP that also folds copy and scan into one box. Note it’s also discontinued, so read it as a used-market move, not a fresh purchase.

If you’re buying current iron, the honest comparison is cross-brand. Canon’s imagePROGRAF line covers this width with machines you can still get parts and service for — the Canon iPF820 44-in and the Canon iPF825 44-in on the technical-document side, or the newer Canon GP-4000 44-in if you want color that holds up on presentation boards. Worth putting them side by side: compare the 500ps against the Canon iPF820 before you commit.

The real question isn’t which machine prints a better line. It’s whether you can get the 500ps back up before the deadline when it goes down. See where it lands in its class ranking.

The read

If you already own a 500ps and it runs, keep it — as a backup or a low-volume second unit, it owes you nothing. Just don’t let it be your only plotter during a bid week, because the day it clogs, you’re on a parts hunt with the clock running. For a firm buying today, this isn’t the machine; it’s the one you’re replacing. Look at a current 44-inch Canon for service you can actually count on. Bottom line: a good soldier, honorably retired — run it until it stops, but have the successor picked out already.

Spec analysis

How the specs grade

Overall performance

—Not enough data for an overall score

Individual dimensions are shown where the specs support them.

How it scores

Media HandlingNot enough spec data

Print Quality77

Print CostNot enough spec data

ColorNot enough spec data

SpeedNot enough spec data

ConnectionsNot enough spec data

WorkflowNot enough spec data

Size / FitNot enough spec data

WarrantyNot enough spec data

Graded on a curve against the best published spec among the wide-format printers we track — 100 = the catalog’s gold standard for that metric (the finest droplet, the longest warranty, the fastest rated speed actually on the market). Every input is a manufacturer-published spec; rated speeds are shown as listed, not timed throughput. Ticks mark the class best. How we grade →

Verified specifications

The specs that decide it

Maximum print width	42 in

Specifications

Full technical detail

Max print width42"

Use caseCAD / Technical

Everything that fits the HP DesignJet 500ps

The full supplies hub lists every cartridge, printhead, roll and accessory verified against the manufacturer's own documentation for this machine.

6 ink cartridges · 4 printheads · 129 paper & media items · 3 accessories

HP DesignJet 500ps ink and paper →

Supplies

Compatible ink, printheads & media

Genuine consumables that fit the HP DesignJet 500ps 42-in — only the cartridges, printheads and media compatible with this model.

Questions

Straight answers

Is the DesignJet 500ps still made?

No. It’s discontinued and exists only in the installed base. Treat any acquisition as a used-market decision, with parts and consumable availability as your main risk.

What inks and heads does it use?

It uses the older HP 10 and HP 11 cartridges, with HP 82 large-format black in the same family, plus separate printheads. Cartridges and heads being separate parts is typical of this generation, and both are getting scarce.

What's the difference between the 500 and the 500ps?

The “ps” adds PostScript capability. That mattered for workflows built on PostScript output rather than plain HP-GL/2 line plotting.

What media can it handle?

A wide range — bond, vellum, coated and satin stocks such as HP Universal Satin White, plus film and specialty rolls from its deep back catalog. Media supply is far less of a problem than ink and head supply.

Should I keep it or replace it?

Keep it as a backup or low-volume second unit if it still runs. If it’s your only plotter or you’re facing regular deadlines, plan a replacement — a current 44-inch Canon such as the iPF820 or iPF825 gives you service and parts you can count on.

Is there an HP step-up I can consider?

Within the HP family, the DesignJet T918 36-in adds scanning and copying as an MFP, but it’s narrower at 36 inches and is also discontinued — so it’s a used-market option, not a new purchase.

Resources

Brochures, datasheets & video

Documents

BrochurePDF

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