Home / Wide-Format Printers / HP DesignJet
HP · Wide-Format Plotter
HP DesignJet 800ps
24" color graphics & photo printer
- Model800ps
- Prints24" wide
Authorized HP dealerGenuine hardware & ink
Manufacturer warrantyExtension plans available
Free shippingContinental U.S.
Plotter specialistsAEC experts, not just sellers
Analyst take
- The 800ps is a discontinued 24-inch dye-ink plotter no longer marketed by HP.
- Its built-in PostScript RIP was the reason to choose it over the plain 800.
- It renders clean, legible black line work and bright office-light color on plain bond.
Not sure if the 800ps is right for you?
Compare key specs and an AI analyst read-out against similar models.
Overview
Built for the work
HP Designjet 800ps Printer (24 in)
Expert analysis
What you should know
Key takeaways
- The 800ps is a discontinued 24-inch dye-ink plotter no longer marketed by HP.
- Its built-in PostScript RIP was the reason to choose it over the plain 800.
- It renders clean, legible black line work and bright office-light color on plain bond.
- Dye inks trail modern pigment inks in saturation depth and water/fade resistance.
- Single-roll feeding makes unattended mixed-size plan-set runs impractical.
- Parts and service scarcity is now the strongest argument for planning replacement.
The HP Designjet 800ps is one of those machines that quietly kept a whole generation of small architecture and engineering offices in business. A 24-inch aqueous plotter with a PostScript interpreter, it turned CAD line work and the occasional rendered elevation into clean D-size and E-size prints without a print room or an operator hovering over it. If you still have one running, it has probably earned its keep several times over.
It is also, unambiguously, a machine from an earlier era. HP no longer markets it, and the workflows around it — cloud submission, PDF-native driving, network authentication — have moved on. This page is for the reader deciding whether to keep feeding one, or plan its retirement.
What it actually is, and what it does well
The 800ps is a four-color aqueous inkjet built around dye-based inks: the HP 10 black and HP 11 cyan, magenta and yellow cartridges, paired with HP 82 supplies on the higher-capacity side. On plain bond it does the core AEC job honestly — crisp black line work, legible small text, readable dimension strings and title-block type. That is what most permit sets, bid sets and redlines demand, and the 800ps delivers it without drama.
The ps matters here. The built-in PostScript raster image processor was the reason firms chose this over the plain 800. If your legacy workflow pushes native PostScript or PDF — presentation boards, a color site plan, a rendered section — the RIP handled it in-machine rather than leaning on a driver. On dye inks the color reads as bright and clean under office light; where it shows its age is the deep, saturated end of the spectrum, the last few percent of a rich red or a dusk-shadow blue, where dye chemistry simply cannot hold the density that modern pigment plotters reach.
24 inPrint widthD-size roll and cut-sheet capable
HP 10Black inkdye-based cartridge
HP 11Color inkscyan, magenta, yellow
HP 82High-capacity supply
Where it fits — and where it no longer does
Read honestly, the 800ps suits a narrow but real set of situations today:
- A small studio with a working unit, modest monthly volume, and no appetite for capital spend.
- An office whose output is dominated by monochrome D-size line work where dye color is incidental.
- A backup or archive-printing role behind a newer primary plotter.
- Anyone still tied to a genuinely PostScript-dependent legacy submission path.
Where it is the wrong tool is easier to state. Dye inks are less water- and fade-resistant than the pigment inks in current machines, which matters for field-durable as-builts. Media is fed from a single roll, so mixed-size plan-set runs mean intervention. And support is the real constraint: parts and service for a discontinued platform get scarcer and less predictable every year.
If you are replacing it, look first inside HP’s own family at the wider, scanner-equipped HP DesignJet T918 36-in for a plan-set-and-copy workhorse. If a 24-inch pigment plotter is the target, the current Canon field is worth measuring against — the Canon iPF605 24-in and Canon iPF610 24-in cover the CAD case, and you can line them up in our side-by-side compare tool.
Keep reading
The read
The Designjet 800ps was a sensible, honest 24-inch plotter, and the ones still running deserve respect. But it is a discontinued dye-ink machine, and both the color ceiling and the service picture argue against building new workflows around it. Keep it if it works, your volume is light, and PostScript legacy compatibility earns its place. When it stutters — or when durable, water-resistant field prints and unattended mixed-size sets become the daily requirement — plan the move to a current pigment plotter rather than nursing this one indefinitely. It served its era well; it should not be asked to carry the next one.
Spec analysis
How the specs grade
Overall performance
—Not enough data for an overall score
Individual dimensions are shown where the specs support them.
Category leaders best color graphics & photo printers, by dimension
Verified specifications
The specs that decide it
| Maximum print width | 24 in |
|---|
Specifications
Full technical detail
Max print width24"
Use caseCAD / Technical
Everything that fits the HP DesignJet 800ps
The full supplies hub lists every cartridge, printhead, roll and accessory verified against the manufacturer's own documentation for this machine.
3 ink cartridges · 4 printheads · 37 paper & media items · 2 accessories
HP DesignJet 800ps ink and paper →Supplies
Compatible ink, printheads & media
Genuine consumables that fit the HP DesignJet 800ps 24-in — only the cartridges, printheads and media compatible with this model.
Ink Cartridges 3
Printheads 4
Paper & Media 37
Representative image11 Mil Water-Resistant Synthetic BannerRepresentative image5 Mil Water-Resistant Self-Adh Vinyl (3" AC)Representative image6 Mil Water-Resistant Self-Adhesive PolypropyleneRepresentative image46LB Inkjet Coated Matte Paper (747)Representative image6.5mil Matte Coated Paper w/ PSA (746PSA)Representative image36LB Inkjet Coated Matte Paper (746)Representative image24LB Inkjet Coated Matte Paper (745)Representative image20LB High Brite Inkjet Bond Paper (740)Representative image20LB Inkjet Bond Paper (Tinted) (732)Representative image24LB Inkjet Bond Paper (731)Representative image20LB Inkjet Bond Paper (730)Representative image24LB Inkjet Coated Matte Paper Economy (714)
HP Q1733A printing paper Matte 1 sheets White
HP C6033A photo paper High-gloss
HP C3869A plotter paper
HP Q1420A photo paper Brown, White
HP Matte Film 610 mm x 38.1 m (24 in x 125 ft)
HP C6035A large format media 45.7 m
HP Clear Film 174 gsm-610 mm x 22.9 m (24 in x 75 ft)
HP Q1961A large format media
HP Q1962A large format media
HP Q1967A printing paper A3+ (330×483 mm) Matte 100 sheets White
HP Q1968A large format media 30.5 m Matte
HP Q6579A photo paper Brown, White
HP Q1442A large format media 45.7 m
HP Q1445A printing paper Matte
HP Q7897A large format media 45.7 m
HP Matte Proofing 458 mm x 30.5 m (18 in x 100 ft) printing paper
HP Q8664A printing paper High-gloss 1 sheets White
HP Q8662A printing paper A3+ (330×483 mm) High-gloss 50 sheets White
HP Q8663A large format media 30.5 m High-gloss
HP Aquarella Fine Art Paper-914 mm x 10.7 m (36 in x 35 ft)
HP Aquarella Art Paper-610 mm x 10.7 m (24 in x 35 ft)
HP CG490A large format media 30.5 m Semi-gloss
HP Premium Semi-gloss Proofing Paper-50 sht/A3+/330 mm x 483 mm (13 x 19 in)
HP CG463A large format media 30.5 m Semi-gloss
HP CG462A printing paper Semi-gloss White
Questions
Straight answers
Is the HP Designjet 800ps still made?
No. It is discontinued and no longer marketed by HP, though many units remain in service in small AEC offices as primary or backup plotters.
What inks does it use?
It runs the dye-based HP 10 black cartridge and HP 11 cyan, magenta and yellow, with HP 82 supplies on the higher-capacity side.
What does the 'ps' add over the standard 800?
An in-machine PostScript raster image processor, which mattered for firms driving native PostScript or PDF output such as presentation boards and rendered plans rather than relying on a driver.
Is it good enough for permit and bid sets?
For monochrome D-size line work, dimension strings and title-block text on plain bond, yes — that is its core competence. Color is bright but dye-based, so it is less durable and less saturated than current pigment machines.
What should I replace it with?
Within HP’s family, the wider scanner-equipped HP DesignJet T918 36-in suits plan-set and copy work; for a current 24-inch pigment plotter, weigh the Canon iPF605 24-in or iPF610 24-in.
Can it handle mixed-size plan sets unattended?
Not cleanly — it feeds from a single roll, so runs mixing D-size and other sizes require operator intervention.
Ready to put the HP DesignJet 800ps to work?
Configuration, media and a quote tailored to your workflow — from AEC plotter specialists.