How to Set the Home Corner of the iDraw H SE Pen Plotter and Description of the Coordinate System

The iDraw H SE Pen Plotter allows flexible control of the "Home Corner" (origin point), essential for aligning drawings correctly. You can either use the default full-bed origin or set a custom home position for smaller paper sizes.

 Option 1: Default Home Corner (Full Paper Mode)

Instructions:

• Face the machine from the front, as shown above.
• The default Home Corner is set to the upper right corner of the machine’s working area.
• This is ideal for full-size paper or when using the entire plotter area.
• Use the “Home” button in your software (like Inkscape with AxiDraw extension) to return the pen to this default origin.

Option 2: Custom Home Corner (Small Paper Mode)

Instructions:

1. Turn off the machine.
2. Gently move the pen holder by hand until the pen tip is at the upper right corner of your small paper, like the image above.
3. This position will now act as your new Home Corner after powering the machine back on.
4. Start your drawing from this location to keep everything aligned with your smaller paper.

Coordinate system description

When you open Inkscape, the document page can be displayed in two orientations: landscape or portrait. Before starting a drawing with the iDraw H SE Pen Plotter, it is important to make sure that the machine orientation matches the page orientation in Inkscape.

So, how do you determine the correct drawing direction?

The basic rule is simple:

Match the physical orientation of the iDraw H SE Pen Plotter with the paper orientation shown in Inkscape.

If the Inkscape page is in landscape orientation, position the machine horizontally. If the Inkscape page is in portrait orientation, position the machine vertically.

Following this rule ensures that the drawing direction of the iDraw H SE matches the layout you see on your Inkscape canvas.

1. Portrait Orientation: Directly Match Inkscape

The first setup is the easiest to understand.

In this configuration, the origin point is located at the upper-right corner. The physical orientation of the iDraw H SE matches the page orientation in Inkscape.

This means that what you create and arrange in Inkscape will be plotted in the same orientation on the paper.

In other words, if your artwork appears a certain way on the Inkscape canvas, the iDraw H SE will reproduce it in the corresponding direction on the physical page.

This is the simplest setup when you are working with a portrait-oriented document.

2. Landscape Orientation: Rotate the Machine

The second setup is slightly different.

If your Inkscape document is arranged in landscape orientation, you need to rotate the iDraw H SE so that the machine is also positioned horizontally.

However, once the machine is rotated, its writing direction changes.

At this point, it is important to pay attention to how the paper is installed.

If the paper is loaded in the wrong direction, the final drawing will not match the orientation of the artwork displayed in Inkscape.

Incorrect Paper Installation

The following setup is incorrect because the paper orientation does not correspond to the landscape layout shown in Inkscape.

Even though the machine itself has been rotated, the paper must also be positioned according to the same orientation shown in the Inkscape document.

3. Correctly Match the iDraw H SE with Inkscape

To achieve a perfect match between your Inkscape artwork and the physical drawing direction of the iDraw H SE Pen Plotter, rotate the machine in the same way as the Inkscape page.

The key is to match the long side and short side of the machine and paper with the corresponding sides of the Inkscape document:

• The long side of the machine should correspond to the long side of the Inkscape page.
• The short side of the machine should correspond to the short side of the Inkscape page.
• Install the paper according to the direction displayed in Inkscape.
• Make sure the physical machine orientation matches the page orientation before starting the plot.

Once the machine, paper, and Inkscape document are oriented consistently, the drawing direction of the iDraw H SE will match the layout shown in Inkscape.

Final Check Before Plotting

Before sending your artwork to the iDraw H SE, always check three things:

1. Inkscape page orientation – Is your document portrait or landscape?
2. Machine orientation – Is the iDraw H SE positioned in the same direction as the Inkscape page?
3. Paper orientation – Is the paper installed according to the direction shown in Inkscape?

When all three match, your iDraw H SE Pen Plotter can reproduce your Inkscape artwork in the correct orientation.

This simple coordinate-system and paper-orientation check can help prevent rotated, mirrored, or incorrectly positioned drawings and makes the Inkscape-to-iDraw H SE workflow much easier and more reliable.

⚠️ Note: Always move the pen manually only when the machine is powered off to avoid damaging the stepper motors.