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Setting Up the iDraw Pen Plotter with Inkscape on your own computer

What is this thing anyhow?

The iDraw is a pen plotter: two stepper motors move a pen across paper, following whatever paths you give it. A third motor moved a pen up and down on the paper. You will control this plotter through Inkscape, a free, open-source vector editor, through an extension that talks to the plotter over USB. You’ll be creating the original images in p5.js using p5.plotSVG, a library that extends the capabilities of p5.js.

If you are using the iMacs in Room 325, everything you need is already installed and setup. if you want to run this from your own computer you need to set it up for yourself, this includes three pieces of sofware:

  1. Inkscape — the drawing software. (1.4.4 is the most recent version as of this writing)
  2. CH34x USB driver — This is what lets your Mac recognize the plotter over USB.
  3. iDraw Inkscape extension — the panel inside Inkscape that actually drives the plotter.

Windows and Linux mostly skip step 2. If you’re on a Mac, you will need to restart your comuter before you use the software, so be sure to save and cleanly close out of any open applciations before you start this process.

1. Install the most recent version of Inkscape

  1. Go to https://inkscape.org/release/inkscape-1.4.4/ and download the installer for your operating system.
    • macOS: click the link for the macOS (Apple Silicon) or macOS (Intel) build, whichever matches your chip. If you’re not sure, go under Apple menu > About This Mac to see whether you have an Intel or Apple Silicon (M1… M4) chip.
    • Windows: download the .exe or .msi.
    • Linux: use your package manager.
  2. Run the installer and follow the prompts.
  3. Launch Inkscape let it finish its first-run setup, then close it. Inkscape must have been opened at least once before you install the extension. Opening it automatically creates the folder the extension goes into.

2. Install the USB driver (macOS only)

The iDraw uses a CH340/CH34x USB-to-serial chip. macOS doesn’t know how to talk to it on its own.

Download

Download the driver ZIP file:

https://file.wch.cn/download/file?id=178

Unzip the file you downloaded. Inside you’ll find both a .pkg and .dmg files.

Install

Pick the line that matches your Mac:

Open the CH34xVCPDriver app and click the Install button. macOS may ask for permission to load a new kernel driver — under System Preferences › Security & Privacy, approve it.

Restart your computer.

Test the driver

  1. Plug the iDraw into your Mac with the USB cable.
  2. Open System Report (Apple menu › About This Mac › System Report), go to Hardware › USB, and look for a device with Vendor ID [0x1a86]. If it’s listed, your Mac sees the plotter.

  3. Open Terminal (Applications › Utilities) and run:

    ls /dev/cu.*

    You should see something like /dev/cu.wchusbserialxxxxx or /dev/cu.usbserial-xxxx. That’s your plotter’s serial port. If it shows up, the driver is installed correctly.

3. Install the iDraw Inkscape extension

  1. Download the extension from https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nlaEtMm7Qk34WbiUnVxx5apWROZmbo__/view?usp=drive_link.
  2. Open Inkscape. Once it has launched, open Edit › Preferences › System. Look at the row labelled User extensions. Click the Open button next to it — that opens your Finder/Explorer directly to the extensions folder.
  3. Unzip the extension archive and copy its contents into that folder. Copy the contents, not the enclosing folder.
  4. Quit Inkscape and reopen it. The extension won’t appear until Inkscape restarts.

Check the Extensions in Inkscape. Look for the iDraw 2.0 Control entry.

4. Confirm everything’s talking

  1. Power the iDraw on and make sure it’s connected via USB.
  2. Open Inkscape and go to Extensions › iDraw 2.0 Control.
  3. On the Setup tab, find the pen up/down toggle. Click Apply. The pen should physically rise and lower. If it moves, you’re connected — driver, extension, and plotter all work.
  4. Set the plotter to move to home so prints start centered and uncropped.

Once Apply moves the pen, you’re done — the plotter is ready to draw.

Common problems

Symptom Fix
Mac doesn’t recognize the plotter at all Driver not installed, or wrong build — Apple Silicon needs the signed current version. Re-do step 2, approve under Security & Privacy.
Extension missing from the Extensions menu You copied the folder instead of its contents, or didn’t quit/reopen Inkscape. Check step 3.
Plotter works but drawings are skewed/cropped File › Document Properties must match the plotter’s work area (A4, 210×297 mm), and the design must sit inside the page boundaries.
Inkscape freezes or crashes doing long prints Close unused apps; Edit › Preferences › Input/Output, slow down or disable autosave; simplify paths (Path › Simplify). Never close Inkscape mid-print — stop the plotter first with its pause/off, then quit.

Notes