# How to scale a set of plans for printing?



## NYCB (Sep 20, 2010)

So I bought a used plotter for a great price. Cleaned it up, changed out the print heads and got it working.

The problem I'm running into now, is it's printing full size 24x36 plans.

I want to scale them down so they print rotated at 18x24. 

I was able to do it with one set that was saved just as a landscape document. The other was exported as an Arch D portrait file, so no matter what I do with page settings, it still wants to print in portrait orientation.

Basically, I can get the page settings to rotate, but can't get the content that's meant to be printed to rotate.

Any ideas? Will I have to open it in another program and export it again in my preferred format?

I don't really need full sized plans, nor do I want to lug them back and forth.


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

Not enough info. First, you need to define what application you're printing from, in case someone familiar with it can tell you whether it can control that setting. Second, same for the print driver. Some provide such scaling; others don't.

Beyond that, I can't provide much input. My experience doesn't include plotters, but in a past life I worked with graphics applications that had varying compatibilities with different printers.


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## NYCB (Sep 20, 2010)

Just printing from a basic PDF application in linux.

It's sort of a secondary issue right now though....I broke it.

Turns out there's a firmware issue with the older versions. Processing a big file for print can cause it to allocate hard drive space to the wrong areas and basically blue screen the thing......I managed to do that.

Trying to get the firmware upgraded right now.


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## Tinstaafl (Jan 6, 2008)

Then I've definitely shot my wad. I was badass with DOS, just shy of that with several versions of Windows, but by the time Linux came around my attention span kind of wandered off somewhere and I never got into it.

FWIW, if you have a Windows machine, Adobe Acrobat can print PDFs to any size you want. Good luck with the firmware. Those can be fun too.


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## NYCB (Sep 20, 2010)

I haven't used windows for probably 7 years, I'm way out of my element with it now.

I'm using my wife's laptop to try to push the firmware......still hate windows. It's so bloated, there's just so much stuff running in the background.


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## Pounder (Nov 28, 2020)

You should be able to set the paper size in the printer defaults, then push the "fit to paper" button in whatever you're using to handle PDF files. The drawing scale is going to be toast.


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## NYCB (Sep 20, 2010)

I think it's just the way it was originally exported, seems to be locked. I can rotate and size the paper anyway I want, the content of the file won't move. I've tried it in three different programs.

Not a huge deal, and probably not worth fighting with, I'll just fold them one extra time to fit them in my bag.

The more I screw with it, the more likely I am to break something I think.

I'll just order more paper and more ink.....which I have to do anyway. The ink I got of Amazon mostly worked, except one printhead and one cartridge.....so back to the warehouse they go.


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## wallmaxx (Jun 18, 2007)

You can print to any size you want but you’re not actually scaling to a smaller size. The text will become smaller as you go smaller in scale. If they were printed originally to PDF in arch D, and then you reduce their printed size, all the places that call out a scale will now be wrong. Like if it says 1/4 inch equals 1 foot, that won’t work anymore. If you don’t need that to be accurate then you can just use a percentage on the printer. Take 24 inches (18 x 24 long side) divided by 36 inches (24 x 36 long side) times 100 and that would give you the reduction percentage.


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## NYCB (Sep 20, 2010)

Yea, I understand that, I guess I worded it incorrectly.

I want to make it so that what I'm looking at on the screen is what prints and in the same orientation.

No matter how I try to flip it, it defaults to portrait layout. So if I set it to Arch C, it will still print portrait, but only on 18" of y 24" paper, and then 24" long.

So I do save a foot of paper over a full size set, but could save another 6" if it would just flip itself to fit the width.


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## KAP (Feb 19, 2011)

NYCB said:


> Yea, I understand that, I guess I worded it incorrectly.
> 
> I want to make it so that what I'm looking at on the screen is what prints and in the same orientation.
> 
> ...


Have you tried calling the manufacturer?


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## NYCB (Sep 20, 2010)

They won't help, both because of the age of the machine, and because I'm not using Windows.

I'm gonna play with it a bit more today, and might just set it to Arch C and let it print however it wants. Then I still save a little paper, and I have a big margin for notes. I can always change it back to Arch D if I want them printed to scale.

I've just never liked full sized plans on site. They are nice to read of course, but moving them around the site and trying to read them at the same time can get annoying, like trying to read a newspaper.


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## KAP (Feb 19, 2011)

NYCB said:


> They won't help, both because of the age of the machine, and because I'm not using Windows.
> 
> I'm gonna play with it a bit more today, and might just set it to Arch C and let it print however it wants. Then I still save a little paper, and I have a big margin for notes. I can always change it back to Arch D if I want them printed to scale.
> 
> I've just never liked full sized plans on site. They are nice to read of course, but moving them around the site and trying to read them at the same time can get annoying, like trying to read a newspaper.


User groups?


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## Fishindude (Aug 15, 2017)

The short answer is .....It can be quite difficult to get PDF's to print to exact scale.
If you want something printed to scale, it's much easier to accomplish in the original format it was drawn in.

Scaling off drawings can be a dangerous way to estimate. If they have dimensions, it's always better to go by printed dimensions.


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## Joe Fairplay (Aug 26, 2021)

The best solution is to print to PDF first and then send the pdf to the printer. This also gives you an electronic copy to send out for bidding and estimating.


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## NYCB (Sep 20, 2010)

It already is a pdf.

Re-exporting it doesn't seem to change orientation.

I think I'm just software limited when it comes to talking with the hardware.

Not a huge deal really, just a small annoyance.


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## Joe Fairplay (Aug 26, 2021)

NYCB said:


> It already is a pdf.
> 
> Re-exporting it doesn't seem to change orientation.
> 
> ...


Just an idea. PDF allows you to set custom page sizes. When printing to PDF, Set the pdf page to portrait and resize the page to your needs. So basically you will have a portrait oriented drawing which will have the drawing sideways on the sheet.


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## greg24k (May 19, 2007)

What he said you go to print in PDF you will have an option to select in PDF the size you want or you go to your printer properties and you make changes there. But you can only do the paper size your printer has. For my printer, the largest size I can do is Tabloid "that's all I ever need", but if a customer needs large prints I save the layout to PDF in scale and they can go and get it printed in any size they need.


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