Printing full sized patterns?

[bigkahuna]

Any advice on how to print out full sized patterns / drawings? I'm using DelftShip 3.1 (big brother to FreeShip) and want to print out patterns for an 11 foot stitch and glue paddleboard I'm designing. All I have is a small letter-sized inkjet printer, so will have to send a file someplace to have it done, but where and what file (.DXF or .PDF?)? All the panels will be long and narrow (the final dimensions of the board will be 11' x 30" x 5") so I'm hoping to fit it on one or two very long plots.

[Martijn_vE]

Paul ,

PDF is printable in almost any copy shop, DXF too, so both formats wil do. Big advantage to DXF is that lineweights can (sometimes) be preserved and dimesioning can be added easily in almost any CAD program. With PDF however you're absolutely sure that what you get is what you see.

Martijn

[bigkahuna]

Hey Martijn, nice to see you here!

I did a quick search and the nearest "copy shop" is a couple hours away (yes we do live in the middle of no-where!). Not many architects in this area either, but I'll continue to look. I've got a copy of "eDrawings" on my HD, I'll see it that doesn't have some way of exporting a .pdf or perhaps can print directly to a stack of letter sized pages.

There isn't any way of exporting .pdf's directly from Delftship, right?

[Martijn_vE]

Only if you have installed Adobe Professional. In that case you can print to a PDF printer, which captures printer output and uses it to create a PDF file.

The problem with assembling lots of small sided papers is that it's easy to misalign them. And the errors accumulate while you're adding more papers. So in the end the error can easily amount to several mm.

[Tim B]

Postscript has always been the graphics language of choice, but the large HP Plotters also support HPGL/2. Both are vector languages, not raster images. You can print to postscript in windows by installing a postscript printer and setting it to print to a file. HPGL requires the software to have an HPGL output. I would suggest you use postscript.

Tim B.

[Kaptin-Jer]

Your best bet is to call the print shop and talk to them. The caution with PDF drawing is Scale. You need to be able to plot in full size. Most CAD type software will generate a .PLT file which any print house can read. You "plot to a file" then send that file to the printer via email. The printer can then plot full size line drawings. Be aware that paper will shrink and expand with humidity. I loft my lines on mylar.

[CanQua]

Length is never an issue on a print being printed at a shop, only width, rolls are a few hundred feet long normally. if they need to change to a new roll it's there dime. Contact the shop directly and get them to tell you what format they can deal with. Let us know how it turns out.



Just a quick note. Download ind install cutepdf(and it's associated file ghost) you will then have a pdf printer. Select the proper page size(if one exists) and you'll have a viable pdf to print. Works great for the normal sized prints, not sure about something longer.

[Timm]

I use CutePDF as well and have made full size patterns with it. If you don't get all the information you should on the pdf file, check the resolution of the drawing. Evidently there is a limit to how large a pdf file can be, so you may have to reduce the resolution to 300dpi or so to get a large scale print. It took me quite a while to figure that one out!

I have never tried printing one from FreeShip though, so can't say how it will work. The printing function in FreeShip was very disappointing to me as it seems to only print from an image file, making it impossible to control line weights. I have to export the drawing to my cad program and then print it so it looks good. I don't know if that has been addressed in Delftship, but it would be good to know.

[lazeyjack]

why do you want to do this?
all you get is a flimsy paper dwg which is of no use to build from at all

a better idea, is to draw your body plan from you simple offsets, eg sheer h and half and chine height and half breadth , full size on ply or whatever, and lay mylar dwg film on it and then mark the mylar and batten in your lines
really full size patterns are for dressmakerS, you aint one of THOSE ARE YA)

[Timm]

My client actually used spray glue to glue the patterns to the frame plywood and then just cut them out. Made it really simple to set-up his prototype hull, especially since it was a small boat where each section would fit on a standard sheet of plywood. Evidently it worked very well and there wasn't much fairing to do after it was planked.

[LP]

This is an old thread, but the title fits what I'm doing although my needs are different from the original thread.

I'm trying to create a PDF from my CAD system. I'm using PDF995 to print my files. I've gone into PDF995 and set up a "PostScript Custom Page Size" that matches the size I am wanting to send to the printers. It's a flat pattern for a 12' S&G kayak/canoe. The print dimensions are 24" x 192".

I've also defined the page size in my CAD package. In the print preview mode all appears well. The print area is sized properly and incompasses the proper print area.

However, when it comes to "printing", I am only getting about 40-50" of lines while the rest of the print area is blank. I cannot fathom what else I need to do to get the rest of the print area to fill properly.

Has anyone had a similar problem?

Is it possible that I've hit a limitation within PDF995 itself?

Would you recommend a different PDF package?

========================================================================================================

Actually, I'm beginning to think that my issue is with the CAD package. I can turn on "print margins" and a margin is drawn where the printing stops.

[Kaptin-Jer]

I do not understand why you are converting the CAD file. If you plot to a file any print company can run your prints from that file. If you are running your own prints check the paper size at the printers settings, not the cad plot. Many of the larger machines have automatic cut at whatever you set the machine. Once you get it set correctly. Run your prints on Mylar. You'll be glad you spent the extra money when you start to do your layout.

[wet feet]

I have had problems with the accuracy of prints of around 5 metres long as the feed mechanism of the printer appears to slip a little.Including station lines or other references will allow you to verify the accuracy before proceeding with the project.Paper prints of this size are further compromised by the tendency of paper to move with changes in atmospheric moisture.Mylar does not have this problem.

[PAR]

Wet feet, this is a common problem and one of the reasons I don't offer full size patterns. Most of the issues can be associated back to the type of printer feed or the paper used.

If the machine is high quality, then the feed will usually be sufficient, but all papers have a grain, just like wood and it expands and contracts with environmental changes, just like wood. If you take a 3' ruler to a 3' station spacing on a full size drawing, most often you'll find it doesn't hit dead on. These minor errors multiply themselves across large distances. The only paper that is reliable is Mylar. This doesn't move around like paper does. This coupled with the fact that most copy houses use two types of paper, news print or coated light cover stock. Both will change dimension as they go through the printer, but the coated stock is much more stable, though nothing near as stable as Mylar. News print is for pretty pictures only and just can't be relied on for accurate dimensions in scaled drawings. Coated stock is better, but only on small scale drawings. Mylar is the only real choice for large scaled drawings, if you expect to have accurate dimensions.

It seems you've already learned this lesson Wet feet, but to those that insist on full size drawings, if they're not on Mylar, you're just wasting money.

[LP]

KJ, WF, and PR

Thanks for your interest. The printing company I've talked to offered PDF as their preferred format. They said they could convert a DWG. (Was that a $$$ sound I heard in the background?) Converting to a PDF shouldn't be a problem, except that either myself or my software is inept or stupid.

But moving on, this is my first attempt at sending anything to the printer so I'm open to input as to what is is typical and most efficient. KJ, when you say plot to a file, what kind of a file are you talking about? Again, the printers mentioned being able to convert a DWG file. Is this your plot file? Paul, what works best for you?

I think Mylar goes without saying. Although, a single, continuous piece of paper is miles ahead of the umpteen pieces of taped together printer paper I used on my little boats.