Printing From Autocad to the Plotters
Checking Page Setup in Page Setup Manager
It is important that before working in AutoCAD that you setup your initial work space in Page Setup Manager.
1. In the File menu, click Page Setup Manager.
2. In the Page Setup Manager dialog box, click the Modify button.
3. From the dropdown box in the Printer/Plotter pane, select your output printer. If printing large format, this should be abp-mainbld-2ndflr-205-Plotter1 or abp-mainbld-2ndflr-205-Plotter2.
4. From the dropdown box in the Paper Size pane, select your paper size.
5. Check your scale is correct in the Plot Scale pane and click OK.
Outputting Your Document to a Plotter
1. From the File menu, click Plot.
2. All the settings previously completed in Page Setup Manager will remain the same.
3. Click Properties in the Printer/plotter pane.
4. Select the Device and Document Settings tab and select Custom Properties from the directories list. Then, click the Custom Properties… button in the Access Custom Dialog pane. This will open the Document Properties dialog box.
This is where you can confirm the Paper Size and Source for your work.
5. Click the Paper/Quality tab.
6. In the Size is: field, select the correct paper size. Note: use Oversize page sizes in order to fit the whole image without clipping.
7. In the Source is: field, select Roll 1 or Roll 2.
Select Roll 1 if your image is A2 or A1 size. Roll 1 has a maximum width of 610mm
Select Roll 2 if your image is A0 size. Roll 2 has a maximum width of 1067mm
Checking Grayscale Settings
If you want to print in colour you can skip this next section.
The steps in this section only need to be done if you wish to print the job in grayscale or black and white.
Jobs sent to the plotter will be priced differently depending on whether they are sent as colour jobs or black and white.
In order to get the price for black and white printing, the following changes need to be made before you print.
1. Click the Color tab.
2. To print in grayscale, in the Color Options pane, check Print In Grayscale.
3. To print in B&W, in the Color Options pane, check Print In Grayscale and Black Ink Only.
4. Click OK, then OK again.
5. Check 'Create a temporary PC3 file to apply to this plot only'.
6. Click OK.
7. Double check the paper size as it may have changed due to any alterations.
8. Click OK. Your job will be sent to the release station in Room 205, and appear on the monitor. Check the price of the job is correct, swipe ABP Print Card, and release the job to the selected printer. (Further information on this step can be found under Monitor System instructions).