PDF Scaling problem

[BK]

I've read thru some of the previous posts but I've been unable to solve this problem.

When printing to PDF, the scale changes. At least it seems that the (grey) page borders decides to change it's proportions. I have a file in which I have expanded the print area to 12 pages. This allows me to have a different drawing on every page, thus when I go to print, it goes in order and it's all nice and neat. When I print to PDF, the lines go out of whack and all my printouts are in pieces. Can anyone help?

[jan15]

Barry, what PDF writer are you using?

Every printer has its own interpretation of what the printable area is for any given sheet size. That's based on how much margin it needs to leave unprinted.

A PDF writer has to specify a printable area also, but only because it's pretending to be a printer, and not because it has any real constraints as to margin size. Some of them allow you to choose the margin size and/or printable area, or even allow the PDF file's printable area to emulate a particular real printer.

Are you arranging the drawings this way so you can make check-prints on 12 small sheets of paper of what will eventually be a single large sheet?

If so, the only solution I can think of is to get a PDF writer that allows you to emulate the printable area of your printer. And God help you if you ever buy a new printer.

If not, the solution is to make each of the 12 drawings a VectorWorks "Sheet". Do you know how to do that? It's pretty convenient once you get the hang of it.

[BK]

I have all of my drawings saved as individual sheets. I have one sheet labeled "overview" and that is looking at all 12 drawings at the same time. When I print, the page break lines reform and form a print area measuring @ 10" x 13". I'm not sure where in Adobe I need to correct this.

Any help is appreciated...

[CipesDesign]

BK Try resetting the "page setup" for your overview sheet so that a single sheet encompasses the entire drawing. The PDF will usually generate its page size from the page setup. Of course you will need to re-set it again (down to your individual sheet sizes) before creating the PDF of each individual sheet. (hmm, that sounded confusing, I hope you understood it). BTW, I think you can have PDF'd embedded in another PDF, and you may need to do this if you want to create a single PDF document which has all the info in it.

Hope that helps!

Peter Cipes

Ashland, Oregon

[BK]

If I'm understanding you correctly, I would have to set my page setup so that my printer thinks it's printing to a large sheet of paper, but when printing to Adobe, it will automatically break it down into 8.5 x 11 sheets ? Well that's how it is already setup. I've made a custom print area and each drawing resides within the 8.5 x 11 page break markers. Printing to a regular printer, no problem. When I go to page setup and change the printer to Adobe PDF, those page break lines change. Adobe generates a page size alright, just not the right one. I could go back and resize, change scales and all that, but it would take far too long; I have to make edits to these drawings and print them (Adobe and paper) on a regular basis. There has to be a way that I can make the Adobe PDF distiller see those page breaks the same as the printer does. I'm just not sure how.