PDF Workflows

[Andrew Davies]

Hello

 

I would be interested to know how people generally work with PDFs.

 

I rarely have to print at anything bigger than A3 - so am in the habit of formatting all my sheet layers / title blocks for A3 - which works for me.

 

But all my clients only ever open PDFs - so am wondering if it matters - or if I would be better off formatting to A1 as they would still be able to open it and view it as a PDF - but I could get more resolution?

 

What are your thoughts?

Andrew

[Jim Smith]

We also print many documents on Tabloid but larger projects get sets printed on Arch D / A1. Really depends on the project. The other issue is what will a city accept electronically ? Some only accept electronic files, while some are still insisting on paper copies. 

[Boh]

Like you Andrew we also mostly print to A3. We have set up our pages for A1 (with 50% reduction for printing). 

 

This is means we have set up a large 14pt standard text size for A1 that is still readable in A3. So text in any symbols throughout our library are typ set to this font. 

 

We are using PCs which, when set up for 50% reduction in the printer set up can mean hatches sometimes don’t scale correctly. I don’t think this is an issue on Macs. 

 

Srtting up for A1 and printing at A3 does give a little more printable area than setting up straight for A3. 

we are considering moving to an A3 set up so interested in other thoughts.

 

For renders and presentation drawings as opposed to construction detail drawings we will sometimes set up straight to A3. 

[line-weight]

It used to be that I'd set up as A1, but with text size such that if drawings were printed at A3 they were still readable.

 

At that point, drawings would still commonly be issued to contractors at A1 size, by post (usually via a commercial printing service).

 

These days, I virtually never issue drawings on paper. They go by email, and many people can print at A3 while hardly anyone can print at A1.

 

In addition, drawings are commonly read on screen, and trying to read something set up to be readable at A1 printed size on paper, on a screen, is pretty awkward. On the other hand, if something's readable at A3 size on paper, it's generally fairly readable on a screen.

 

Therefore in my opinion A1 drawings are kind of redundant these days (at least, for the kind of stuff I work on). So I set everything up as A3 (or even A4) now. This also avoids having to label everything with two scales depending on what size it's printed at, and it means that I can draw something at, say, 1:25 scale on A3 without then worrying about the fact that it'll be 1:12.5 on the A1 version (which doesn't match anyone's scale rule).

 

Thinking about it, giant drawings are a hangover from when things were drawn by hand. It would allow you to draw large floorplans without having to split them over multiple sheets. But now it's relatively trivial to draw the entire plan, have a 'key' version at whatever scale will fit it on an A3, and then have enlarged portions showing more detail split over other sheets as necessary. Without actually having to draw it multiple times.

 

A large stack of A3 drawings can be bound together in an easily readable form. Not true for larger sizes, with each sheet having to be folded. So it makes it easier for people to skip back and forth through a project's drawing set.

 

A3 is the way forward!

[Boh]

Good points Line-weight. Our local council has also finally started taking electronic building consent applications too so now there really is not much reason to stick to A1 format. We are about to upgrade to vw2019 in our office after the xmas break and we'll also start using the native VW Title blocks so that we'll likely make the change to A3 then.