Printing from Architect

[dlstudios]

I'm a longtime MiniCad-Vectorworks user going all the way back to 1987 and have never really worked in any other cad application. I recently added Architect. In Architect the various classes appear in a variety of colors to help identify in which class an item is. I've never used colors in this way so it was never an issue before, but now when I print construction documents some items don't print crisply in black & white and I'm afraid will start to disappear when reproduced. Asking for the display to be "black & white only" in the preferences menu doesn't work because I lose some gray fills (in my logo and in various places in the drawings). Short of changing each class one at a time to black lines, printing, then reverting to last save to preserve the original colors, is there a better way? What does everyone else do?

------------------

[bclydeb]

Although I don't hink you can edit class colors using the setup for VW Arch, you can change class colors in the classes menu set on the menubar.

I would recommend that you change to the colors of classes YOU want in a freshly made setup for the project type. Then save this setup as a template and use it (the template) every time you start a new projet.

Finally - I use colors for either real color (rendered views) or to delineate important/less important information the way us "old time" drafters did with pencil shades Light and/heavy hand, broad point sharp point) and grades (4H, 2H H F HB B etc.) and gray and colored inks.

I find that learning the "Gray Shade" of various colors aids in the reproduction (via "bluline") by knowing which screen colors to avoid using. (E.G. Yellow and Cyan).

Finally - my reprographic house has gone over to laser printing because ammonia based processes are too expensive (OSHA, Environment and material and machine costs). These laser printing, large format machines do real well at producing even lightly colored lines and pale gray shades. Plus they do not fade in the field. Cost is competitive with "bluelines" too.