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**Stage 2: Schematic design
**
In the second stage, you and your architectural design team will begin to develop the design concept following the client’s vision. There will be a lot of sketches, drawings, and preliminary site plans, floor plans, and building elevations involved in this phase. This is where your client will first begin to see how the space will be planned out. Your team may also have to incorporate building systems such as heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and plumbing into the schematic design which requires collaboration with other disciplines.

*How technology can help
*
Software favourites such as Autodesk® AutoCAD®, SketchUp, and The Wild can help turn your architectural sketches and drawings to digital renders to help with efficient planning. With these BIM software, you’ll be able to see design elements you may not have been able to catch in hard copy. Another 3D software, Revit, can help you save time on design tasks that can be automated. It also supports multiple disciplines making it easier to collaborate with other AEC professionals involved in the project.

At this stage, you will be showing your client numerous printouts for them visualise the design progress at each revision stage. As such, you will need a plotter printer than can deliver high quality printouts and support fast print out speed, so you won’t have to worry about missing design details on print and deadlines due to slow printing especially during crucial stages of the project.

**Stage 5: Construction
**
In the final phase, you switch hats and take on a project management role where you make regular visits to the site to ensure that the design plan is being followed and the execution is going according to plan. Here, the contractor and their crew will lead the project until its completion.

*How technology can help
*
If you’ve been using any of the software such as Autodesk® AutoCAD®, Revit, and SketchUp, it makes it easier to store all your documentation in one place in case you need to revisit or share anything with the other disciplines involved in the project.

Having a printer that can be with you all the way will be beneficial. And when we say ‘all the way’ we meant all the way to the site — with a compact and portable LFP, you can do just that. When looking for architectural software that can support your architectural design processes, opt for those that allow easy collaboration, have intuitive design, and will complement and add value to your presentations. Most of these software support cross platform integration making it easier to port data over from one software to another.

When it comes to hardware, there are many factors to consider so it’s always good to evaluate and your needs. For example, printers like the HP DesignJet T950 may be an award-winning printer having received numerous accolades such as Best Wide Format MFP for CAD 06 in the European Digital Press Awards and the Red Dot Design Award 2016 for its high design quality, but it’s second only to the HP DesignJet T1600 when it comes to speed. The latter, having the fastest print speed in the market of up to 180 D/A1 per hour.