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Getting your AutoCAD drawings onto paper can sometimes be tricky if you are working with complex files or unfamiliar printers. This article walks you through the process of printing from AutoCAD to a large-format printer or plotter and how to convert CAD drawings to PDF.

Printing AutoCAD drawings to a large-format printer plotter

Printer/plotter

This dropdown list contains the printing devices that have been configured to work with AutoCAD. Choose the large-format printer plotter you’ll be using to print your AutoCAD drawing. The Properties button to the right of the dropdown list contains settings that have been preconfigured by your computer.

The Printer/plotter dropdown list also contains various PDF printing options, as seen in the image below. We’ll cover the different AutoCAD-to-PDF options later in this guide.

The Plot to File button saves your large-format drawing as a .plt file so that it can be printed later, on another computer, or by a print production service.

Paper Size, Number of Copies
Make sure you’ve selected the right paper size and have the matching paper ready in your printer. You can also choose the number of copies to print.

Plot Area This is where you must decide what you want to print from your drawing. If you have yet to set the visibility of the layers you want to print or hide, you’ll need to do that first. Next, click on the dropdown list to find five options: Display, Extents, Limits, View, and Window. Assuming you have checked the “Fit to paper” option, this is what will be printed from your choice of plot area:

• Display: Print what is on the screen, including any blank areas
• Extents: Fill the print area with all visible objects in the drawing
• Limits: Print everything that lies within the limits grid set in your large-format drawing. If your drawing contains Layouts, then you’ll see a Layout option instead.
• View: Print a view that you have saved with the large-format drawing. If there are no saved views this option will not appear.
• Window: This allows you to drag a window around any part of your large-format drawing that you want to print.

To see what your large-format print will look like using different Plot Area options, simply click the Preview button at the bottom left of the Plot dialog box.

Plot Scale
If you want to print a scale from AutoCAD rather than fitting it to your paper, uncheck the “Fit to paper” option. You can then select either a predefined scale from the dropdown list or enter a custom scale.

Plot Offset
This allows you to either center the plot on the plot area instead of starting from the origin or input a custom amount of space to offset the plot.

As AEC firms move toward remote work and digital transformation, digital file sharing is slowly becoming the norm. Instead of printing physical copies of your CAD drawings, you may find yourself converting your DWG files to PDF instead. Not only are PDF drawings more easily readable by users without AutoCAD, but they can preserve layer data and other properties at your desired file quality.

What’s confusing is that AutoCAD offers three different ways to convert your CAD drawing to PDF. Let’s look at the differences between each method and which one is best for your purposes.

Make sure colors and patterns are distinct

Learn how you can achieve better efficiency for your business and make the right considerations when investing in a large format printer plotter.