What paper size are you using?

[leeave96]

What paper size are you using?

Alright, I'm going to show my age........

But back in the old days when drafting boards were KING, we'd draw in all mannor of paper sizes, C & D being used the most - or so that's what I think I remember!

Then on to CAD and large drawings ruled.

Later in life, I started working contract work and one place I worked used ONLY size A drawings. That way they would fit into a binder - not my rule!

On another job, we used A size drawings and what I would call A+ size drawings. Reason? The printer would only print 8-1/2" wide paper. The A+ size drawing was a legal size piece of paper 8-1/2" x 14".

Funny thing is - no one on the shop floor complained about the smaller A vs larger paper sizes. Infact, some indicated that they liked the smaller paper sizes - easier to handle and "tape-up" to their work for viewing.

Question is - what paper sizes are you cranking out for your stuff and why?

Just courious.

Thanks!
Bill

 

[garethconner]

I use 11x17 because:

1. Folded in half they can fit in a binder.
2. 8.5x11 can be a little restrictive
3. Tabloid printers are 1/3 the price of a D-size plotter

When I used to work in a bigger shop, we used D-size for all of our prints. However, after going into business for myself I could not justify the initial cost of a plotter so I picked up a tabloid inkjet and have been happy since. There are some drawings that would be really nice to have on C or D paper, but most of the time 11x17 works OK.

 

[bscott.arc-tech.com]

Re: What paper size are you using?

Question is - what paper sizes are you cranking out for your stuff and why?

Short answer: "It depends."

For some of the stuff the engineers here do, they use 8.5x11, because they're looking at a "high zoom" view and all the detail they want will fit. Or they just want an overview and don't need the detail. Other stuff gets printed on 11x17, because that's the largest size the various big laser printers around the office will take, it's "good enough", and they don't want to have to walk down to the room with the large format plotter.

At the other end of the spectrum, some stuff is plotted as "J size" paper -- which is apparently a semi-standard term for "34 inches wide, and as long as you want". Some of these plots are over ten feet long. They're 1:1 scale drawings used for manufacturing layouts.

Plenty of D and E size plots get run off, too, especially for the "hang it on the wall" or "lay it on the desk" sort of uses.


"When we try to pick out anything by itself, we find it hitched to everything else in the universe." -- John Muir

 

[MikeHenry]

Just a hobby machinist here, but I usually use A-size, though I do have a ledger-size inkjet printer and a used Designjet plotter if larger prints are needed.

Mike

 

[jemmej]

We use A and B-size so that we can print everything out on a standard laser printer. I'd say that this philospohy works 95% of the time. But, some assemblies just don't work well when "shrunk" that much.

I'd say your at home business could get away with B-size printing for most everything, though, for me personally, depending upon the work, I'd look into investing in a used roll plotter or something. Just my opinion.

Jim

 

[Gaspar]

We use A0 to A4 templates. Whatever fits the part being drawn without scaling (when that is possible).

When printed for the shop, though, most of the time we use a standard letter paper and only on ocassions, we plot a big or complicated drawing.

I started drawing on paper, even though CAD was available in the early 90's. I was told CAD was hard to use and I didn't have much time to spend on a learning curve. When I got a hold of my first computer I left the ruler aside and worked on...... well yes, for more than a year I worked on ..... MS Paint (yes, it is the same MS Paint you're thinking of, mostly used to draw teddy bears for your girl friend). I got good at it and my drawings were pretty well scaled. That went on until one day I had to hire someone to do CAD work for me and saw how easy it was...

 

[macinc]

I bought an Encad Novajet III plotter on Ebay for $99. It takes up to E size and is inkjet. You can't get XP drivers for it, but it prints fine out of Alibre and AutoCad.

I like the D size for assembly views and floor layouts (I do a lot of conveyor layouts). For previews, various fabricated parts and details, I like 8.5x11 laser printer. It easier to put in folders, is fast and inexpensive.

Matt

 

[jwknecht]

GM (and I suppose many others) has standardized to 11X17. Of course, these are simple drawings because much of the product definition is based on the CAD models. The 11X17s fit in a binder, and you can put as many sheets as you need in the binder for a given part or assy.

I usually print to 8.5X11 regardless of the original size, just for convenience.

 

[bhershberger]

I print 8-1/2 x 11 because that's the size printer we have (and the shop likes to keep prints in a binder). If I need to print something larger, I have to export the drawing to AutoCAD and send it to a friend who will print it out for me (for free)!

 

[Gerard]

Generally ISO A1. You can always fold the sheet and stick it in a plastic pocket in a binder. A0 is just too big, and printers that size are too expensive. HP make good A1 size plotters, I got a DesignJet 100 for £700 and I have just been offered a new 130 for £695 for a second office.

I like to put all the parts in a sub assembly on a single sheet. Bigger is better.

 

[swertel]

I'm like others here.

In Alibre, I set up my paper size to be ANSI A-D, sometimes E, depending on the size of the part/assembly I'm drafting. I print to 11x17, though.

I keep Alibre at the large sizes because the relative scale of text and object lines is clearer, rather than just scaling the view in order to fit on a B-size. Also, even though not recommended, some people still scale the print and therefore want full size views.

Likewise, I archive to PDF and can easily print to a D-Size pdf. That way, no matter who I send the pdf file to, they can print it at whatever size they want. If I created at A-Size, scaling up leads to poor quality prints.

 

[dkmc]

I currently use 8.5 X 11 .....printer size.
I am looking at the HP 9800 printer to go to 11X17 and they can be had now
for around $250. But, I wonder about the cost of the cartridges and the very small ink volume they contain. HP and their cash cow at its best......

dan k

 

[mrehmus]

I use 11 x 17 since that is the size of the drawings I publish in my magazine, Model Engine Builder.

I took a flier on a tabloid-sized laser printer on e-bay. I bid $99 for a 32 ppm Xerox Docuprint N32. I got it for $99. It has 5 paper trays and an output collator. Rated at 260K copies per month, it hadn't even used up its first toner cartridge.

So I draw and print at the size I use in the magazine.

I also have an Epson 2200 proofing ink jet that handles up to 13 x 19 (super Tabloid). I DON'T do drawings on that! Way too slow.

 

[indesign]

I work in a small company with about 17 employees. We use 11 x 17 for most all of our plots due to the easy to use, hold, fold to fit reasons.

The main reason I wanted to post here is we do one thing noone else mentioned. For those large parts/assemblies that just can't be done on a small sheet we email to the local blueprinting company for a very reasonable price.

An injet plotter can be purchased cheap enough now from used sources but the trouble is to maintain it. Most of you know that an inkjet will clog if it sits too long. For a small company it isn't worth all the effort it takes to justify a large scale plotter. So our solution is for the 1% of the time we need a CDEF plot we just send an email to our local plotter/printer company. I know 1% sounds like it is small but think of how many AB plots you might do per week.