Model Boat Mayhem

Technical, Techniques, Hints, and Tips => Other Technical Questions... => Topic started by: chris holley on October 22, 2010, 07:50:54 pm

Title: Printing plans
Post by: chris holley on October 22, 2010, 07:50:54 pm
Hi i have just been sent some plans for a model i would like to build its only small build but iam unable to print them as i have an A4 printer an there bigger an help with this would be great thanks chris :-)
Title: Re: Printing plans
Post by: dougal99 on October 22, 2010, 08:25:08 pm
If you have some graphics software it should be possible to 'tile' the print out onto A4 sheets. This of course would mean sticking your plan together, but most suitable software would also print the marks for lining up the pages. Alternatively, you could take the file of the plan to a print shop and get them to print it for you.

HTH

Doug
Title: Re: Printing plans
Post by: snowwolflair on October 22, 2010, 10:38:34 pm
You can tile print it with the Paint program in Windows if you set the print preferances to multiple pages.
Title: Re: Printing plans
Post by: chris holley on October 22, 2010, 10:39:49 pm
forgot to mention its a pdf file???
Title: Re: Printing plans
Post by: tigertiger on October 23, 2010, 03:04:12 am
You could also go down to Prontaprint, etc. They have large size printers for architects plans.
Title: Re: Printing plans
Post by: chingdevil on October 23, 2010, 08:22:46 am
Look on the web there are lots of companies that do this type of printing, the couple I have used you e-mail the file to them and they post the plans back.

Brian
Title: Re: Printing plans
Post by: chris holley on October 23, 2010, 11:55:00 am
Can you give them the size off the model an thay print it to suit also?
Title: Re: Printing plans
Post by: tigertiger on October 24, 2010, 03:21:09 am
Can you give them the size off the model an thay print it to suit also?

They can enlarge it to any size needed, but this will be the size of paper (i.e. the whole plan). You will need to calculate what this enlargement factor needs to be, in order to get the hull lines to the size you need.

Perhaps the easiest way to do this is print off a copy of known size. Measure the hull lines and work out the ratio of the copy in hand:copy size wanted.
Then apply this ratio to the paper size.

And consider, how accurate you need it to be.
For example, if you want a one meter hull then 1.1 meters will not kill you.
If you need a specific scale (not always that important) then a few percent either way will not kill you either.
Title: Re: Printing plans
Post by: tonyH on October 24, 2010, 11:19:52 am
Can you import a pdf file onto Microsoft Publisher?

If you can you could use the banner option which still means that you have to stick it together but the sheets have registration marks. I used it for Arquebuse which needed 8 pages for the side elevation and the deck layout and both were accurate enough for all but the most fastidious. All you need is a good straightedge to stop it wandering.

Tony
Title: Re: Printing plans
Post by: malcolmfrary on October 24, 2010, 12:22:59 pm
This is a possibility

http://www.ilovefreesoftware.com/26/windows/image-photo/easy-poster-printer-print-posters-with-normal-printer.html

The address says it all, really.

The only fairly satisfactory way to have a modifiable .pdf file that I have found so far is to scan the thing in as an image, then handle the image, but my copy of Publisher is quite elderly, so I don't know about later versions, and buying a full copy of Acrobat is not a "satisfactory" solution for me.  I did run across a free OCR program that accepts .pdf files, but only for the text. Oddly enough, its called "freeOCR".
Title: Re: Printing plans
Post by: john44 on October 25, 2010, 07:48:02 pm
I had some plans enlarged from 1/24 up to 1/16th the enlargement factor was 150% found by dividing the .24 by the .16 and it
came out exact size on the new plan.
Title: Re: Printing plans
Post by: Klunk on October 25, 2010, 08:27:40 pm
A GOOD architectural printers can scan the original image then scale up tpo the size you want. I do work for a firm that do this, but am unwilling to  post their name on here. Also I have no idea how much they charge!!
Title: Re: Printing plans
Post by: tigertiger on October 26, 2010, 03:31:29 am
Any of the larger print shops can do this.

It is better to have it on one sheet of paper, rather than many pieces of A4 in poster form joined together.
Title: Re: Printing plans
Post by: Fifie on October 28, 2010, 08:39:07 am
If you would like to send a copy to me I can

Scan them
Scale to any scale you want
Place them all on one sheet (max A1), multiple sheets if ness
Print as many copies as you want

The prints are 1=1 of the actual drawing

Send a pm if intereasted
Fifie