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22x34 plots on HP Designjet 5500

BranchEngineering
Enthusiast

22x34 plots on HP Designjet 5500

BranchEngineering
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

I admit upfront that this isn't literally an AutoCAD question.  However, the drawings are being created in and plotted to pdf by AutoCAD so maybe there is something we can do differently in AutoCAD to help.

 

Our office has implemented digital signatures so we don't need to wet sign and then scan plans.  However, we often still need to paper print at least a few copies of the digitally signed plans.  Simultaneously we've been transitioning to a standard 22 x 34 paper size for several reasons that aren't relevant here.  We've run into trouble when trying to plot the signed 22 x 34 pdfs from Adobe to our HP Designjet 5500 with a 36" paper roll.  We want the print to be slid to the right side of the page so the extra 2" can be used as a binding or trimmed off.  However, the print instead slides to the left of the page so that the extra 2" is on the right; not an issue if we are trimming it off but not so functional for binding.  Any suggestions for print settings in AutoCAD or Adobe will be much appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Renee

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Kent1Cooper
Consultant
Consultant

Try this in AutoCAD:

 

PlotUpsideDown.PNG

 

I believe [without testing it, but the little thumbnail of printed-content-area-on-the-page and  the Preview suggest] that it doesn't do mirror-image  upside-down, but spins it around 180 degrees, so when you print from Adobe, it should put the right edge of the sheet against the left edge of the roll.

 

Another approach would be to make a custom 22x36  page size, if the plotter's Properties offer the option of custom sizes, and in AutoCAD, use a Plot Offset in the X direction to put 22x34 content toward the right end of the 22x36 page.

 

Kent Cooper, AIA
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BranchEngineering
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Enthusiast

Thanks for the suggestions Kent1Cooper.

 

I had thought of the 22x36 "paper" size.  I was able to successfully make a custom paper size in Adobe and print the 22x34 pdf on it.  Unfortunately it centered the 22x34 pdf on the 22x36 paper so that instead of the extra 2" all being on one side or the other, it was split with 1" extra on both the left and right.  I thought about setting up a custom paper size in CAD that would print to a 22x36 pdf, but then we would lose the ability to print 50% reductions on 11x17 and that was a major reason for the change to 22x34 paper.

 

Your other suggestion of the 'plot upside down' seems potentially promising.  I tried it a minute ago but it produced a right-side up pdf.  It makes me wonder if I'm doing something wrong with the setting so I'll fiddle with it a bit more to see what can be accomplished.

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Anonymous
No aplicable

We use a Deskjet T520 and I finds that by plotting upside down in cad, the resultant pdf (which is what the printer software produces) is right side up and shifted to the right putting the extra paper on the binding edge. If printing from adobe, i usually have to rotate the pdf 180 degrees, upside down, in order to get the excess paper on the binding edge. Hope this helps. Cheers.

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ChrisRS
Mentor
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 I don't have that plotter, so I am kind of guessing.

 

I prefer solutions that do not require upside down PDFs.

 

  1. (I WOULD REJECT THIS OPTION) Consider printing to a 22x36 in AutoCAD. (This would mess up printing 1/2 size to 11 x 17)
  2. Try rotating the PDF 180 when you send it to the plotter. The print will be in the same position on the plotter paper, but 'Left' edge of the rotated image for be at the right edge of the plotter paper. (I have not physically verified this.) 
    1. I use Bluebeam Revu. I assume that this is applicable to their free Vu reader software as well (See Below)
    2. I can not find a setting for this in Acrobat Reader. You would need to rotate the PDF 180 degrees, then print normally. Do not save the changes to the PDF, rotate back and save,
  3. Look for rotate image or shift image in you printer driver advanced settings. If you find them save a special printer.
  4. Look for rotate image or shift image at the plotter control panel. If this works, remember to reset the plotter back to normal.

Good Luck.

 

I am in no way affiliated with Bluebeam, but I recommend Revu. It is geared toward Engineers and engineering tasks, not just 'Office' tasks.

  

 

Revu Rotate Print anno.png 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Christopher Stevens
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BranchEngineering
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Enthusiast

bluebrad60 - rotating 180* in Adobe is an interesting idea I hadn't thought of and does seem to accomplish the end result.  It's not as automated as I had hoped for, but is certainly better than no solution at all.

 

ChrisRS - you're right about the difference between BlueBeam and Adobe.  If we had realized that before buying about 20 Adobe licenses we would have bought BlueBeam but now we're feeling a bit committed.  I like you're idea of hunting for a rotate image or shift image in the plotter driver.  I'd been looking for that in the Adobe print window, but not the driver.  Investigating that is next on my list of things to do.

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ChrisRS
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Mentor

@BranchEngineering, we originally went with Bluebeam because it was superior to the PDF output directly from AutoCAD.
(AutoCAD PDF output has since improved dramatically.)

 

Things you might want to consider regarding Bluebeam:

  1. Bluebeam Vu is the free viewer that is equivalent to Acrobat reader. I am pretty sure that you could use this for printing. (I don't have Vu handy to check this.)
  2. Having purchased Adobe, I can understand that you are felling committed. It might be worth your effort to check with Bluebeam and see if they have a competitive upgrade program. If so, this will lessen the financial impact. It does not hurt to ask. The worst that can happen is they say no. If you do change some or all seats, thee will be a learning curve. (It is just my opinion, but I find the Bluebeam interface much more comfortable/AutoCADish, than the simplified more modern Acrobat interface. My use of Acrobat is very limited.)

There are things I do in Bluebeam much faster that I could in AutoCAD. I suspect that this might be true in Acrobat as well.

 

Good Luck,

Chris 

Christopher Stevens
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BranchEngineering
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@ChrisRS- I downloaded and experimented with the free Bluebeam viewer.  It has the rotate option you mentioned and also an option for offsetting by X&Y values.  The rotate will get the plot and extra 2" in the desired relationship if printing using a 22x34 (Ansi D) paper size.  The offset will work if printing using a custom 22x36 paper size.  He hangup I can't seem to get past though is that Bluebeam seems to be cutting off a large strip from the top and bottom of the page.

Using the same 22x34 I printed from Adobe (with the 2" extra in the wrong place but all the drawing and border printed), I can't get Bluebeam to print all the sheet.  Even after I verified in the plotter properties dialog that the margins are set to 5mm, the print dialog shows a wide red band about 1.5" wide on the top and bottom of the sheet as if the pdf is more than 22".  I'd include screen snips but can't figure out how everyone else is pasting them into a message.

 

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