revit pdf printing problem

[Anonymous]

Issue:It takes a long time to PDF plan views in Revit.

Causes:Overly complex modeling of families and the use of groups can significantly slow printing.  
 

Solution:

• Ungroup groups
• edit families:
  • avoid nesting families inside nested families;
  • purge families;
  • make 3D elements invisible in plan views, and represent the geometry with annotation lines instead
  • use Revit native elements, and avoid the use of imported file types (.dwg, .sat, etc.) wherever possible

NOTE: it is important to ensure that all users are using the most recent build of Revit.

This is the response to the issue and this is acceptable? This seems to be the typical response and its getting old! I have a powerful computer and software but you are telling me not to use it so that I can use it. Please fix this!!!

I just took hours to print a project when it should have taken less than 5 minutes! 

[Viveka_CD]

Hi @Anonymous

We understand your frustration! The slow down can be due to a number of reasons.

A few questions for you:

1) Which PDf printer are you using? Did you upgrade your printer/PDF driver to the latest version from the manufacturer's website?

2) Is this slow printing specific to a project or user's computer?

3) Did you run any windows upgrade recently and which version of windows do you have?

4) It is possible that you have a detailed family in your model that might cause the slowdown - you can toggle the visibility graphics and filter the problematic family

5) Do you have any non-rectangular crop regions in your model? If so this can lead to longer printing times, since the non-rectangular crop region is defined as a polygon consisting of thousands of segments. This region can be substituted by masked regions.

6) Best bet is to reduce the complexity of the pdf. Here are some ways to reduce complexity:

• If possible, use vector processing instead of raster processing. For information about when raster processing is used automatically, See About Vector Processing and Raster Processing.
• Turn off shadows and avoid using shaded views.

7) If you have installed the Microsoft Windows 10 Anniversary Update, some of the buttons in the Print dialog box do not respond. See HERE for more information.

Let us know if any of the above recommendations resolve your issue.

Please send us your Journal files to troubleshoot further.

Please mark this response as "Accept as Solution" if it answers your question. Kudos gladly accepted.

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the reply but I think you are still missing the point of my complaint! As your response shows in points 4,5,and 6 you are saying to dumb down my work so that I can print to pdf. That makes no sense what so ever. Why is the program not able to handle any level of detail that I can put into it? The point of BIM is to put information into a computer to keep track of that information. One of those ways of communicating that information is in a PDF. Very frustrating that you are still missing the point!


Thanks !

[Viveka_CD]

Hi @Anonymous

Thanks for your response.

There is a certain level of detail which the program can handle. There can be limitations due to a number of issues - (graphics card not updated, software hotfix not applied, 3rd party applications taking longer to launch,  amount of RAM =Compressed Revit file size x 20) etc. The main point I want to specify is to optimize your model for speedier performance and best printing solutions.

As mentioned earlier, the slow down may be due to other reasons as well. It will help us investigate these reasons further based on the answers you provide. Can you please answer points 1,2 and 3 and also share a file to troubleshoot? I can send you a private folder.

Also, please send us your journal to parse and it will help us troubleshoot why the slow down occurs and also diagnose performance issues.

Looking forward to your reply update.

Regards,

[Anonymous]

I will get this to you but it will have to wait till tomorrow as I am currently under the gun to get something out.

[amorap]

Hi from Spain kamcgrew

Sometimes I've had ths same problem, then I use a workaround:

1- I export to DWF, usually export to PDF Works fine for me, and it does a fast delivery.

2- I open this DWF file with Autodesk Design Review (free) ant print to PDF.

This workflow results to me faster and safer than direct print to PDF. I think that Revit is faster processing DWF export than printing PDF.

Also, check your PDF Printer settings. Not all the PDF printers do their job in the same way. There could be severe differences. If you are printing sheets with some views with shadows or shading, then the print mode is raster, much slower than vector mode if you want obtain good results.

Regards.

[Viveka_CD]

Great workarounds @amorap 

Hi @Anonymous

No worries! I'll look for an update from you tomorrow.

Meanwhile, you can try these PDF printers and see if there is any difference:

• Use a PDF printer that handles non-rectangular crop regions correctly. For example, Nitro Reader is a free PDF printer that generates appropriately sized PDF files from Revit files. (See www.nitropdf.com.)* Additionally, with the 12.5 version* Bluebeam Revu a post processor has been created to reduce/address this issue.

** Please review the developer’s documentation and disclaimers before proceeding to utilize their product(s).

 Regards,