Scale Not Working on PDF

Scale Not Working on PDF

Anonymous
Not applicable
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Message 1 of 18

Scale Not Working on PDF

Anonymous
Not applicable

Hey Guys,

 

I know this seems to be a fairly common issue in one way or another and I've tried trouble shooting it by reading other posts but I seem to be stuck.  

 

Here's the deal; using Revit 2017 I open an architectural template and build a 40' by 60' box (just as an example).  Then I annotate the box and print to PDF.  When I take the PDF into Bluebeam and measure the Box it comes out at 59' 11 1/2''.  I went back and check a bunch of projects and the same thing has been happening since I switched to 17 from 16.  The sheet I'm using is 22''x 36'' and I'm printing to arch d at 24'' x 36'' so it should fit fine.

 

I've tried the same process with Cutepdf as well.  

Capture.PNG

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Message 2 of 18

Anonymous
Not applicable

Sorry, small correction; the sheet I'm using is 22'' x 34'' not 36'' as I previously said.  

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Message 3 of 18

chrisplyler
Mentor
Mentor

I'm not sure why, when printing to a PDF file, you wouldn't set the output size to be exactly the same as your Revit sheet size?

 

Why are you printing a 22x34 Revit sheet to a 24x36 pdf sheet?

 

But that shouldn't matter. If you've got it set to zoom=100% then it shouldn't matter. So I can't imagine what the problem is. Sorry.

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Message 4 of 18

Anonymous
Not applicable

......

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Message 5 of 18

ToanDN
Consultant
Consultant

I don't know but it measures perfectly fine in my version of Bluebeam Revu® Version 11 x64.  Can you post a screenshot of your Bluebeam dialog when you are measuring this file?

 

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Message 6 of 18

Anonymous
Not applicable

Here's a screen capture from BluebeamBB Cap.PNG

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Message 7 of 18

ToanDN
Consultant
Consultant

I cranked up the precision and I can see the measurements are not perfectly as 40' and 60'.  So I created a similar file myself, printed one using Bluebeam and another using Adobe Acrobat.  When I measure them in Bluebeam Revu, the Bluebeam PDF file has the same precision issue and the Acrobat PDF file has none.  So I think the problem maybe in Bluebeam itself.  See the two attachments for yourself.

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Message 8 of 18

Anonymous
Not applicable

@Anonymous wrote:

Here's a screen capture from BluebeamBB Cap.PNG


Did you calibrate Revu?

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Message 9 of 18

Anonymous
Not applicable

What do you mean calibrate?  On the screen you can see the scale is set to 1/4'' = 1'

 

Is there something more I have to do than that?  

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Message 10 of 18

Anonymous
Not applicable

@Anonymous wrote:

What do you mean calibrate?  On the screen you can see the scale is set to 1/4'' = 1'

 

Is there something more I have to do than that?  



Here's an enlarged screenshot and directions: https://www.bluebeam.com/us/bluebeam-university/pdf-tutorials/revu-11/measure.pdf
You should always calibrate.

calibrate.png

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Message 11 of 18

Anonymous
Not applicable

Right, except that if I calibrate it is calibrating to the PDF and sets the scale to 14.99'' = 60'  or in other works 0.249'' = 1' which is why I am getting a 59' 11 1/2'' measurement with the scale set to 1/4''=1' when it should read 60'.

 

I'm pretty sure this is a Revit issue.  Has anyone else had a similar problem with their PDF not scaling correctly or have any idea what I'm doing wrong?  

 

Thanks!!!!!!!!!! 

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Message 12 of 18

ToanDN
Consultant
Consultant
Did you read my reply earlier regarding the results between Adobe Acrobat
vs Bluebeam?
--

-Toan
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Message 13 of 18

Anonymous
Not applicable

Sorry but it is difficult to find the right discussion for this topic, but it seem to be a general problem, so please excuse if I am a bit off topic.

I use metrics becaurse it is handy when one unit are one millimeter and I always drawn one to one, -- now could that cause any problems ?

--- It can.It does when translating to Pdf.

 

Why is that, I use a very old version of AutoCAD I don't need more as what I draw I either cut myself or get it Laser cut. No problem plotting/cutting with my own plotter/cutter but to get it uploaded and laser cut are a major problem even the cutting firm offer the best upload ever. I first export a Dxf but sometimes the cutter firm can not take a Dxf and then I use a free "AutoCAD2Pdf" where I set up a huge sheet, some 2,5X2,5 meter. 

Now what I cut are Stencils and that mean several layers that must fit exactly on top each other, one layer for each color. and calibration control marks.

 

Today I uploaded a new piece with 3 layers, --- as the upload page show the cut on the sheet you ask, I could instantly see that all 3 layers were translated to each individual scale, and the upload were useless. 

 

Why is it "one to one" is not good enough or is there as an option ?  Why must everything be translated into a "sheet size" when not everyone draw everything on architectural standard sheets ? How can any of this work out in the real world, where one to one mean that you draw the item the size it is. How can "sheets" ever be relevant with huge Laser cutters cutting items maybe 3 meter long and 2 meter wide; there are no sheets for that and where did the gurantie that what you draw 3D can be manufactured go ?  Have CAD become just scaled paper drawings in Inches ????  

 

Sorry, but how can I progress and get my Dxf files translated to Pdf, without the program determine what Scale I want even I wanted one to one. 

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Message 14 of 18

chrisplyler
Mentor
Mentor

Just make a sheet that's 3m x 2m or whatever you need. Set your view scale at 1:1. Place your view onto the sheet. Go home and have a beverage.

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Message 15 of 18

ToanDN
Consultant
Consultant

@Anonymous

 

Do you use Revit?  I did not see you mentioning it in your workflow.

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Message 16 of 18

Anonymous
Not applicable

Thanks chrisplyler, -- I understand many of the various programs in an old fashioned way as extensions of the basic set of functions in AutoCAD.

Hope you accept my problem not being able to find the right tread, my attitude are that if I need a special feature, I try code it myself. I know this also are old fasion, but it is difficult to find a program that cover building boats and producing the sort of arts I prefere at the same time. With my old AutoCAD I could program rutines to unfold double curved surfaces to cut the panels beside all the other rutines in building a boat and I can maneage to generate the vectors from a sketch, to do the Street art I been doing for many years.  But my last big job almost went wrong, due to exactly the problem I mention and I simply need to find a way out of this mismatch. It simply can be to costly. I can not afford a wrong scaled set of Stencils being cut. Not that the templates are that huge, but some two by two and two meter or the size of a standard Ply sheet times 3, -- one cut for each layer-- is what I like to be able to do with no foults. 

 

Might be easier to point you to one of my Pinterest albums;

 

https://dk.pinterest.com/percorell/englene-i-nordhavnen-3-figur-grupper-stencil-colla/

 

To make a sheet oversize proberly are a solution with a higher version than the one I am stuck with, but I can generate the DXF, but I am nervous about the fact that I see the DXF to Pdf translate fail. 

 

Thanks for your time.

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Message 17 of 18

davidEPD7Z
Explorer
Explorer

I know this is an old thread, but I am experiencing the same scale output differences between Bluebeam (off by a fraction) and Acrobat (accurate).  Did you ever find a solution in either Revit (2020) or Bluebeam (version 20.2.60)? It seems to me it is an issue with print driver when printing PDF from Revit using BluebeamPDF driver.  

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Message 18 of 18

hpowellFQ3L8
Explorer
Explorer

I've found a fix on another forum post that has worked perfectly, even though it's counterintuitive. For me, using Zoom 100% still produced PDF's with the scale off just a bit no matter which driver I tried (Microsoft, Bluebeam, Adobe). I actually had to use "Fit to Page" and then "Offset from corner" set to "Printer Limit".

 

https://forums.autodesk.com/t5/revit-architecture-forum/revit-does-not-plot-to-scale/m-p/9811309/hig...

 

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