Templot Club Archive 2007-2020                             

topic: 2983Large format PDF printing
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posted: 16 Feb 2017 12:13

from:

stuart1600
 
United Kingdom

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I know that some of you have had bad experiences with getting large format printing done, so having just had some excellent service from a printer I thought I would post a recommendation in case it was of use to any other Templotters.
The firm is Heatons Office Solutions which has its HQ in Birkenhead and branches in Macclesfield, Penrith and Kinmel Bay (North Wales):

 http://www.heatons.net/print-and-design.aspx

I only have experience of the Penrith branch.  The lady who served me was very familiar with the concept of "no scaling" as they do a lot of architectural and engineering drawings.  Definitely no need to shout it three times on this occasion.
There was some difficulty with getting the longer files to print (the longest being 9150mm x 900mm), and she spent some time working out the problem - which was that their system had been set to a maximum length of 3200mm - she said she altered that to 180,000mm! (I suspect she may have meant 18,000mm)
Anyway the upshot was that I got three long print-outs (9150, 8000, and 3600) for a total of £50 - which struck me as being very reasonable, if not downright cheap.  Their printer uses paper up to 940mm wide.
I've no idea if the same service/helpfulness/ pricing would apply at their other locations, but might be worth a look if the geography suits....
http://www.heatons.net/contact-us.aspx  and scroll down for branch details

Regards,
Stuart

posted: 16 Feb 2017 12:33

from:

Martin Wynne
 
West Of The Severn - United Kingdom

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Hi Stuart,

Many thanks for posting that very useful info.

That's around 75p per foot, which seems very reasonable including the cost of paper. Presumably black & white printing at that price?

What quality of paper was that? Presumably thicker than ordinary office paper.

Have you measured the grid squares to check their printer calibration? If they are used to doing engineering drawings I imagine they keep their printers well maintained.

regards,

Martin.

posted: 16 Feb 2017 16:35

from:

stuart1600
 
United Kingdom

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Martin Wynne wrote:

That's around 75p per foot, which seems very reasonable including the cost of paper. Presumably black & white printing at that price?

What quality of paper was that? Presumably thicker than ordinary office paper.

Have you measured the grid squares to check their printer calibration? If they are used to doing engineering drawings I imagine they keep their printers well maintained.

regards,

Martin.
This was for full-colour printing.
It was obviously an unusual job for them, and I think she just thought of a figure that sounded like it would cover costs and not frighten me off!  I had taken your standard advice of "testing" their printer with a smaller format (although that was A1) - obviously that was a standard size for them and had a known fixed charge - it was £9.00, which works out at £4.50 a foot in effect - quite a difference.

The paper quality : it seems to be identical to that used for producing architectural plans, of the sort that accompany planning applications - so definitely much heavier than 80gsm but I don't know just what weight.

I had taken a pocket ruler with me to measure the "test" sheet and it was spot-on, as were the long prints when I collected those this morning.

Finally I now have no excuse for actually making a start on the "pipedream" layout.

Regards,
Stuart

posted: 23 Feb 2017 08:53

from:

Jubilee42
 
Rødovre - Denmark

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I have semi-inherited from work an enormous printer, which can print 91cm wide from rolls of 40m. I haven't tried it yet, but it comes with its own computer running xp, and as such will not be connected to the internet.

I have noticed that Templot makes some sort of internet connection when it starts. My question is whether it will start without an internet connection, and if not, can I do something to enable it to do so?

posted: 23 Feb 2017 09:45

from:

Martin Wynne
 
West Of The Severn - United Kingdom

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Hi Richard,

To use your large-format printer, I suggest you export a PDF file from your usual computer onto a USB memory stick.

You should then be able to print that on your WindowsXP computer/printer.

If it is a very large print, longer than about 4000mm, I suggest that you don't use Adobe Reader to print it. Other PDF readers are available which work better on large page sizes, such as Nitro PDF Reader or PDF-XChange Viewer. You should be able to download and install them in the same way via a USB memory stick.

Are you sure your big printer won't work on your usual computer? You can very likely download a Windows printer driver for it from the manufacturers web site.

regards,

Martin.

posted: 23 Feb 2017 11:40

from:

Jubilee42
 
Rødovre - Denmark

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Hi Martin, thanks for the (as always) speedy & useful reply! The reason the printer was offered to me (actually my school, but it will be mostly me that uses it) was because there are no drivers for it after xp. As the whole thing is at the school it will never be allowed on the school's network.
Thanks for the tips about the pdf readers. Normally one calibrates the printer before printing. If I do that with the huge pdf, can I be sure the calibration will hold?

Martin Wynne wrote:
Hi Richard,

Sorry, no, Templot won't work on a computer without an internet connection.

To use your large-format printer, I suggest you export a PDF file from your usual computer onto a USB memory stick.

You should then be able to print that on your WindowsXP computer/printer.

If it is a very large print, longer than about 4000mm, I suggest that you don't use Adobe Reader to print it. Other PDF readers are available which work better on large page sizes, such as Nitro PDF Reader or PDF-XChange Viewer. You should be able to download and install them in the same way via a USB memory stick.

Are you sure your big printer won't work on your usual computer? You can very likely download a Windows printer driver for it from the manufacturers web site.

regards,

Martin.


posted: 18 Apr 2017 12:36

from:

leswaters
 
Newcastle Upon Tyne - United Kingdom

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Stuart and Martin Many thanks for the tip about Heatons.  I emailed them over the Easter weekend and they replied first thing this morning.  For a 3.1 X 0.7 metre black and white print they have quoted me £7.50 plus P+P.  I think this is a bargain!

They have asked me for a JPEG and a PDF file.  I have created the JPEG file with no problems but seem to be having issues with the PDF file.  I would like the sleepers to be printed as well as the rails but the PDF file does not show them.  I also have concerns about scaling as discussed on this forum.  How do I go about setting everything up on Templot export so I get an accurate print?

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Regards Les

posted: 18 Apr 2017 13:14

from:

Martin Wynne
 
West Of The Severn - United Kingdom

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leswaters wrote:
They have asked me for a JPEG and a PDF file. I have created the JPEG file with no problems but seem to be having issues with the PDF file. I would like the sleepers to be printed as well as the rails but the PDF file does not show them.
Hi Les,

Which PDF reader are you using? Do the timbers appear if you zoom in on the PDF?

If not, please can you attach your PDF file here?

Why do they want a JPG file? It's not practical to print that size from JPG. If they simply want an image to look at for reference, it would be far, far, better to give them a PNG.

regards,

Martin.

posted: 18 Apr 2017 14:15

from:

leswaters
 
Newcastle Upon Tyne - United Kingdom

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Martin
Thank you as always for your prompt reply.
I was not viewing a PDF file but simply viewing what Templot was displaying ie. only rails no sleepers.
The problem is I cannot produce a PDF file for export via email. I get a message from Templot saying the following.

“This drawing overlaps the maximum print run size of 33 pages in length and/or 26 pages in width.
At you current paper size, this represents a maximum printed area of 1303.5mm and 416mm wide.
Unless you move the the page origin it will have to be printed in multiple runs, or art a smaller size, or on larger sheets of paper.
The current print size is 100%.”

There does not seem to be an option in printer setup to change the from sheet paper to banner roll.
The printers have asked for a JPEG and a PDF file and I have not queried it. I have though queried “scaling issues” but they assure me they are used to printing architectural drawings and what I send them will be printed to that size.

Regards Les

posted: 18 Apr 2017 15:11

from:

Martin Wynne
 
West Of The Severn - United Kingdom

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Hi Les,

There is no banner option for the PDF export.

Instead you need to set the size of a single large PDF page, 3100mm x 700mm like this:

2_181001_280000000.png2_181001_280000000.png

The actual PDF document will be a little larger than that to allow for the margins. The print shop will know what to do. But make sure you tell them to set "No Scaling" or 100% size when printing it.

If you want a black & white print, the print shop can convert your colour PDF when printing it. Alternatively you may get a better result by selecting the grey shades option on the above dialog for the PDF.

The timbers should appear on the PDF print, unless you have switched them off.

regards,

Martin.

posted: 18 Apr 2017 16:29

from:

leswaters
 
Newcastle Upon Tyne - United Kingdom

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Martin
That worked a treat that you very much.  I will repost here when I get the printed copies back.  Thanks very much for your help on this matter.


Regards

Les

posted: 21 Apr 2017 20:43

from:

leswaters
 
Newcastle Upon Tyne - United Kingdom

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Stuart
I received my drawing from Heatons today.  They have done a brilliant job and I am very pleased with print.  I will definitely use them again.  There are possible issues with calibration and they took the time and trouble to ensure they got this right.  Thank you for your original post and pointing me towards this company.


Martin

Thanks for your input as ever always prompt and helpful.  You made a point about calibration in one of your replies.  I am not sure if this is possible within Templot but an optional calibration bar included in the PDF output might be useful when printing out large drawings using commercial printers.  Just a thought.

Regards Les


posted: 21 Apr 2017 21:03

from:

Martin Wynne
 
West Of The Severn - United Kingdom

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leswaters wrote:
I am not sure if this is possible within Templot but an optional calibration bar included in the PDF output might be useful when printing out large drawings using commercial printers.  Just a thought.
Hi Les,

I am gad it worked well.

The PDF output normally includes the grid lines, which make a good reference for calibration. The default grid spacing is 150mm, but you can set whatever you want for easier measuring (in the output menu or the trackpad menu).

It's not possible to use Templot's printer calibration functions for PDF because the same PDF file may end up being printed on several different printers.

If dealing with a technical printing company, they can probably adjust the scaling to match the grid lines, if you explain what you want.

If dealing with a High Street copyshop, for important jobs, I suggest sending a small test PDF file to the copyshop. If you then need to make any adjustment for the final PDF, you can set the output scaling factor accordingly at output > enlarge/reduce size for print, PDF, DXF > set any % ... menu item. If you do this, be sure to include the scaling factor in the PDF file name (in case you later try to send it to some other printer), and be sure to tell the copyshop to ignore the file name and print at 100% on their machine, as before. Unfortunately there isn't an option to set a different output scaling factor for X and Y directions.

regards,

Martin.

posted: 22 Apr 2017 10:42

from:

leswaters
 
Newcastle Upon Tyne - United Kingdom

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Martin
I completely forgot about the grid lines and I have taken onboard your suggestion.  Just come in from the shed where the 3.1 metre long drawing is now laying on the baseboards.  I have laid a pre-built B8 turnout on the drawing and everything is spot on.  Very pleased with this outcome.  I was getting tired of taping A4 sheets together!!!

I have some more questions relating to the next stage of my project but as it is nothing to do with this thread I will start another.

Thanks for all your help.

Regards Les


posted: 22 Apr 2017 13:26

from:

stuart1600
 
United Kingdom

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leswaters wrote:
Stuart
I received my drawing from Heatons today.  They have done a brilliant job and I am very pleased with print.  I will definitely use them again.  There are possible issues with calibration and they took the time and trouble to ensure they got this right.  Thank you for your original post and pointing me towards this company.........

Regards Les

Les,
Delighted to know that all went well with your dealings with Heatons.  Good luck with the track building.
Regards,
Stuart



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