Would this be a print shop setting issue?

[winterdd]

Guys, I like to utilize fill style a lot on my plans. When I print to pdf is looks really good (shown below.) My print shop will get these ready and they are all blacked out. My walls and shelves have no transparency etc. Shouldn't their printer print the shades per my pdf document? I really want to get my own 24X36 plotter.

 

On all of my plans I do, I like to add a colored rendering of an isometric view of the home on sheet one title page. Those look like crap too from their printer but perfect on the pdf.

 

[joey_martin]

Looks like they are printing in B/W or gray scale. Color 24x36....in my area....cost a considerable amount more so be careful when you order color prints.

 

[winterdd]

$12 bucks a sheet here for color. I do it all B/W but their ink settings suck. A black and white rendering can be nice too. Staples proved that when I used them a few years back but they are $3 a sheet for B/W. I average 18 sheets for houseplans for normal sized homes.

[Chopsaw]

That looks about right for Greyscale.  It will always seem as though you are getting extra density when it is all just slightly different tones of gray.

[Ridge_Runner]

1 hour ago, joey_martin said:

Color 24x36....in my area....cost a considerable amount more so be careful when you order color prints.

Same here. Make sure you "run the numbers" before you bite for a plotter. Printing your own color print sets won't be cheap, especially after you factor in the the value of your time. I used plotters/printers for years, but only printed color for my own use. I get good quality B/W prints from blueprintsprinting.com. Mine usually come out of Florida, but they have offices around the country. 75 cents a sheet for 24x36 B/W plus tax and shipping. S/H around $13.50 total for std shipping delivered to me; pretty quick turn-around. You can get quick turn-around for considerably more S/H costs if needed.

[winterdd]

2 hours ago, Ridge_Runner said:

Same here. Make sure you "run the numbers" before you bite for a plotter. Printing your own color print sets won't be cheap, especially after you factor in the the value of your time. I used plotters/printers for years, but only printed color for my own use. I get good quality B/W prints from blueprintsprinting.com. Mine usually come out of Florida, but they have offices around the country. 75 cents a sheet for 24x36 B/W plus tax and shipping. S/H around $13.50 total for std shipping delivered to me; pretty quick turn-around. You can get quick turn-around for considerably more S/H costs if needed.

that's a real good price!

[robdyck]

20 hours ago, ChiefUserBigRob said:

Shouldn't their printer print the shades per my pdf document? I really want to get my own 24X36 plotter.

Print quality can vary significantly based on their settings. I use 2 print shops (depends on the client), one plac the prints are perfect as per the pdf, and the other shop prints everything way too dark. I've tried to work with them to get it right, and they can do it, but aren't willing to mess around with their settings. So experiment with various print shops, or if you always use one printshop, adjust your settings to suit the output.

Handling your own printing is a great way to lose money! Unless you've got help to manage the ink, paper, collating, or can make some serious markup on the printing, the lost time and hassle will almost certainly drive you nuts, and reprinting when you find minor errors will cost. It's a great way to lower your quality of life!

[Crusader103]

I'm just advocating for purchasing your own large format printer. I have two - HP 520 and HP 630. It's so much easier to set everything the way you want it, make variations between plans, and not have to communicate that to someone behind a counter. I always print one set of plans to proof before I print the rest to make sure there's no errors. I can print in real time and not waste trips to the print shop. You can always charge your clients for the prints, still less than the print shops, and make a little money there. I use poster board to cut binding strips. My kids put the plans together.

 

I do a lot of plans (I use 40 rolls of paper per month, so 6000 feet of paper) and can't imagine outsourcing that. My plotters have paid for themselves a dozen times over. And my kids are cheap labor.

[robdyck]

Definitely depends on how much you print, and what you're paying! I'm lucky, for Arch D I can get BW prints for about $3 and color for less than $5.

[winterdd]

3 hours ago, robdyck said:

Print quality can vary significantly based on their settings. I use 2 print shops (depends on the client), one plac the prints are perfect as per the pdf, and the other shop prints everything way too dark. I've tried to work with them to get it right, and they can do it, but aren't willing to mess around with their settings. So experiment with various print shops, or if you always use one printshop, adjust your settings to suit the output.

Handling your own printing is a great way to lose money! Unless you've got help to manage the ink, paper, collating, or can make some serious markup on the printing, the lost time and hassle will almost certainly drive you nuts, and reprinting when you find minor errors will cost. It's a great way to lower your quality of life!

i have had a few suggestions for other companies on here I am going to look into. They aren't as close but I need better prints.