Issues printing to PDF

[Britt2026]

When I print to PDF the plan walls / dimensions etc. appear faded. I'm not sure what to adjust in the settings to get the PDF to look as saturated as the actual file. Example below. DPI is set to 600

 

[DBCooper]

See if the pdf matches the screen better if you are in print preview mode.  You will need to make sure your page setup also matches what you are using for the pdf.  If it does, then you will can probably just adjust your line weights to get the results you want.  

 

If it doesn't, then you might want to try a different pdf driver instead.  If all else fails, then you might want to post your plan files or contact tech support.

 

 

 

[BenMerritt]

Typically, this boils down to zoom factors and line weights. In a live plan view, thin lines can’t be drawn thinner than a pixel wide, regardless of what the physical width of a pixel is in plan units, so you’ll always get a dark, crisp line. When printing to PDF, though, the line’s thickness often ends up in physical units intended for printing. The line should come out as specified on paper, but when you view it on a computer screen, especially if you’ve got a large-format sheet scaled down to fit in a relatively small window, those lines can end up thinner than a pixel. Your PDF viewer will often anti-alias those lines, basically blending them with their (white) surroundings to make the best approximation it can of lines thinner than a screen pixel. If the lines turn the right color when you zoom in, that’s what’s going on.

[BenPalmer]

Are you printing to a 3rd party pdf printer or using Chief's built in pdf driver 'save as pdf'?  Reason I ask, when printing to a 3rd party driver and the plan has transparency, I often got pixelation issues, but using Chief's built in driver eliminated that.  I haven't tried that in a while, so it might not be your issue, but I thought it was worth mentioning just in case.  Good luck.