Typically, an established company has created a company-standard plot style table, which is saved in a CTB file such as XYZCOMPANY.ctb. Q: What lineweights should I assign to the colors?Ī: That’s up to you, the designer, unless you’re working with a company that requires that you follow their standards. Color 8 is usually set up to print in a medium gray tone, usually at 30% to 50% screened, with the color set to black.
Q: Do I have to set up lineweights for all 255 colors?Ī: No, usually all you need for black and white printing are colors 1 through 9. Then I move to the next color on the list, yellow, and repeat. I usually go to Form View and start with Color 1 (red) and set the color to print black, then pick a lineweight for that color. In either Form View or Table View, click on a color and set it up, then go to the next color. Q: How do I choose the plot style I want?Ī: In either the Plot dialog box, or the Page Setup Manager dialog box, the Plot style table selector is in the top right corner.
If you don’t choose one, AutoCAD uses a default plot style file named acad.ctb, which gives all colors the same lineweight, and prints them using the object colors that you see on the screen. Q: What if I don’t want to select a plot style when I print?Ī: All plots are done using a plot style table. Carefully controlled line weights can make the difference between a crude, hard-to-read drawing, and a professional-looking work of CAD art.
The principles below apply to either PDF creation, or paper printing.Ī: A plot style is a color and lineweight table, saved in special file in AutoCAD, that tells the printer/plotter how to take the object colors in a CAD drawing (red, yellow, cyan, etc.) and convert them into various lineweights in the printed drawing.Ī: You need the plot style table to control the lineweights in your printed drawing. Keep in mind that “Print” and “Plot” mean the same thing in AutoCAD, and that printing can be done to a PDF file, as well as to a sheet of paper. In this post we answer some FAQs regarding plot styles. In the real world of CAD in the workplace, each company usually has their own individual company standards, which makes it difficult to know what is the right way, or the best way, to set these up. lsp files to include these changes and attached them with the new Autolisp files.Īttached Documents: AIALayers2009demo.lsp AIALayers2009exst.lsp AIAlayers2009neww.lsp Demo.lin AIA Monochrome.ctb Attached documents (for pre-AutoCAD 2009 compatibility) AIAlayersdemo.lsp AIAlayersexst.lsp AIAlayersneww.lsp Previously released, newly revised documents AIAlayers.lsp AIAlayers2009.Plot styles are often a subject of confusion for AutoCAD users. I have changed the two previously released. There was an extra letter “T” in “A-ELEV-PFIXT” and “I-ELEV-PFIXT” which is what these two. Since the release of AIAlayers2009.lsp & AIAlayers.lsp, I have noticed an error in the Architectural Graphic Standards. Demo.lin is included for the demo linetype. I have also included a plot style table (pen assignments) AIA Monochrome.ctb for plotting. I have written Autolisp files to include existing, new and demolition layers also based on the Architectural Graphic Standards, Tenth Edition of the book and version 3.0 of the CD-ROM. The corrected/updated files are now included in the file download.
Update (November 11, 2008): Tip author Mike Stachulak provides a correction to the original code and updated the tip to include expanded applications.
(Note that a separate download file, AIALayers.LSP, is included for pre-AutoCAD 2009 compatibility.) To use this utility, simply load the LISP code and type AIALayers2009 at the AutoCAD Command line. Layers are created only if they don’t already exist in the drawing, thus the utility will not interfere with the use of prototype drawings. The utility creates a long list of layers with linetypes and colors. Michael Stachulak provided AIA Standard Layers, a must-have utility for architects who create all the layers needed for the American Institute of Architects standards according to the 1997 AIA CAD Layer Guidelines.