FAQ

Q) We have an older pen plotter....I have set up the pen types to match the carousel etc...and things do plot...however... the pens I thought it would use didn't....I'm not sure I've set the widths correct...would the widths in the plotter configuration match the pen type I'm using ... i.e. we generally plot with 4 pens 0.25, 0.35, 0.5, and 0.7..so, for instance I would like to draw the bearing text with a .35 pen...I set the color red (in this case) to be 0.35 pixel width? is that correct?

A) When plotting to a pen plotter, you do not need to specify any widths of lines in the PRINT/PLOT command. The width will be controlled by the actual pen you insert in the plotter carousel. Make sure that the colours are set in the drawing correctly to make sure you get the right pen widths on the linework you want. Keep in mind that the pen widths you are quoting above are in millimeters so your job has to be metric for them to work. You would have to convert them to imperial for an imperial plot. In your example; your Bearing is drawn in RED so you need to place the 0.35 mm pen in the carousel in the PEN #1 location. Everything in your drawing that is RED will then be drawn with this pen.

If plotting to a laser printer, setting the width for each colour is the same as inserting the correct pen on the plotter. You set the line width to the millimeters you desire and it will also show the Device Pixels - it is based upon the actual plotter/printer resolution available. All objects drawn in red will be plotted with the same width of line.