Warning: Stop using the wrong paper scale on your plotter

I keep seeing guys at my shop in Seattle put bond paper scale on architectural sheets and it drives me nuts. I had a set of plans come back from the city last month flagged because the scale was off by 1/8 inch on a wall section. How do you check your plotter calibration before a big print run?

3 comments

3 Comments

sandra_bennett5929d ago

Are you checking the plotter's internal settings for paper size versus the actual media loaded, or just assuming it'll auto-detect? I've caught guys in my own shop chasing their tails because the roll width got changed out and nobody reset the machine. Seems like that city inspector would have flagged it if your cal was off, so what's your go-to test sheet before you hit print on the final run?

rowan_thomas8429d ago

@sandra_bennett59 exactly, it's the same as people assuming their GPS works without checking for map updates.

phoenix24629d ago

@sandra_bennett59 that thing about the roll width getting swapped out hits close to home. A buddy of mine once spent three hours recalibrating his plotter before realizing someone had loaded a half-used roll of 11x17 instead of the 24 inch one. He was ready to throw the whole machine out the window. Still makes me laugh thinking about it, but it's a good reminder to always double check what's actually in the machine.