Print Sketch to A4

uldema

Hello, I have a Sketch I want to fit on a real object before I continue with my design. I want to print my sketch so I turn it into a drawing (https://cad.onshape.com/documents/5c63beaa7a9504a9da2b7509/w/0524c4f347db9b399ce4f6ef/e/392e6a8a81b9c569baa56b7b) and set is to scale 1:1 and A4.

When I print this it is not 1:1. The A4 set is the size of the rectangle on screen, so the border, not the page. The dimensions are therefore wrong.
The sheet property has Size A4. This is not true, the sheet, or white area on screen, is not A4 size. 

Is there any way to print the 1:1 scale drawing?

wout_theelen541

Have you tried swtiching to a full sized template? You might also need to change your printer settings to "fit to printable area"

uldema

wout_theelen541 said:

Have you tried swtiching to a full sized template? You might also need to change your printer settings to "fit to printable area"

I do not know what a 'full sized template' is. When I look at the Public templates I cannot find anything called 'full sized'.

My printing menu had no 'fit to printable area' or anything like it, it has 'autofit' but who knows what it does..

uldema

The drawing was set to A4, the PDF file generated was set to A4 and the line when measured in a PDF tool had the right length.
The problem is in the printing step, printers and printer drivers seem to be 'special' about fitting and scaling. My laser printer did not print the drawing well, no matter what settings I tried. The next door photo printer printed it exactly right, no settings or anything done.

tim_hess

I have sometimes had a problem where the software preparing the print will shrink a full-size image to put a small border around the edges, so you need to tell it to scale to 100% specifically. 

nick_papageorge073

I do this all the time, but I always test a printer to be sure its printing 1:1, with dimensions on a drawing and using calipers on the printout.

I've noticed a few things, and these may all be printer dependent, I don't know.

Sometimes on the printer settings "full scale" and manually typing "100%" for the scale get a different result. I have no idea why. So I always hand type 100%.

My browser made a difference before. I think I was using Firefox, and it had a built-in pdf reader. I'd send the drawing to my printer from firefox, and it would not be 1:1. But if I opened the same drawing from MS Edge, it would print 1:1, and if I opened the same drawing using a standalone pdf reader, it would print 1:1. This was 2 years ago, I use Chrome now and it prints 1:1.

Maybe try all of the above.... If one of those get you a perfect print, write down all the settings and use it going forward.

steve_shubin

My plotter is plug-and-play. There was no driver that had to be installed.

But I would think there are still printers and platters that do need driver installs

If your printer is such that it does need a driver install, then I would go to the website for the manufacture of that printer and see if they have a more current driver for it

By the way, I made a simple cuboid. Then made a drawing and used the ANSI D template with the scale set at 1:1

Inserted a front and top view into that drawing.

Exported and then opened that PDF in a program called PDF Expert

Went to print and changed the paper size to ARCH D because that’s the roll size I have in my plotter

The print size was exactly what it should be. So, on my end, Onshape is interfacing with another program and plotter the way it should — which leads me to think, maybe it’s your driver ??