technical drawings used to make blueprints should normally be created using monochrome plot styles.objects retain their color on-screen but are sent to the output device as if they were black (white on black backgrounds).for example, lines may be faint or seem “pixilated”. One way to improve output on monochrome devices is to use a monochrome plot style that substitutes black ink for all screen colors.if you try to send color output to these monochrome devices your plots may not be of optimum quality.laser printers) produce output using only black ink or toner (i.e. you may want to change some object properties at Plot time (only) and this is what plot styles were designed for.if your plotter can output objects as they appear on-screen (and if this is what you want) then plot styles are not required.You do not have to use plot styles in AutoCAD.
To resolve this issue, temporarily set your LWEIGHT settings to millimeters.Tutorial how to work With Plot Styles in AutoCAD If you use inches lineweights, you may find that your lineweight settings aren’t carrying over when you place smart objects such as plants and Amenity RefNotes. Our Layer Color and Block Color tools in the General Preferences screen are geared toward this setting.
The default installation setting for most CAD platforms is to display lineweights as millimeters (mm). Once you've applied STB styles to each necessary layer and/or line color, use the active Preference Set in future drawings where you need to use STB styles. Repeat this step for each line color that requires an STB style. Use the bottom menu (pictured below) to set an STB style to a line color. Repeat this step for each layer that requires an STB style.įollow our steps to edit block line colors from the General Preferences. (The example below shows selecting a style named Medium.) Use the bottom menu (pictured below) to set an STB style to a layer. Apply each of your STB styles to the appropriate layer in the Layers and/or Block Colors settings in the General Preferences – ideally using our Layer Colors Spreadsheet as a guide.įollow our steps to edit layer information from the General Preferences. You can make these edits to both layer colors and block colors from within the General Preferences screen.Ĥ. When the system creates that layer or inserts a block with a layer of that color, it will do its best to apply the assigned STB plot style. If the current drawing is set to STB (named) plot styles, you will be able to edit the Named Plot Style for each layer and block color used in that drawing. We've added STB capability to our software, allowing you to apply your STB styles (or those of your clients) to your drawings. To ensure that everything is plotting correctly, you'll need to look at the entire list of layers and ensure that each layer is assigned the correct plot style. Herein lies the main issue with STB styles: You have to pull up the Layer Properties Manager and look at each plot style to see how each line in your drawing will plot, rather than just looking at the line colors.
Here, you'll see the plot style that's currently set for each layer.
When you open the Layer Properties Manager in CAD (type Layer in the Command line and press Enter), you'll see a Plot Style column that lists a style for each layer. This type of setup may seem easy – until you have to get into the nuts and bolts of actually making it work. For example, you could have just 5 styles: Heavy, Medium, Thin, Ultra-Thin, and Halftone, for example. Here's why >Īn STB file can include as many, or as few, named styles as you want. If you want to use CTB plot styles (hint, hint), see our articles on:īecause CTB plot styles rely on a logical system of layer colors rather than a long list of layer names, we've found them to be a much better option than STBs.