TheSwamp

CAD Forums => CAD General => Topic started by: craigr on August 13, 2010, 05:05:41 PM

Title: Why do they print differently?
Post by: craigr on August 13, 2010, 05:05:41 PM
In the attached dwg, there are two lines.

The top one is just a normal 'line'.

The bottom one is a PLine.

When plotted in Black & White, the top line plots black and bottom plots light gray.

Why aren't they both printing black like I want them to?

I don't want to plot Lineweights, but I don't know if that has anything to do with this or not.

craigr
Title: Re: Why do they print differently?
Post by: mjfarrell on August 13, 2010, 05:08:17 PM
without opening the drawing...are you printing use CTB or STB?

are they both the same color, is their color BYLAYER or  BYOBJECT?

what happens IF you place them on same layer (a test layer) same color, same style?
Title: Re: Why do they print differently?
Post by: craigr on August 13, 2010, 05:10:53 PM
The Plot style is 'none'.

They are both the same color - set to 'Bylayer'
Title: Re: Why do they print differently?
Post by: mjfarrell on August 13, 2010, 05:13:33 PM
what happens if you use MONOCHOME CTB?
Title: Re: Why do they print differently?
Post by: mjfarrell on August 13, 2010, 05:14:20 PM
The Plot style is 'none'.


and that would be why they have no style   ;-)

a best practice...
always assign a NAMED PAGE SETUP
always use a Plot Style - Otherwise you can't really control pen weight, or color

without assigning a plot style I think that the polyline WIDTH is so small your printer is faking you out...

are the lines the same when you print to pdf?
Title: Re: Why do they print differently?
Post by: craigr on August 13, 2010, 05:20:25 PM
I gotta run for the evening.

I will have to play with it come Monday and explore .ctb & .stb and try to figure out what they are & how /when to use them.

I hate to change settings for this issue and mess up something else.

I guess if I HAVE to, I can explode the PLines so they will print right.

Thanks for the replies and have a good w/e.

craigr
Title: Re: Why do they print differently?
Post by: mjfarrell on August 13, 2010, 05:24:07 PM

I guess if I HAVE to, I can explode the PLines so they will print right.



craigr
You start exploding objects on me.....and I'll STOP helping you. 
Title: Re: Why do they print differently?
Post by: JCTER on August 13, 2010, 05:26:19 PM
Are there any "width" settings on the pline?

GlobalWidth, StartingWidth, EndWidth, etc?
Title: Re: Why do they print differently?
Post by: JCTER on August 13, 2010, 05:28:00 PM
oh, yep.

Select polyline
Change "widths" in "properties" to "0"
????
PROFIT!!
Title: Re: Why do they print differently?
Post by: craigr on August 18, 2010, 11:55:42 AM
PLine Width was the problem.

I had used one of our customized buttons that we use in PSpace Dwgs. It's width was set at .03. As soon as I reset it to 0, everything works fine.

Thanks for the help.

BTW, I REALLY didn't want to explode them.

craigr
Title: Re: Why do they print differently?
Post by: mjfarrell on August 18, 2010, 11:59:11 AM
PLine Width was the problem.


BTW, I REALLY didn't want to explode them.

craigr

I knew that...   ;-)
Title: Re: Why do they print differently?
Post by: JCTER on August 18, 2010, 12:00:32 PM
meh, it's no biggie to explode a pline if you don't use their widths, and are used to using regular lines instead.  My boss and I go back and forth on that crap. He hates polylines, and always explodes them if he has to use them.  I hate a single object drawn using many different lines, so I'll use MPEDIT to join all the segments back up into polylines.  We often work in the same drawing back and forth, so it gets 'fun' sometimes..
Title: Re: Why do they print differently?
Post by: craigr on August 18, 2010, 12:10:39 PM
I like the segments to be ONE entity when possible. It makes it easier when moving / manipulating them.
Title: Re: Why do they print differently?
Post by: mjfarrell on August 18, 2010, 12:16:01 PM
polylines are IMO always better to use than just dumb lines
as they offer far more editing options than lines do

Title: Re: Why do they print differently?
Post by: JCTER on August 18, 2010, 12:26:47 PM
I like the segments to be ONE entity when possible. It makes it easier when moving / manipulating them.

Yea, that's how the boss is.  6 of one, half a dozen of... mmmm donuts.
Title: Re: Why do they print differently?
Post by: Krushert on August 18, 2010, 12:53:29 PM
meh, it's no biggie to explode a pline if you don't use their widths, and are used to using regular lines instead.  My boss and I go back and forth on that crap. He hates polylines, and always explodes them if he has to use them.  I hate a single object drawn using many different lines, so I'll use MPEDIT to join all the segments back up into polylines.  We often work in the same drawing back and forth, so it gets 'fun' sometimes..

Same here. 
Title: Re: Why do they print differently?
Post by: craigr on August 19, 2010, 11:51:52 AM
I guess I said that wrong.

What I meant to say is that I prefer the segments of a line to be ONE entitiy, curves & all. So that when I have to move a line, I get the whole thing with one click.

craigr
Title: Re: Why do they print differently?
Post by: mjfarrell on August 19, 2010, 12:04:11 PM
I guess I said that wrong.

What I meant to say is that I prefer the segments of a line to be ONE entitiy, curves & all. So that when I have to move a line, I get the whole thing with one click.

craigr
You are exactly right in wanting to do it this way.  If for no other reason than polylines offer more editing options than just dumb lines and arcs.
Title: Re: Why do they print differently?
Post by: Krushert on August 19, 2010, 12:51:51 PM
Echo
    Echo
       Echo