Printing Documents - SmartSketch - Help

SmartSketch Help

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Smart Engineering Manager Version
11
SmartSketch Version
11

You can print your documents on many different devices ranging from dot matrix printers to high-end laser printers. Except for the color settings and a few special effects your drawing prints exactly as it appears on the drawing sheet.

Preparing to print

The printer you use affects the way the current document prints and displays text on the screen. Before you print a document, you must install and select the printer that you want to use. For more information about installation, see your printer documentation.

Before you print, you will want to choose a printer and the settings for it. To do this, click Print on the File menu and then click the printer that you want to use. You can set properties for the printer by clicking Properties. To set the print range and scale, click Settings.

Printing a document

As you work on a document, you might need to send a copy of it to a specified printer, plotter, or file. You can click Print on the File menu to do the following:

  • Print an entire document or specific sheets from a document.

  • Print a draft copy of a document.

  • Set printing options, such as the range of sheets or number of copies to print.

The software supports WSYWIG plotting, using standard Windows® plotting capabilities. The software also supports pen plotters, subject to the limitations of the device driver. Elements appear the same on the screen and in the printed document.

  • In SmartSketch however, the fonts that you choose can affect the match between what you see on the screen and what appears on the printed page. Three kinds of fonts affect your work: scalable fonts, printer fonts, and screen fonts. Use scalable fonts, such as TrueType® fonts, to confirm that what you see on the screen is what appears on the printed page. If you use printer fonts, you must have a corresponding screen font and font size to display each font on the screen. If each screen font you use has a matching printer font, the screen display of the document will closely match the printed document.

Printing part of a document

You can print selected sheets in a document or a selected area. This practice is handy if you are working on a complex drawing and you want to print only certain parts to proof them.

To print selected sheets in SmartSketch, first select sheets in the document to make them active. To do this, you can click the drawing sheet tabs of the sheets that you want while pressing Ctrl. Then, you select Print on the File menu and click Selected Sheets on the dialog box.

When you select several sheets in the Sheets list, all the selected sheets are printed as one composite drawing like layers on top of one another. The software uses the scale, paper size, and orientation of the active sheet for printing the final document.

To print a selected area, you should first select the drawing sheet to print. Then, select Print on the File menu and click Print Area on the dialog box. After you click OK, a set of crosshairs appears. You drag over the area to print. The Print Area dialog box then automatically displays and allows you to set options for printing the selected area.

Printing time

Required time for printing varies by document. Expect longer print times when you have drawings that contain a large number of the following items:

  • Curved elements

  • Many fills that have complex colors, patterns, or textures

  • Large bitmaps

  • Links to various documents

The type of printer that you have also affects the printing time. PostScript® printers print faster than LaserJet printers because they can calculate faster. Some older versions of PostScript printers are slower when compared to the newer ones. The type of controller boards and the amount of RAM in the printer also affect your printing times.