Please note: Posters and similar items are not accepted and will be rejected.
Printing to scale sounds easy - until you have to do it yourself. What size should you choose? What scale actually works? We’ll help you figure it out.
Printing drawings to scale might seem daunting, but it’s simple once you know what to look for. This guide walks you through it, step by step.
Start by checking the title block on your drawing. You’re looking for a note that tells you what size it was intended to be printed at — for example, A1 or A0. Sometimes you’ll also see something like 1:100 at A1 or 1:50 @ A0. These are helpful clues.
If there’s no title block, check underneath sections of the drawing. Sometimes you’ll find the paper size or scale noted elsewhere.
Once you know the intended paper size, print your drawing at 100% scale on that same paper size. This ensures everything stays true to scale, so you can measure directly from the print without any guesswork.
If you’re only printing for visual reference (and don’t need to scale from the print), you can select “fit to page” or “scale to fit” in your printer settings. Choose the paper size that works best for you. Just keep in mind these won’t be to scale.
Let’s say you have an A1 drawing at 1:50. If you print it on A3 and choose fit to page, it will automatically become 1:100. That’s because A-series paper sizes halve in area as they go down - A1 to A2, A2 to A3, and so on.
The A-series sizes (ISO 216) keep the same proportions, so folding any sheet in half gives you the next size down. Handy, right? Here’s a quick reference:
Still not sure? Just remember: A0 is massive, A4 is your printer paper, and A10 is a stamp.
Because each A-series size halves or doubles the area of the one next to it, scaling is predictable. A1 to A3? Your scale halves. A3 to A1? It doubles. Simple.
The table below shows the percentage you need to scale a drawing up or down between A0 and A4 sizes:
From / To | A0 | A1 | A2 | A3 | A4 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
A0 | 100% | 71% | 50% | 35% | 25% |
A1 | 141% | 100% | 71% | 50% | 35% |
A2 | 200% | 141% | 100% | 71% | 50% |
A3 | 283% | 200% | 141% | 100% | 71% |
A4 | 400% | 283% | 200% | 141% | 100% |
Understanding how scale works is useful, but you don’t have to do it all manually. When you upload your files to Clickpost, our system automatically detects the correct paper size and ensures your plans are printed at 100% scale.
No manual setup. No worrying about getting it wrong. Just fast, accurate prints, exactly as they were meant to be. Plan printing made simple.
Please note: Posters and similar items are not accepted and will be rejected.
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