sketchup help

[woodchucker]

I am trying to get an accurate full size image printed in sketchup. But it keeps shrinking the image. I have never figured out how to get full size images. And how to get it to print on one page when it's small, it always seems to print on a page border.

I have created a gasket for a compressor I am working on. I just need to cut it out, so it would be great to have an accurate cylinder layout so I can cut the cylinders out right through the paper and gasket.

It always give me a very small image, the total size of the image is 8" by 2.5 so it will fit on one page, but it is giving me a very small image.. I do not have fit to page clicked.. so it should full size print right w/o scaling.

What do I need to do?

[FrozenNorth]

What are your printers non-printing area, left and right, anything more than 1/4 inch and you will obviously have problems. Try rotating the image so the 2.5 is the width of the page.

Note I don't use shetchup but used to do pre-press support, so ran into similar probs before.

[woodchucker]

Already rotated, the 8" is supposed to fit into the 11" length.

My printer has the ablility to do borderless printing. So it has no real margin, it can go to the edge. But generaly .25 is about right.

[Leon]

Here is what you do.

1. Change Camera to Parallel Projection
2. Change to Front View/the straight on view that shows what you want to print.
3. Under File, Print Preview "unclick" fit to page. If yo have done the above and unclicked fit to page you should now be able to change the scale of print out to "1" and in Sketchup to "1".

Note: If you do not shape the screen to so that what you want to print os mostly what you see, you will get a bunch of blank pages.

[woodchucker]

Thanks, changed parallel projection.. I can not scale, it is greyed out.. see binaries.. Still trying to print 6 pages when my screen is zoomed into the object so it fills the screen, so how do I shape the screen otherwise??

[woodchucker]

See binaries, I am unable to get to the scale printout or sketchup.. even after unclicking fit to page. Still not 100% not sure how to shape screen

[Leon]

Reread my directions You must change to parallel projection AND a straight on front view. You must see a perfect 2D view on the screen or the printer will not allow you to print to scale.

When you have those set the scale will no longer be greyed out.

[FrozenNorth]

Ok, sounds like you have the basics covered.

[Leon]

Once you set the the scale to 1 to 1 you then shape the Sketchup drawing window so that the object is about all you see in the drawing area. The less area you see around the object the less bank pages will be run through the printer.

But remember until you set to parallel projection AND a non 3D view you will not be able to set the scale. You much choose top, bottom, side or front view also. Not a 3D view.

[woodchucker]

I had done the parallel projection. As far as the front view. I have the view straight on, not sure what front view is, I don't see an option for front view. I do have the view flat so I have no perspective.. It appears 2d, not 3d in its current plane. Is there a guaranteed way to produce front on view easily?

[woodchucker]

Ok, damn that was not easy. I had to change from 1/32 gasket to 1/2 inch to see that I was off by a hair..

Is there an easier way to get the view to be straight on?

[Leon]

I am not at the computer at the moment but yes there is an easy way to get one of the views I mentioned.

Go to View, Tool bars, and select, IIRC Views. This will open a new tool bar with 5~6 icon drawings of a house. Each icon represents a different straight on view of your model. One of the icons will even give you an ISO view, don't use that one for this situation..

[Leon]

This is the tool bar you are looking for, if this link works.

[Leon]

No that link did not go specifically to the tool bar but I did confirm that you need to "View" toolbar. And choose and of the straight on views.

[dadiOH]

And to size the window you do it just like you do any other window in Windows...move the cursor to a side until you get a double arrow, then drag to the size you want in the direction of the cursor arrows. If you move the cursor to any corner, you get a cursor pointing diagonally and dragging changed woth the window height and width simultaneously.

[woodchucker]

Thanks for your help last night. You got me to where I needed to be.

And I will investigate that toolbar..

[Leon]

Absolutely get that tool bar! It makes this 2D printing a breeze, you just have to remember that what you want to print is a 2D drawing so you must make the view strictly 2D using the One of the Straight forward view icons in the View tool bar.