Plan Printing Service

Plan Printing for Architects, Engineers and Contractors

Technical drawings need printing properly. Line weights that stay crisp, scale that's accurate to the file, and text that's still legible at 1:100 on an A1 sheet.

We print plans in A0, A1, A2 and A3 on 80gsm bond, in colour or mono, folded to A4 as standard. No minimum order, so a single drawing for a site visit is as straightforward as a full set for the project team.

Who Uses Plan Printing

• Architects and architectural technologists — planning application drawings, building regulations submissions, client presentation sets.
• Structural and civil engineers — calculations, layouts, section drawings and details.
• Builders and main contractors — working drawings for site, issued to trades and subcontractors.
• Surveyors — measured surveys, topographical drawings and site plans.
• Planning consultants — application packs and appeal documents.
• Interior designers — layouts, elevations and joinery drawings.
• Homeowners submitting their own planning applications, where the council requires paper copies.

Sizes

• A0 (841 x 1189mm) — the standard for site drawings and large-scale layouts. What most general arrangement drawings are issued at.
• A1 (594 x 841mm) — the most common size for planning submissions and working drawings. The default if you're unsure.
• A2 (420 x 594mm) — details, sections and smaller layouts.
• A3 (297 x 420mm) — reduced-scale copies for client packs, meetings and file sets.

Worth checking what your local authority specifies before ordering. Planning departments often require particular sizes and a stated scale, and a drawing printed at the wrong size will be returned regardless of how good it looks.

Folded to A4 as Standard

Plans are supplied folded to A4 rather than rolled.

That's deliberate. A rolled A0 needs a tube, won't sit in a file, and springs back into a curl every time someone opens it on a site table. Folded to A4, drawings go into a document wallet, a ring binder or an envelope, and they sit flat when opened.

It's what most planning departments expect for submitted drawings, and what site teams find easiest to carry.

Colour or Mono

Mono is the standard for working drawings, and considerably cheaper for large sets. Line work, dimensions and annotation all reproduce cleanly.

Colour is worth it where the drawing uses colour to convey information — services runs, zoning, fire strategy, landscaping schemes, or presentation drawings for a client. If your drawing relies on colour coding, printing it mono makes it unreadable.

Lamination

Available on A3, A2 and A1. A0 is too large for our laminator, so it isn't offered at that size.

Worth considering for drawings that live on site. A laminated plan survives being handled with dirty hands, left in a damp portacabin, or spread out on a wet surface — all of which finish an unlaminated 80gsm sheet quickly. Laminated drawings can also be marked up with a drywipe pen and wiped clean, which suits progress tracking and snagging.

Supplying Your Drawings

Supply your drawings as PDFs at the correct sheet size. PDF preserves scale and line weights reliably; other formats often don't.

A few things worth checking before you send:

Scale. Make sure the PDF is set to the actual sheet size rather than fitted to a page. A drawing exported at A3 and printed at A1 will be scaled up, and the stated scale on the drawing will no longer be accurate — which matters if anyone measures off it.

Line weights. Very fine lines that look correct on screen can drop out or thicken unpredictably in print. If your CAD output uses hairlines, consider a minimum of 0.13mm.

Multiple drawings. Supply as a single multi-page PDF where possible, in the order you want them printed.

Every file is checked for print-readiness and sizing before it goes to print. We don't edit or amend drawings — the file we receive is the file we print.

Specification

• Sizes: A0 (841 x 1189mm), A1 (594 x 841mm), A2 (420 x 594mm), A3 (297 x 420mm)
• Paper: 80gsm bond
• Print: colour or mono
• Printed sides: single sided
• Finishing: folded to A4 as standard, lamination available up to A1
• Minimum order: 1
• File format: PDF

Turnaround & Delivery

Production takes 2 working days from receipt of your drawings. Turnaround covers production only — delivery is on top of that.

UK delivery is £6.00 per order by courier. Collection from our Burnley production facility is also available, which is often quicker if you're local and working to a submission deadline.

Also worth a look: tradesmen site boards and waterproof posters for site notices that need to survive outdoors.

FAQs

What's the minimum order?
There isn't one. Order a single drawing or a full project set.

Are plans supplied folded or rolled?
Folded to A4 as standard, so they fit a file, a wallet or an envelope and sit flat when opened.

What paper are they printed on?
80gsm bond, the standard stock for technical drawings.

Can I have them in colour?
Yes. Choose mono or full colour when ordering. Mono is cheaper and fine for most working drawings; colour matters where the drawing uses colour to convey information.

Can you laminate them?
Up to A1. A0 is beyond our laminating width, so it isn't available at that size.

Will the scale be accurate?
Yes, provided your PDF is set to the correct sheet size. A drawing exported at one size and printed at another will be scaled, and the stated scale will no longer be correct.

What file format should I supply?
PDF. It preserves scale and line weights reliably where other formats often don't.

Can you check my drawings?
We check files for print-readiness and sizing. We don't edit or amend drawings.

How long does it take?
2 working days production from receipt of your drawings, with delivery on top.

How much is delivery?
£6.00 per order by courier. Collection from Burnley is also available.