Scanning and Printing Plans
 

Stopped by Kinko's today and asked about scanning some plans. They'll do it for $.75/sq ft and then the file can be emailed for somebody to take to their Kinko's and print for .75 /sqft. My question is how big (Kb) will that file be for say a 3ft x 6ft plan, ie: small enough to email? Don't want to overload somebody's mailbox with a plan. Being new to this on the internet, seems like a great way to trade plans. RainDave- do I have any you need? Maybe I'll scan a couple a month or so...
jeff

RE: Scanning and Printing Plans
 

Save it to a TIFF file and it will be 1 to 2 MB, small enough to e-mail. Just don't do it in PDF, @16MB. Works great to share plans.

RE: Scanning and Printing Plans
 

Be sure to save as a compressed tif.

Some people also create b/w bitmap files which are typically small in size. I don't like the dithering with bitmaps, so I save as grayscale compressed tifs.

The person who helps you at Kinko's should be versed in the various image file formats.

Also, check around for local blueprint shops. They are usually less expensive than Kinko's. I found one that charges about 18¢ per sq.'

David

RE: Scanning and Printing Plans
 

A good quality tiff is going to be anywhere from 3-20mb depending on the resolution (100 dpi vs. 300 dpi) and type (gray scale vs. B&W). I'd check around, I have found the amount they charge at Kinkos varies greatly from each individual location. Also, if you go there with a truckload of plans and do it yourself, they may give you a break.

RE: Scanning and Printing Plans
 

Thanks guys for all the help and tips, now have a better idea what to do. jeff