Industrial News

Digital reprographics has taken the place of the traditional blueprint. The benefits are crisp clean, detailed, fade-proof prints, the ability to resize and mirror drawings, digital plan storage and easy sharing of plans through the internet and email. However, along with the benefits come some drawbacks, particularly in the cost of reproduction. Not only do you have printing costs, but drawing files must be made compatible for printing.

As with blueprints, hand drawings are going by the wayside. AutoCad and similar computer programs are becoming the preferred method of designing building plans. The problem with these types of drawings is that they are in a vector file format. In a vector file, you have two points and the program recognizes that there is a line connecting the two points and fills in the line. Printers used to reproduce these large format drawings only print raster files. Raster files use a series of dots to represent lines and images. In order to print the vector files, they must be plotted or converted into a raster image. With building drawings having numerous pages (each page is a file) the cost can add up quickly.

Reprographic firms in smaller markets may be the solution to cut the costs of large document printing. While actual printing costs may be comparable in large and small markets, the cost of additional services can vary greatly. Most of these smaller firms charge lower rates for file conversion, plotting and scanning to file/disc. The markets they serve simply can not support the rates charged in many larger cities. Files can be converted or hard copies can be scanned to disc and returned via email, shipped on disc, or printed and shipped back to the architect, contractors, subcontractors, or client. In addition, these smaller reprographers can provide faster turnaround time and more personalized services to meet a company’s needs.

Henne's Drafting & Art Supply, Inc., located in Mansfield, Ohio, offers full reprographic services and affordable pricing. Henne’s has two KIP printers, with the ability to print TIFF Group 4, TLC Tiled Format, CALS Group 4, PCX Monochrome, CIT Intergraph and PDF Adobe files. Hard copies can be scanned into any of these file types. AutoCad and other files can be converted into PDF or DWF files. Turnaround on most projects is same or next day. For information on services and pricing call 419-522-4401 or email e-mail protected from spam bots.