Pricing · September 14, 2026 · By Hardik, Owner — East Coast Blueprints

Half-size plan sets: what they cost, what they save, and who can actually use them

Half-size sets are the cheapest way to get more copies of a plan set into more hands, and a lot of firms don’t order them because they aren’t sure who’ll accept them. Here’s the pricing and the rules of thumb.

What “half-size” means

An ARCH D sheet is 24×36. Printed at 50%, it becomes 12×18 — that’s ARCH B, and it’s the true half-size. 11×17 (ledger) is close, about 46%, and many firms use it because it fits a standard copier tray and a 3-ring binder. Both come off the same PDF; you just choose the sheet and “Print at 50%” on the order form.

The prices

Sheet	Per sheet, B&W	vs full-size ARCH D
ARCH D 24×36 (full)	$2.00	—
ARCH B 12×18 (true half)	$0.75	37.5%
Ledger 11×17	$0.35	17.5%

On a 24-sheet set, three copies (72 sheets, so 10% volume discount applies):

	ECB	FedEx Office	Staples	Plans4Less
Full-size ARCH D × 3	$129.60 free shipping	$503.28	$324.00	$126.00 + shipping
ARCH B 12×18 × 3	$48.60 + $15 = $63.60	quoted	quoted	check site
Ledger 11×17 × 3	$22.68 + $15 = $37.68	~$1–$1.50/sheet ≈ $72–$108	~$0.75/sheet ≈ $54	check site

Big-box counters generally treat 11×17 as an ordinary copy job, so their ledger pricing is much closer to ours than their large-format pricing is; that’s the one place where the gap narrows.

The mixed order most firms should place

Three full-size sets for the permit desk and the superintendent, and four or five half-size for subs, the owner, the office, and the file:

Line	Cost
24 sheets ARCH D × 3 (72 sheets, discounted)	$129.60
24 sheets ARCH B × 5 (120 sheets, discounted)	$81.00
Shipping (over $100)	free
Total for 8 sets	$210.60

Eight full-size sets would be $345.60. Same information, $135 less, and the half-size sets weigh a third as much when someone’s carrying them.

Who accepts half-size

Generally fine:

• Subcontractors pricing a bid (they’re measuring off the PDF anyway)
• Owners and developers reviewing progress
• Coordination meetings, especially with a projector or a full-size set on the table
• Office reference copies
• Lenders, insurers, and appraisers

Generally not:

• Permit submission — most NJ construction offices and NYC DOB require full-size; some accept half-size for very small jobs, ask first
• Anything that will be scaled with a rule in the field — a ¼″=1′ plan at half-size is ⅛″=1′, and the 3/32″ text on details becomes hard to read
• Stamped record sets and as-builts for the owner’s archive
• Anything a municipality or utility will mark up and return

A note on legibility

Half-size works when the original was drawn with reasonable line weights and text sizes. If the full-size set already has cramped 1/16″ text in the schedules, half-size will be unreadable there. Print one half-size sheet with a schedule on it first if you’re not sure; at $0.75 the test is cheap.

More worked examples on the pricing questions page, and the size reference is in the sheet sizes guide.

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