Guides › Project types · Updated September 10, 2026

Bid set printing: how many sets, what to include, and how to distribute

A bid set is the drawings and specs issued to contractors so they can price the work. Unlike a permit set, nobody else dictates the format — but the cost adds up fast because you’re printing the same set ten or twenty times.

What goes in a bid set

• The complete drawing set as issued for bid (usually the CD set, sometimes marked “ISSUED FOR BID”)
• Specifications / project manual (letter size, bound)
• Bid form, instructions to bidders, contract conditions — part of the project manual
• Any addenda issued to date

Drawings are large format; the manual is letter or ledger. They’re separate print jobs that ship together.

How many

Count the invited bidders, then add:

Recipient	Sets
Each invited GC or sub	1 (sometimes 2 for large GCs)
Owner	1
Architect / engineer of record	1
Construction manager (if any)	1
Spares for late bidders	1–2

Eight bidders → roughly 12–14 sets. Public work with plan rooms can go far higher. Volume pricing kicks in at 25 sheets per size, so a 30-sheet set × 12 copies is well past the threshold.

Paper

20# bond, B&W. A bid set lives for the bid period — a few weeks — then gets tossed or archived. Paying for 24# or color on twelve copies of a document with a three-week lifespan is money you won’t get back. Exception: a color site plan or rendering sheet if it materially informs pricing.

Full-size vs half-size

Trades that scale off the drawings (site, structure, framing, MEP, tile) need full size. Trades that mostly count and read (paint, cleaning, some finishes) can work from 11 × 17 half-size. A mixed distribution — full-size to the scalers, half-size to everyone else — can cut the print bill by a third. Label every half-size set “HALF SIZE — NOT TO SCALE.”

Distribution

Three models:

Ship direct. Give us the bidder list; each set goes straight to its recipient with tracking. One shipping charge per address. Best for spread-out bidders.

Ship to the GC. All sets to one address; the GC hands them out at a pre-bid meeting. One shipping charge. Best when there’s a meeting anyway.

Plan room + hard copies. Digital plan room for viewing, hard copies only to the shortlist. Cheapest; requires bidders to be comfortable digital.

Addenda

When drawings change during bidding, issue only the affected sheets, numbered as an addendum, to every bidder. Keep a log of who received what. We can reprint individual sheets from the saved file — you don’t need to re-upload the set.

Budgeting a distribution

A 30-sheet ARCH D set, 12 copies:

	Sheets	Per sheet	Subtotal
Base	360	$2.00	$720.00
Volume discount (25+ sheets)		−10%	−$72.00
Drawings			$648.00
Stapled sets	12 × $0.50		$6.00
Project manual, 80 pages letter B&W, coil bound	12 × ~$14		~$168.00
Shipping to one address			free (over $100)
Total			~$822

The same distribution at a big-box counter at $6.99/sheet would be about $2,500 for the drawings alone. Cost guide →

Timing

Bid periods are scheduled. Order the sets three business days before the issue date and you have margin for a last-minute sheet swap. Order by noon ET and we ship same day; next business day to NJ/NY/PA/DE/MD.

Frequently asked questions

How many bid sets should I print?

One per invited bidder, plus one each for the owner, the architect, and the GC's own estimating, plus one or two spares. A typical private project with 8 invited subs prints 12–14 sets. Public bids can run 20–50.

What size are bid sets?

The size the drawings were issued at — almost always ARCH D. Do not shrink bid sets; estimators take off quantities by scaling.

Half-size bid sets — a good idea?

As a supplement, yes. Many GCs distribute full-size to trades that scale (framing, MEP, site) and half-size 11 × 17 to trades that don't (painting, flooring). Label half-size sets clearly.

How do addenda work with printed bid sets?

Addenda are issued as revised or added sheets. Print only the affected sheets and distribute them to every bidder with an addendum number. Reprinting entire sets for a 3-sheet addendum wastes money.

Related guides

• Permit set printing requirements — How many copies, what size, what paper, wet stamp vs digital seal, folding, and jurisdiction quirks for permit sets in NJ, NY, and PA — plus a pre-submission checklist.
• Construction document phases (SD / DD / CD) — SD, DD, CD, permit, bid, conformed, field, and as-built sets — what each is, who it's for, how many copies, and what paper. A printing-side map of the project lifecycle.
• Blueprint printing cost (2026) — 2026 blueprint printing prices by sheet size and vendor type, what drives cost, hidden fees, and worked budgets for a permit set, a bid distribution, and a full project.