Guides › Reference · Updated September 10, 2026

Blueprint and large-format printing glossary: 60 terms, plainly defined

Sizes and formats

ANSI A/B/C/D/E — U.S. engineering sheet sizes: 8.5×11, 11×17, 17×22, 22×34, 34×44 in. Full size guide →

ARCH A/B/C/D/E — U.S. architectural sheet sizes: 9×12, 12×18, 18×24, 24×36, 36×48 in.

30×42 — common civil/engineering sheet; sometimes called ARCH E1.

A-series (A0–A4) — ISO metric sizes. A1 ≈ ARCH D.

Half-size — a set printed at 50% (ARCH D → 11×17). Scale halves; must be labeled.

Full-size — printed at the sheet size the drawings were issued at.

Landscape / portrait — orientation of the long edge. Most construction sheets are landscape.

Scale

Architectural scale — fraction of an inch per foot (¼″ = 1′-0″). Scale guide →

Engineering scale — inches per multiple feet (1″ = 20′).

1:1 — plot setting meaning “print the layout at its true size.” The correct setting for every production plot.

Fit to page / scale to fit — plot setting that resizes the drawing to fill the paper. Breaks scale. Never use for production.

Graphic scale (scale bar) — a drawn ruler on the sheet that stays accurate even if the print is resized. Useful for checking.

NTS — “not to scale.” A drawing or detail that must not be measured.

Paper

Bond — standard plain paper for plotting. Uncoated.

20# bond — ~75 gsm; the default for permit, bid, and review sets.

24# bond / bright white — ~90 gsm; heavier and brighter; field sets and presentation.

Vellum — translucent, archival drafting paper. Specialty.

Mylar — polyester drafting film; waterproof, dimensionally stable; archival.

Coated / photo stock — for color renderings; not for folding.

Roll stock — plotter paper on rolls (24″, 36″, 42″, 44″ widths). Sheets are cut from the roll.

Printing and equipment

Plotter — wide-format printer for technical drawings; inkjet or LED/toner.

Wide-format / large-format — any printing wider than about 18 inches.

Inkjet plotter — sprays pigment or dye ink; most common for AEC.

LED / xerographic plotter — toner-based; very fast for B&W volume.

dpi — dots per inch; plotter resolution. 600 dpi is typical; linework quality depends more on file and RIP than raw dpi.

RIP — Raster Image Processor; the software that converts a PDF into plotter instructions. Handles scaling, fonts, transparency.

Monochrome / B&W — black-and-white plotting; grayscale where fills exist.

Full color — CMYK ink; ~3× the cost per sheet.

Lineweight — the thickness of drawn lines; set in CAD, reproduced by the plotter. Thin lines can drop out if set below ~0.13 mm.

Bleed — printing to the edge of the sheet. Rare for construction drawings; common for presentation.

Files

PDF — the production file format for plotting. Vector PDFs from CAD print sharpest.

Vector / raster — vector = lines and curves defined mathematically (scales cleanly); raster = pixels (fixed resolution).

DWG / RVT / PLN — native AutoCAD, Revit, ArchiCAD files. Not print files; export to PDF.

Embedded fonts — font data stored in the PDF so it renders identically anywhere.

Flatten — merging layers, transparencies, and markups into a single printable layer.

Page size — the PDF’s declared dimensions; must match the ordered sheet.

Plot style (CTB / STB) — AutoCAD files mapping colors/objects to lineweights and screening. monochrome.ctb is the B&W standard.

Finishing

Accordion / fan fold — folding a sheet into panels then in half so it’s letter size with the title block out. Folding guide →

Rolled — shipped flat-rolled in a tube; no creases.

Stapled set — sheets in order, one staple top-left.

3-hole punch — for binders; letter/ledger.

Coil / spiral bound — plastic coil binding for spec books.

Banded — sets wrapped with a paper band, labeled, kept in order.

Collated — assembled in sheet order, set by set.

Drawing sets

Title block — the boxed area (usually lower-right) with project, sheet number, date, scale, and seal.

Sheet index — the list of all sheets, on the cover or first sheet.

Sheet number — e.g., A-101 (architectural), S-201 (structural), M-301 (mechanical), C-101 (civil).

SD / DD / CD — Schematic Design, Design Development, Construction Documents. Phases guide →

Permit set — the set submitted to the building department.

Bid set — the set issued to contractors for pricing.

Conformed set — CD set with all addenda incorporated.

Field set — the working set on the jobsite.

As-built / record drawings — drawings updated to show what was actually built.

Addendum — a change issued during bidding. Bulletin / ASI — a change issued during construction.

Shop drawings — fabricator’s drawings submitted for review.

Submittal — any document (shop drawing, product data, sample) sent to the architect for approval.

Spec book / project manual — the written specifications and contract documents, letter-size, bound.

Stamps and approvals

Seal / stamp — the licensed professional’s mark certifying the drawings.

Wet stamp — an ink seal applied by hand to a printed sheet.

Digital seal — a certified electronic seal applied to the PDF.

Issued for — a title-block note stating the set’s purpose: “Issued for Permit,” “Issued for Bid,” “Issued for Construction.”

Turnaround and shipping

Cutoff — the time by which an order must be complete to ship the same day. Ours: noon ET.

Same-day — ambiguous in the industry; means either “printed today” or “shipped today.” We mean shipped. Why it matters →

Ground / Next Day Air — UPS service levels; Ground is 1–5 days by distance, Next Day Air is overnight.

Transit time — days in the carrier’s network, excluding the day it ships.

Job-site delivery — shipping direct to the construction site instead of the office.

Frequently asked questions

Why are they still called blueprints if they're black on white?

The original process (cyanotype, 1840s–1940s) produced white lines on blue paper. Diazo 'bluelines' replaced it, then xerographic and inkjet plotting. The name stuck. Today a 'blueprint' just means a large-format construction drawing.

What's the difference between a plotter and a printer?

Historically a plotter drew with pens; today 'plotter' means a wide-format inkjet or LED printer built for technical drawings — 24 to 44 inches wide, fed from a roll. Functionally it's a printer; the name persists in the trade.

Related guides

• Blueprint sheet sizes (ARCH / ANSI / ISO) — Every architectural and engineering sheet size — ARCH A–E, ANSI A–E, ISO A-series, 30x42 — in inches and mm, plus which to use for permit, bid, and civil sets.
• Blueprint scale (¼″ = 1′ and 1″ = 20′) — How architectural (¼″ = 1′) and engineering (1″ = 20′) scales work, which to use where, how scale ties to sheet size, and a 30-second check that any print is accurate.
• 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.