Printing Large Sets of Architectural Drawings: How to Order A0, A1 and Mixed-Size PDFs
Got dozens or hundreds of architectural drawings to print?
Whether you’re a builder, architect or site manager, ordering large sets of A0, A1, A2 and A3 plans can be confusing, especially when your PDFs contain different drawing sizes. Here’s how to get everything organised and printed correctly.
1. Count your drawings, not just your PDFs
One PDF doesn’t always mean one drawing. Some PDF files contain several pages, and each page may need printing separately.
For example, you’ve received:
• 30 individual PDFs containing one A1 drawing each.
• 2 PDFs containing six A3 drawings each.
Check your PDF page counts before ordering to avoid missing drawings or ordering too many.
2. Check the drawing sizes and scale
Architectural drawing sets often contain a mixture of A0, A1, A2 and A3 sheets. You can check the PDF page size in Adobe Acrobat under File → Properties. For multi-page PDFs, remember that individual pages may be different sizes.
Make sure they’re saved at the correct paper size. Enlarging an A3 PDF to A1 using ‘Fit to Page’ won’t preserve its original scale.
3. Work out how many copies you need
Before ordering, group your drawings by size, colour and number of copies. This makes mixed-size jobs much easier to price.
| Drawing type | Drawings | Copies | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| A1 Black & White | 20 | 2 | 40 |
| A3 Colour | 5 | 2 | 10 |
| A0 Black & White | 3 | 1 | 3 |
| Total | 28 | — | 53 |
You have 28 different drawings but need 53 printed sheets. Remember, not everything necessarily needs colour printing, which can help keep costs down.
4. Order your plans online
At Original Copy Centre, you can get an instant price for A0, A1, A2 and A3 plan printing.
Select your paper size, colour options, number of drawings and copies required. For mixed-size jobs, simply add each group to your basket separately.
Once you’ve checked out, you’ll be prompted to upload your PDFs. We print in-house, offer free machine folding to A4 on standard paper plans, and provide collection from West Drayton or tracked UK-wide delivery.
Ready to print your drawings?
Get an instant price, choose your quantities and place your order online.
Fast turnaround • In-house printing • UK-wide delivery
Have a particularly large or complicated drawing set?
Some projects involve hundreds of drawings across multiple folders, with different sizes and printing requirements.
For these larger commercial jobs, email us with an outline of your requirements, including approximate quantities, number of sets and deadline. We can help check drawing sizes and provide a tailored quotation.
Need to send a large batch of PDFs? Once you’ve discussed your requirements with us, you can upload your files via WeTransfer →