Printing swatches to scale on your printer

I supply the proofs in Adobe Acrobat format which means you will need to have the Adobe reader installed on your computer.   If you have, you can continue, if not you need to click the link opposite to go to the Adobe download page or you can also click here.

Tip. Be careful if you don't want Google Toolbar and other utilities downloading with the reader.  Make sure you de-select the tick boxes before you proceed!

Proof Swatch's

I believe it is very important for people to know exactly what they will receive.  For that reason I carefully prepare a proof swatch which details everything that will be supplied including those all important dimensions.

Where necessary (and if it's possible) I will supply items for you to print so you can offer them up to the model to assess suitability.  This is useful with smaller insignia and unusual markings where there is no dimensional information available.   Naturally we are limited to the output of your printer.

It is important to print the paper to scale, which is done by adjusting the print options for the Adobe document.

Download the sample file.

We are going to use the swatch shown in the image above.  The markings are for a Spitfire Vb serial BL255 flown by Don Gentile USAAF.  All of the markings are shown in a reduced scale, but the nose art is to scale and we are going to have a go at printing that to scale!  So if you want to have a go yourself please download the file here.

Save the file to your computer.

When you receive the swatch it will be as a file attachment to your e-mail.  The best thing is to save the file out of your e-mail system to your hard disk so that you have the file as an Adobe acrobat document in a folder rather than as an attachment.

If you are going to use the sample download above the best way to save the file by right clicking over the link and selecting save target as.  Alternatively if you have clicked on the link and loaded the file into your browser (as shown opposite) you can save the file by clicking on the Save icon (looks like a floppy drive) on the Adobe plug-in tool bar.

Open the file in Adobe reader.

Now you have the file just double click the filename to open.  I am using Adobe reader 8.1.2 here, so if you have a different version it could look slightly different, but it should look work in much the same way!

Alter the print options.

To start the printing process you should select the printer icon from the Tool Bar, or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl+P and you should get the Print options window.

In the section called Page Scaling you should select the pull down arrow and select "None" for the scaling.  This forces the print to sale 1:1.

In an ideal world it would be great if that was the case but it all depends on what printer you have and how it manages the margins as to whether it will work first time!

With the amendment made select the "OK" button to print.

Check the scaling.

Hopefully you will have noticed on the swatch there are 2 ruler lines with calibration marks for you to check the scaling.  Simply measure the distance between the markers to see if the scaling is correct, or if indeed there is an adjustment required.  This is where you find out how good your printer is!  Most people with laser printers will find that the scaling is OK as shown in the image opposite.

If the scaling is wrong.

If you see an error in the measurement that is worthy of correction you should check the printer settings for your printer to see if there is any scaling over riding the Adobe settings.  You should consult your Printer manufacturers user manual for guidance if necessary

With your swatch printed to scale you can cut out the relevant element of the artwork and offer it up to your model for assessment. 

If you have any questions on swatches, please do not hesitate to contact me here.