Generating a Black & White DWF file from Black & White Test Plots

The background for Generating a Black & White DWF file from Color Test Plots was covered in the preceding 5 posts from last week.

1. AutoCAD Drawing Layouts
2. AutoCAD PLOT command
3. AutoCAD Sheet Set Manager
4. AutoCAD PUBLISH Command
5. AutoCAD Drawing Named Page Setups

Using AutoCAD 2006 to generate a multisheet DWF file for printing on a black and white device requires a two part process. The first part is a one time setup. The second part is executed each time a DWF file is generated.

One Time Setup

1. Arrange your sheets in a hierarchy using the Sheet Set Manager.
2. Ensure that each layout has been set for a particular black & white device or to the DWF6 ePlot pc3 file. The Grayscale.ctb or monochrome.ctb file can be selected under the Plot Style table (pen assignments) option using the Page Setup Manager.

Each Time to Generate a DWF File

1. Open the sheet set using the Sheet Set Manager.
2. Select the appropriate node in the Sheet Set Manager tree that contains the sheets you wish to send to the reprographer.
3. Click on the Publish to DWF icon that appears in the Sheet Set Manager toolbar.
4. Accept the default file name or specify a new one.
5. AutoCAD publishes the sheets to a multisheet DWF file and notifies you when complete.
6. Check the Plot and Publish Details log for errors.

This process described generates a multisheet DWF file for black and white printing using the Sheet Set Manager. The Sheet Set Manager is available in AutoCAD 2004 and later versions. It is also available in the free Autodesk DWG TrueView which can be downloaded from the Autodesk web site.