Printing and cutting
Print leather patterns at actual size
PatinaCAD prints leather patterns at actual size. Every printout carries a 100 mm ruler to check with a steel rule, a one-time calibration corrects a printer that is slightly off, and a pattern bigger than the paper is tiled over as many A4 or Letter pages as it needs.
Why patterns print at the wrong size
Most size problems come from one setting. Browsers and PDF readers like to shrink a page to fit the paper, and "Fit to page" turns a 100 mm pocket into a smaller one without telling you. Some printers also print a fraction too large or too small even at 100%.
On a leather pattern, a small error adds up. A pattern printed 2% small puts the last hole of a 100 mm seam 2 mm short, about half a stitch with a 3.85 mm iron. The holes on the paper then fight your pricking iron all the way along.
Print a pattern
- Choose Output ▸ Print (Ctrl+P), or Output ▸ Export PDF to save the pages as a PDF file.
- Pick the paper and the orientation. A4, A3, A5, Letter, Legal and Tabloid are all there.
- Check the page count, then click Print.
- In your browser's print window, choose Actual size or 100%. Never "Fit to page".
- Lay a steel rule along the 100 mm ruler on the printout. Both arms should measure exactly 100 mm.
The ruler is an L shape, 100 mm across and 100 mm down with a tick every 10 mm, so you check the scale both ways. A printer can be right across the page and wrong down it.
Correct a printer that is slightly off
If the ruler measures 99.4 mm with the print set to 100%, the printer itself is slightly off. Calibrate it once:
- Choose Output ▸ Print calibration and print the page at actual size.
- Measure its two 100 mm rulers with a steel rule.
- Enter what they measure in File ▸ Options ▸ Print calibration.
From then on, PatinaCAD corrects every print for that printer. A PDF export leaves the correction out unless you tick Apply the printer's size calibration, so a PDF you send to someone else isn't adjusted for your printer.
If you'd like to check your printer before you draw anything, print the printer scale test page.
Large patterns over several pages
A tote panel or a bag gusset is bigger than a sheet of A4. PatinaCAD splits it over as many pages as it needs. Set an Overlap between pages so neighbouring pages share a strip you can line up and tape together. Or choose Scale to fit pages across to print a large pattern smaller, on the number of pages across you pick.
To choose the pages yourself, press F7 (View ▸ Print areas). Each page shows as a frame on the drawing. Drag the frames to fit your pieces, right-click a frame to leave that page out, or click a frame to put the 100 mm ruler on it. The pages you place are saved with the pattern.
Options that matter
| Option | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Stitching holes | Solid outline (the default), Dotted outline as on screen, or Dot at the centre to mark each hole's centre |
| Print in colour | Off by default, so everything prints in black |
| Line thickness | Thicker or thinner lines on paper |
| Margins | The border your printer can't print in |
| Keep the 100 mm ruler inside the margins | Puts the ruler inside the printed area instead of in a wide margin |
| Only the selected shapes | One piece without the rest |
Keep guides off the paper
Construction lines, a bank card you sized a pocket against, notes to yourself: select them and tick Hide when printing. They stay on screen, faded, and are left off the printout. Tracing images never print. To keep every line of one type off the paper, edit the line type and tick Hide when printing.
Tips
- Check the ruler with every new printer, and again after changing paper or print settings.
- Glue the printout to card before you cut round it. A card template lasts longer and is easier to trace.
- Print the stitching holes as Dot at the centre for a clear mark to set your iron or awl on.
- Fix the warnings from the pattern check first, so outlines and stitch lines print joined.
- Size pockets against card and banknote templates, then hide them when printing.
- For the full story, read how to print a leather pattern at actual size.
Good to know
- Printing makes a PDF and opens it in your browser's print window, so your browser's print settings apply. That's why the 100% setting matters.
- The paper starts as Letter when your browser is set to US or Canadian English, and as A4 everywhere else.
- Every PDF page is at true size (1:1), so you can keep a PDF of a finished pattern and print it again later.
In the docs
- Printing and PDFEvery print option, calibration and placing pages yourself.
- Hide shapes when printingKeep construction lines and size references off the paper.
- Print calibration and marginsWhere your printer's correction is kept.
Related
- Pattern checkCatch gaps a tenth of a millimetre wide, and fix them in one click.
- Card and banknote sizesSize wallet and card holder pockets against real bank cards, banknotes and coins before you cut.
- Laser cuttingExport your pattern for laser and cutting machines, with outlines and stitch holes kept apart.
- Printer scale test pageCheck your printer prints at 100% before you print a pattern.
- How to print a leather pattern at actual sizeWhy patterns print too small, and how to fix it.
Free to use
Start your next pattern.
Open the demo card holder and print it: the 100 mm ruler tells you at once if the size is right.