Costs
What it costs to print a full set of construction drawings in Boston
Worked print costs for a deck permit, a new house, a commercial fit-out and a small multifamily set at published Boston per-sheet rates, plus what changes the number.
Printing is one of the few line items on a Boston project that you can price to the cent before you commit, because it is arithmetic: sheets per set, sets, size, color, finishing and delivery. This guide works the numbers for four common jobs at PLOPLAN's published rates so you can budget a set before the architect issues it. Every figure below comes from the same engine that prices orders on the site, at the Free-account rates current in September 2026; check the pricing page for the live rate card.
The five numbers that set the price
- Sheets per set. Read it off the sheet index on the cover page; the PDF page count should match.
- Sets. One for the permit file or inspector, one for the site, one for the office, one per trade that needs paper the same day.
- Sheet size. 24 × 36 is the Boston default for residential permit sets; 30 × 42 for larger commercial work; 11 × 17 and 18 × 24 for half-size review copies.
- Color sheets. Usually a handful: site plan with zoning overlay, life-safety plan, renderings for a review board. Everything else prints black and white.
- Finishing and delivery. Stapled, rolled, bound or loose per set; one delivery fee per order, not per set.
| Size | Black & white | Color | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11 × 17 | $0.45 | $1.50 | Half-size review and office copies |
| 18 × 24 | $1.10 | $3.50 | Half-size working sets |
| 24 × 36 | $2.49 | $5.49 | Full-size permit and field sets |
| 30 × 42 | $2.99 | $7.50 | Large commercial and institutional |
| 36 × 48 | $3.99 | $10.00 | Civil, site and oversized details |
Finishing is per set: loose sheets are free, rolled and banded is $2.00, corner-stapled is $3.50 and edge-bound is $6.00. Scheduled next-day delivery to any address inside Route 128 is $14.95 per order; Next Day AM is $19.95, same day $29.95, same-day priority $39.95 and a two-hour rush $49. Massachusetts sales tax of 6.25% applies to printing and finishing but not to the separately stated delivery charge.
Four worked examples
| Job | Sheets × sets | Color sheets per set | Printing | Total delivered |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deck or porch permit | 10 × 3 (24 × 36) | 0 | $74.70 | $105.48 |
| New single-family home | 36 × 4 (24 × 36) | 4 | $406.56 | $461.80 |
| Commercial tenant fit-out | 45 × 6 (24 × 36) | 5 | $762.30 | $847.21 |
| Small multifamily, bound | 70 × 5 (30 × 42) | 10 | $1,272.00 | $1,398.33 |
Take the single-family set as the anchor: 36 sheets, four copies, four color sheets in each. That is 128 black-and-white sheets at $2.49 ($318.72) and 16 color sheets at $5.49 ($87.84), so $406.56 of printing. Add $14.00 to staple four sets and $14.95 to deliver them to the site, apply tax to the printing and finishing, and the delivered total is $461.80. The deck permit is a $105 order. The multifamily set crosses $1,000 because 350 sheets of 30 × 42 are simply a lot of paper; that is also the set most worth splitting into full-size field copies and half-size office copies.
What moves the number most
- Set count. Every extra full-size copy of the single-family set above adds about $102 delivered. Ask who needs paper on the same day, not who might want it.
- Color. Color sheets cost 2.2× black and white at 24 × 36. Marking only the sheets that carry color information (Smart Mixed) instead of printing the whole set in color saves roughly $100 per copy of a 36-sheet set.
- Size. Half-size copies at 11 × 17 are under a fifth of the full-size price per sheet. The office and the estimator rarely need full size.
- Revisions. When six sheets change, reprint six sheets for each set holder rather than the set. A 90-sheet set with six updated sheets is an 18-sheet reprint across three sets, around $60 delivered, not a $700 order.
- Delivery timing. Next-day scheduled delivery is the cheapest option; same day is $15 more and a two-hour rush $34 more. Order the day before an inspection and the rush fee never appears.
How memberships change the same orders
PLOPLAN memberships include a monthly batch of 24 × 36 sheets, a discount on the sheets beyond it, and free scheduled delivery on qualifying orders. Run the single-family set through each tier in a fresh month and the delivered total is $461.80 on a Free account, $287.49 on PLOPLAN PRO (20 black-and-white and 10 color sheets included, 15% off the rest, delivery free) and $179.97 on GC (50 black-and-white and 20 color sheets included, 20% off the rest). The 45-sheet commercial fit-out drops from $847.21 to $471.11 on GC. The membership pays for itself in one order at this volume; below one set a month, stay on Free.
Pricing a set before you have the PDF
You do not need the file to get the price. Open the calculator on the pricing page, enter the sheet count from the architect's index, the number of sets and the color sheets, and the total updates as you change anything. When the issued PDF arrives, upload it and the order pulls the page count automatically, so the number you budgeted and the number you pay are the same.
Enter your sheet count and set count and see the delivered total for any size, with membership savings shown next to it.
Open the calculator →