Sheet sizes
24 × 36 vs 30 × 42 vs 36 × 48: which sheet size for your construction plans
How to choose between Arch D, Arch E1 and Arch E sheets, when a half-size set is enough, and what each size costs to print.
Sheet size is decided by the architect when the drawing set is created, but it is the contractor who pays to print it, over and over, for a year or more. Knowing what the sizes mean, when a smaller print is acceptable, and what each costs helps you order the right thing for each audience: the inspector, the framer, the electrician, the owner.
The sizes, decoded
| Name | Inches | Also called | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|
| Arch B | 12 × 18 | — | Rarely used for construction sets |
| Tabloid / Ledger | 11 × 17 | Half-size of 24 × 36 (roughly) | Review and field reference sets |
| Arch C | 18 × 24 | Half-size of 36 × 48 | Working sets for smaller projects |
| Arch D | 24 × 36 | The permit-set size | Residential and most commercial sets |
| Arch E1 | 30 × 42 | — | Larger commercial, lab, and healthcare |
| Arch E | 36 × 48 | — | Civil, site, and oversized commercial |
In Greater Boston, 24 × 36 is the default. It fits the standard plan table, the permit box at the building department, and every plotter. Commercial architects step up to 30 × 42 when floor plates are large or the MEP density is high; civil engineers often issue site and utility sheets at 36 × 48 so the survey scale stays readable.
When a half-size set is enough
A half-size set is the same drawings printed at 50 percent: a 24 × 36 sheet becomes roughly 11 × 17 (technically 12 × 18, but 11 × 17 is what printers stock and the drawing is scaled to fit). Text that was 3/32 inch becomes 3/64 inch, which is still legible for most people in daylight. Half size is ideal for the office copy, for the estimator, for the owner, and for reference in the truck. It is not a substitute for the full-size set the inspector reads or the one the framer lays out from, because scaled dimensions on a half-size sheet are wrong unless the scale bar is used.
- Print full size for the permit file, the inspector, and any trade that measures from the drawing.
- Print half size for reference copies, review meetings, estimating, and anyone who reads but does not scale.
- Never mix sizes within one bound set; sheets get lost and scales get misread.
What each size costs to print
Wide-format printing is priced by sheet size and by color mode. At PLOPLAN's published Free-account rates a black-and-white sheet is $0.45 at 11 × 17, $1.10 at 18 × 24, $2.49 at 24 × 36, $2.99 at 30 × 42 and $3.99 at 36 × 48; color runs from $1.50 to $10.00 across the same sizes. The gap between a full-size and a half-size set is therefore about five to one, which is why office and reference copies should be half size whenever they can be.
Exporting the PDF at the right size
The most common printing problem is a PDF whose page size does not match the title block. The set was drawn for 24 × 36 but exported at letter size, or exported with "fit to page" so the scale bar is wrong. Before ordering, open the PDF's document properties and check the page size. A correctly exported Arch D sheet reads 36 × 24 inches (or 24 × 36 in portrait). If it reads 11 × 8.5, re-export from the drafting tool with the paper size set to the sheet size and scaling set to 100 percent.
Quick reference
- Permit set for the building department: full size, as issued, usually 24 × 36.
- Framer, plumber, electrician: full size, one set each, loose or stapled.
- Office, estimator, owner, lender: half size on 11 × 17, stapled or bound.
- Site and civil sheets issued at 36 × 48: print at 36 × 48; a reduction makes the survey scale unusable.
- When in doubt, print the size printed in the title block; the architect chose it for the scale of the drawings.
Every size, black and white or color, priced per sheet with jobsite delivery.
See all sizes and rates →