AutoCAD 2005 for Dummies

Table 3-2 Common Plot Sheet Sizes

Sheet Size	Dimensions	Comment
ANSI E	34?44”
ANSI D	22?34”	E sheet folded in half
ANSI C	17?22”	D sheet folded in half
ANSI B	11?17”	C sheet folded in half
ANSI A	8??11”	B sheet folded in half
Architectural Large E	36?48”
Architectural E	30?42”
Architectural D	24?36”
Architectural C	18?24”
Architectural B	12?18”
Architectural A	9?12”
ISO A0	841?1189 mm
ISO A1	594?841 mm	A0 sheet folded in half
ISO A2	420?594 mm	A1 sheet folded in half
ISO A3	297?420 mm	A2 sheet folded in half
ISO A4	210?297 mm	A3 sheet folded in half

You select a particular set of sheet sizes based on the common practices in your industry. You then narrow down your choice based on the area required by what you’re going to draw. For example, most architectural plans are plotted on Architectural D or E size sheets.

If you know the desired sheet size and drawing scale factor, you can calculate the available drawing area easily. Simply multiply each of the sheet’s dimensions (X and Y) by the drawing scale factor. For example, if you choose an 11?17-inch sheet and a drawing scale factor of 96 (corresponding to a plot scale of ?”=1’–0”), you multiply 17 times 96 and 11 times 96 to get an available drawing area of 1,632 inches?1,056 inches (or 136 feet?88 feet). If your sheet size is in inches but your drawing scale is in millimeters, you need to multiply by an additional 25.4 to convert from inches to millimeters. For example, with an 11?17-inch sheet and a scale of 1:200 (drawing scale factor=200), you multiply 17 times 200 times 25.4 and 11 times 200 times 25.4 to get 86,360?55,880 mm or 86.36?55.88 m — not quite big enough for a football field (United States or