Getting Large Architectural Drawings onto My Computer

Hi all:

I am a total novice and am flying blind here. I am getting ready to
make an online portfolio of my interior design work and have no idea
how to transfer my large floorplans into some sort of format for the
computer. As I said, I have never done this so pardon my lack of
correct jargon.

My drawings are 24" x 36" and are hand drawn architectural plans.
Since they are finely detailed, I am concerned with making a crisp and
detailed "transfer". Do I take high quality photos? If so, what
technical info should I know? Do I then take the photos and scan them
or have slides made? Is there a large enough scanner out there? As
you can see, I really don't know where to start.

Any info will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

"Jess" wrote in message
oups.com...
Hi all:

I am a total novice and am flying blind here. I am getting ready to
make an online portfolio of my interior design work and have no idea
how to transfer my large floorplans into some sort of format for the
computer. As I said, I have never done this so pardon my lack of
correct jargon.

My drawings are 24" x 36" and are hand drawn architectural plans.
Since they are finely detailed, I am concerned with making a crisp and
detailed "transfer". Do I take high quality photos? If so, what
technical info should I know? Do I then take the photos and scan them
or have slides made? Is there a large enough scanner out there? As
you can see, I really don't know where to start.

Any info will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!


Go to your local Surveyor's Office and ask them to scan them for you.

NM

Jess wrote:
I am a total novice and am flying blind here. I am
getting ready to make an online portfolio of my interior
design work and have no idea how to transfer my large
floorplans into some sort of format for the computer.

Check your city's Yellow Pages for blueprint reproduction services.
They can scan the documents for you and transfer them to disk or CD.
Here in the Houston, Texas, area, there are several companies that
offer that service. Just vet them to see who uses what format (you'll
want something that a majority of folks can see on their computers) and
what the cost will be. We recently had some 50-year-old house plans,
ten 24"x36" pages, copied, and the cost for five copies and a CD was
less than $100.

Long life, prosperity and chocolate,
Raz

In article .com,
"Jess" wrote:

Hi all:

I am a total novice and am flying blind here. I am getting ready to
make an online portfolio of my interior design work and have no idea
how to transfer my large floorplans into some sort of format for the
computer. As I said, I have never done this so pardon my lack of
correct jargon.

My drawings are 24" x 36" and are hand drawn architectural plans.
Since they are finely detailed, I am concerned with making a crisp and
detailed "transfer". Do I take high quality photos? If so, what
technical info should I know? Do I then take the photos and scan them
or have slides made? Is there a large enough scanner out there? As
you can see, I really don't know where to start.

Any info will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Most home scanners still work on A4 only, meaning you'd be scanning 12
sheets per drawing - a very time-consuming way of doing things. There
are plenty of printing scanning services out there but prices can be
rather high. Hiring a larger A2 or A1 scanner (if you can carry the
thing) for a day or two may be viable.

Some cameras have a *text* mode giving a very high contrast image, but
balanced lighting is essential unless you enjoy extensive erasering in
Photoshop.

How many drawings are there and why do you want to scan?

Hi and thanks for helping. I have three drawings and I am trying to
make an online portfolio. I simply have no idea how to tranfer a large
drawing into the right format for uploading onto my website.
Frustrating! But you are all giving me great ideas and I thank you.

On 20 Feb 2006 14:01:30 -0800, "Jess" wrote:

Hi and thanks for helping. I have three drawings and I am trying to
make an online portfolio. I simply have no idea how to tranfer a large
drawing into the right format for uploading onto my website.
Frustrating! But you are all giving me great ideas and I thank you.

If you are just trying to display the drawings as small images on your
website, I'd take a photo with a good digital camera and be done with
it. If you need the drawings to be more detailed or accurate than
that, then have them scanned by someone who has the equipment to do it
in one pass.

jc