What's the difference between printing and plotting?

Former Member
Former Member

Hello to everyone. I am from  Suresh Steel Centre.I want to know what the difference is between printing and plotting. Can someone give me a solution? I'd appreciate it.

  • Semantics. We used to say strokes for processing the print file and print for spitting it out on the print device, but nowadays they mean the same thing.

    Connect r17 10.17.2.61 self-employed-Unpaid Beta tester for Bentley

  • Some of that terminology (at least in my mind) can be traced back to the last century. Printing was done on small format (ANSI A/B) sized printers, while plotting was done on separate, large format devices. Before such modern technology as inkjets and such, plotters used actual pens to draw the design onto the media.

    These days there isn't really any difference, and it's just choice of words. Depends how old school you are.

    MaryB

    Power GeoPak 08.11.09.918
    Power InRoads 08.11.09.918
    OpenRoads Designer 2021 R2

        

  • I agree with Bob and Mary, In today's world they really are the same thing.

    It used to be that printing was what you did with text documents sending them to dot matrix printers with the typewriter type ribbons. Plotting was what you did from graphics files sending them to pen plotters.

    A lot of companies used plotting add-on's: InterPlot (IPlot), now called ProjectWise PrintOrganizer, Zeh Plotting System (ZPS), Beyers Plot Station, etc. further enhancing the "Plot" terminology.

    Rod Wing
    Senior Systems Analyst

  • Fun fact as Sheldon Cooper ( from Big Bang Theory) would say..

    Its not exactly the same thing is when you talk to mapping or GIS people  or GIS type functions, plotting  points on a map doesn't always mean your printing it to paper or pdf it means mapping the points by their coordinates in a design plane using a CGS or relative to 0,0 by cartesian coordinates  from an ascii table or text file .. I think its an old throwback to the idea of a  plotting table  .. basically a light box with a paper map over it and  clear film or tracing paper over the top to protect the map and you  would manually plot points with pencil or markers by their  eastings and  northings... I did a lot  of those when I was in the military 1977-84 .. plotting enemy  position sightings , Artillery emplacements, mine fields aswell as other temporary man made obstacles...we also had  little wooden blocks for the horizontal plot table that we  moved around the map to represent  formations of troops like a company or a battalion with the NATO symbology  for size and  type ie Tanks or Artillery etc  good old days before PC's

    Lorys

    Started msnt work 1990 - Retired  Nov 2022 ( oh boy am I old )

    But was long time user V8iss10 (8.11.09.919) dabbler CE  update 16 (10.16.00.80) 

    MicroStation user since 1990 Melbourne Australia.
    click link to PM me