DOT HATCH PROBLEM

[CHRI5000]

:evil: AHHH !!!!

Can anyone help after spending days on the Autodesk website i am still none the wiser.

We have upgraded recently to Autocad 2005Lt and have noted that when we use the dot hatch to denote and area. When it is plotted instead of getting a nice dot shaded area of hatch we get a pattern come out over the dot hatch. This pattern is not random as the same thing happens on similar drawings, We have ruled out the plotter and the drivers as we have tried several in the office and the same thing happens, so must be a software issue with 2005 anybody got a suggestion why this is happening???

[architech]

Could it be that your CTB file has the "dirther" enabled?
8)

[Exxit]

ok,

2nd attempt, can You post a *.dwg or screenshot...?
Did You try other hatches? :?

Lothar

[CHRI5000]

Tried the differ but had no effect so have attached a plotter winzip file containing the test.dwg, dca.ctb file and three jpeg showing what happens when we plot dot hatch using no ctb, monochrome ctb and dca ctb. As you can see on the small hatch scales we get the reccuring biger dot problem. I am sure the designjet 800 is able to print hairline so should be able to deal with 0.00 lines. We have tried other hatches and it seems to be only the dot hatch that causes this problem. Any suggestions!!!! All help appreciated.

[VERYCIVILDRAFTER]

ops: I also have dot plotting inadequacy and dysfunction. ops:

I’ve been too embarrassed to ask because I can usually figure plotting problems out, but in 2005 I’m having a problem with dot hatch patterns and dot line types not plotting to their desired line weight when the print company prints them from a DXF. The lines and patterns just default to teeny tiny little almost invisible dots.

[csiarch]

Hey, folks. Think architech was on the right track. With "dithering" enabled in your ctb file, the plotter is forced to break up image information it receives into a series of dots, kinda like a screened image but not really.

Dithering is used in color plotting to produce different tonal qualities (light, medium and almost dark) variations of basic object colors. Ever wonder how a light red color is plotted from 3 or 4 basic ink sources? Dithering is what "makes it so" (John Luc Picard).

It's quite possible that with dithering enabled, dot hatch patterns would take on a printed quality of a plotter on LSD, something similar to moire patterns.

[VERYCIVILDRAFTER]

Well the dither doesn't seem to matter on my slow but trusty in house plotter. I went ahead and changed all my CTB's to NO dither, but I'll have to see what happens at the print shop next week. I kind of wonder if this is a limitation to DXF files???

CHRI5000 sorry to hi-jack your thread with my issues. I'll be quiet now. :wink:

[CHRI5000]

NO problems VERYCIVILDRAFTER just glad we not the only ones with this problem.

I have tried the differ and this hasn't made any difference. I switched all the pens to no dither on our DCA.ctb file the monochrome.ctb file autocad comes with and this didn't make a blind bit of difference we still got the same effect.

It seems 2005 just can't handle the smaller lineweights !!!!

[architech]

hey guy...
try this CTB .... let me know if it works....

Later guy.
:mrgreen:

[CHRI5000]

ARCHITECH,

Tried the modified DCA.ctb had no effect on the dot hatch problem still getting the larger dot pattern as previously described.

What next ????

:roll: