help with 500 designjet plotter

our office recesently upgraded to cad civil3d 2011 and we are having a hell of a time trying to get the ploter to plot right.

we have got it set up with out line weights and all the stuff need to plot out drawings. it have set up custom paper sizes we are using 18"wx26"h when we plot we pick a window like we did in land desktop and select center. when it it plots it is off center my 7/16" of a inch to the left and nearly 1.5" too long. we have tried to adjust the offset points to center the plot. and have made it centered left to right but still come out at 27.5 "

when i change the paper size to say 18x25 it just cuts off the top of the drawing?

any help would be great!

BTW im a Cad newbee i just started working here 4 months ago...

first time using cad.

Is your paper width 24" or 36"?

We have a DesignJet 500+ 24".

our paper is a 18" wide roll

That (18" wide roll) was not a wise decision.

What are all your plot parameters? You can post an image of your plot dialog box to save typing them all out.

we have used the 18" roll for years here and it works if we plot on out old version of Land desktop but not in civil3d

here is my settings.

Are you plotting directly from model space?

HP DJ 500 - 42? Your plotter is capable of printing a 42" wide drawing?

What's the scale supposed to be on this drawing?

What are you picking as your "window"?

Just out of curiosity what is the file size on this drawing?

If you are the newbie why isn't anyone at the firm helping you?

yes it is capable of printing a 42" wide im plotting directly from model space.

here is the space im selecting to plot the yellow box is the paper size the purple line is a border that need to be offset 1" on all sides of my print as per city requirements

its printing out at 18' wide and 27.5" tall with a 1.675" offset top and bottom and 1.00 on the side when i enter .732 on the x and 1.0 on the y

im picking the end point on the bottom left of the purple box and the top left of the purple box.

It does not appear that scale is important. Try checking off the box for "Fit to paper".

Too bad you elected to ignore my other questions.

the scale is important on every other drawing we do. this is just a example. all of them are doing the same thing.

i got stuck doing it because im the most computer savy and my boss (we only have 3 people in our firm) is working on a different drawing.

Attach a copy of one of the drawings to your next post. Someone here will take a look at it.

Here's a simple solution. Put a larger roll of paper in the plotter and when you create the "window" select what represents the corners of your sheet. Make sure to set your scale correctly and check off the "Center the plot" option. After it plots trim the drawing. Done.

i wish but trimming 30 drawing is alot of wasted time and not to mention wasted paper. it plots fine when you plot through land desktop on out old computer.. so that has become a simple solution... for now but i will keep playing around with it.

Attach a copy of one of your drawings to your next post. When I go back to work Wednesday morning I will attempt to plot it on our plotter but remember we're using 24" wide paper. That's my best and final offer. You're not going to find many Designjet 500 users on this forum who are using 18" wide paper.

I have never encountered a town or city that would except non-standard paper sizes for submissions.