Procedure for Generating TIFF File Output from

AutoCAD
By Paul F. Aubin

A TIFF file is a bitmap or raster graphics file format. A raster file contains a grid of
thousands of tiny pixels. (A pixel is the smallest element of a raster image file – it is a
tiny square of solid color). When several such squares of color are placed next to each
other across a large enough field, an image begins to emerge. The effect is much like a
pointillist painting. In general, the more pixels in a raster file, the higher the quality of the
image. However, more pixels also produce a larger file in geometric proportions.
Therefore, although increasing the quantity of pixels will theoretically increase the image
quality indefinitely, there are practical limits imposed by file size and display medium
(paper or computer screen). Most image editing and page layout programs like Photoshop
and In-Design create and/or open raster files. In general, an AutoCAD file which is
vector-based cannot be used directly in these programs. (In vector graphics file formats,
mathematical formulas - instead of pixels - are used to generate geometric shapes on
screen and in print). Therefore, AutoCAD files used as figures in your manuscripts must
be converted to a raster file first. In this document, we will discuss the creation of TIFF
files (one of Delmar’s preferred file formats) from AutoCAD drawings.
The process for created a high quality TIFF from AutoCAD involves creating a TIFF
Plotter, proper configuration of lineweights and then simply “plotting” the AutoCAD
drawing to a TIFF file. There are other methods to create raster files from AutoCAD, but
only the TIFF Plotter approach gives you the option to generate the type of resolution
required for print publishing. All other methods create images at screen resolution, which
is typically much lower than that typically required by your compositor. As mentioned
already, higher resolutions produce higher quality and bigger files.

Resolution and Image Size

Delmar requires a resolution of 300 dpi for TIFF images. Dpi stands for “Dots (or pixels)
per inch.” The largest image that can be accommodated on a typical page of an Autodesk
Press title measures 5 1/8” x 7 1/4”. This would be a full page figure with room left at the
bottom for the figure reference and caption. Since AutoCAD expresses resolution of
raster images as a total number of pixels in width and height rather than dpi, we must
multiply the dimensions above by the dpi to arrive at the correct TIFF resolution.
Therefore, the required resolution for a full page figure is: 1538 x 2175 pixels. (Please
note with the resolution of today’s computer monitors, it is possible to come close to
these required dimensions using a simple screen capture. If you are producing a figure
that will not be full-page, this can be an acceptable method. Use a screen capture program
like SnagIt for the best quality screen captures. More on this below).

Required Steps
1. Create a TIFF Plotter using AutoCAD’s Plotter Manager.
2. Create a Custom Page Size for the TIFF Plotter matching the pixel
dimensions calculated above.
 3. Create a Paper Space Layout whose Page Setup is set to use the TIFF
Plotter and the custom page size.
4. Create or use an existing Black and White Plot Style table for plotting.
5. Plot your TIFF file.

Create a TIFF Plotter

1. On the File menu, open the AutoCAD Plotter Manager

2. Double click the “Add-a-plotter Wizard”

3. Read the introduction message on the “Add Plotter - Introduction Page” of
the wizard and then click Next.
4. Choose the My Computer option on the “Add Plotter – Begin” page and
then click Next.
5. On the “Add Plotter - Plotter Model” page, choose Raster File Formats
under the Manufacturer heading and TIFF Version 6 (Uncompressed)
under Models and then click Next again.

Note: there is also an option to create a TIFF file with compression. In general, an
uncompressed TIFF, while larger in file size, will be more compatible with most image
editing software packages. Feel free to save it compressed in Photoshop or some other
image editor after you have done any post-processing.
6. You will typically not need to do anything on the “Add Plotter - Import
Pcp or Pc2” page, therefore, click Next to skip this page.
7. Click Next on the “Add Plotter – Ports” page to accept the default of Plot
to File.
8. On the “Add Plotter - Plotter Name” page, you must input a name for this
new plotter. The default name is: TIFF Version 6 (Uncompressed). Feel
free to type in a different name if you wish like: “TIFF File for Delmar
Books.”
9. On the “Add Plotter – Finish” page, click Finish to complete the wizard.
Your TIFF Plotter is now complete.
Create a Custom Page Size
We now need a custom page size in the right resolution for a full page figure. If you wish,
you can create other sizes as well for smaller images, or you can simply use the full size
page and crop your figures in Photoshop after generating the TIFF plots.
1. Back in the Plotter Manager window, double click the new TIFF plotter
created above.
This will open the “Plotter Configuration Editor - TIFF File for Delmar Books.pc3”
window.
2. Click the Device and Document Settings tab.
3. Under “User-defined Paper Sizes & Calibration” highlight Custom Paper
Sizes and then click the Add button.
Another wizard will appear.
4. On the “Custom Paper Size – Begin” page, choose Start from scratch
and then click Next.
The “Custom Paper Size - Media Bounds” page will appear.

5. For the Width, type 1538 (calculated above) and for the Height type 2175
(also calculated above).
Notice that the Units is set to Pixels.
6. On the “Custom Paper Size - Paper Size Name” page, type “Full Page
Figure” for the name, and then click Next.
The following message appears on the next page: The new paper size will be stored in a
PMP (Plotter Model
Parameters) file. Enter a name for the PMP file you are saving.
7. Accept the default PMP file name by clicking Next.
8. On the “Custom Paper Size – Finish” page, click Finish to complete the
wizard.
9. Repeat this process for any additional sizes that you wish to add.
10. Click on Source and Size beneath Media and choose the new “Full Page
Figure” from the list. This will make this the default page size for this
TIFF Plotter.
 Optional:
If you are only interested in black and white images, you can configure the
TIFF plotter to produce grayscale images rather than full color RGB files.
These images will be about 75% smaller in file size. A full page color TIFF
file is nearly 13 megs, while an equivalent grayscale image is only about 3.5
megs. Therefore, if you do not need full color, (and most Delmar titles are
black and white), set your TIFF plotter to plot grayscale.
11. Expand Graphics.
12. Select Vector Graphics and choose Monochrome in the Resolution and
Color Depths area.
13. Click OK to complete the configuration.

Choose a Black and White Plot Style Table

TIFF is a true color file format. Therefore, you can plot your TIFF files in full color if
you wish. However, in most cases, you will want your linework from AutoCAD to be in
black and white. There is a Plot Style table that ships with AutoCAD already configured
for this purpose. If you are using Color-Dependent Plot Styles, it is named
monochrome.ctb. If you are using Named Plot Style Tables, it is named monochrome.stb.
You can use it as is, or create your own. If you prefer to create your own, use the Add-A-
Plot Style Table Wizard to create and edit your own. Assign all Pens to use Color Black
in the Plot Style Table Editor.
Creating a New Layout
Now that we have a TIFF Plotter and one or more custom page sizes, it is time to put it
all together into a Layout. The Layout will incorporate a saved Page Setup so that
anytime we use this Layout, it will already have all of the correct settings to plot our
TIFF file.
1. Open a drawing from which you wish to create a TIFF Figure.
2. Right click one of your Layout Tabs and choose New Layout.
This will create a new Layout with a name such as Layout 2.
3. Right click the new Layout tab and choose Rename.
4. Name the Layout “TIFF Plot.”
5. Click on the TIFF Plot Tab to make it active.
A Page Setup dialog will appear. (If it does not appear, choose Page Setup from the File
menu).

6. In the Plotter Configuration area, choose TIFF File for Delmar

Books.pc3 from the Name list.
Note: If an error message regarding page size appears, choose Use default
paper size Full Page Figure and then click OK.
 7. For the Plot style table, choose Monocrome.stb (if using STBs), or
Monocrome.ctb (if using CTBs), or your own custom black and white plot
style table if you made one above.
8. Place a check mark in the Display plot styles check box.
9. Click the Layout Settings tab.
10. Verify that the Page size is Full Page Figure (this is the custom page size
that we created above).
11. Verify that the Plot area is set to Layout.
12. In the Plot Scale area, change the values to 300 pixels = 1 units.
We are doing this because the desired resolution of the final plot is 300 pixels per inch.
Recall that above we said that a full page figure measures 5 1/8” x 7 1/4”. Since we
created a custom page size in pixels, and the AutoCAD file is in inches, this scale factor
sets the size of the layout back to the desired dimensions based on our 300 dpi resolution.

13. In the Drawing Orientation area, choose Portrait.

Leave the remaining settings at their defaults. To save these Page Setup values for easy
retrieval create a named Page Setup.
14. At the top right corner of the Page Setup dialog, click the Add button.
15. In the New page setup name field, type “Full Page Figure 300 dpi” and
then click OK.
16. Click OK again to dismiss the Page Setup dialog.

Configure your Viewport and Plot

The Layout will appear with a single viewport in the center. You can either
erase this viewport and draw a new one with the exact dimensions of the page,
(5 1/8” x 7 1/4”) or you can simply grip stretch the existing one. It is helpful
to create the viewport on a non-plotting layer. This way the edge will not plot
as a border. You can also use this technique if you have irregular shaped
 viewports. Set the scale in the viewports as normal. In other words, if you
want to plot the viewport at 1/8”=1’-0”, choose this scale for the viewport. We
have already made the necessary adjustment for the variance between pixels
and inches in the Page Setup scale. Therefore, you can choose a correct
drawing scale for the viewport, and expect with reasonable certainty that this
scale will be reflected in the final printed pages of your book. (Bear in mind
that your compositor should be informed of your intentions here, as they
might otherwise scale the TIFF slightly to accommodate other page layout
concerns). Perform any other composition tasks needed to complete the layout
(titles, graphic scales and such) and lock all of your viewports to protect their
scale ratios.

Plot the File and Final Adjustments

You are now ready to plot the file and create your TIFF. Simply choose Plot
from the file menu and in the Plot dialog, choose a file name and location on
the Plot Device tab. (A default name will already be present, or you can
choose another). Once the plot is complete, you will have a TIFF file on the
hard drive in the location indicated in the Plot dialog. Open this image file in
your image editing software such as photoshop to check it. You can do any
post-processing that you wish. The file created will be large. (See the optional
steps 11 and 12 above in the Plotter Configuration area). You can resave it in
Photoshop with LZW compression to make the file smaller. This compression
scheme is lossless, (does not degrade the image quality). However, please
check with your compositor first before compressing files to be certain that
this is their preference.

Note: If you view the image size, the dimensions will be different than what
we established. The file will have a dpi resolution of 72 dpi and therefore will
 appear to be much larger than the sizes we designated. Simply use your image
editors image size command to resize the image to 300 dpi to see the correct
sizes. Be certain NOT to resample the image. This WILL affect image quality
if you do. You do not need to do this step, as your compositor will be able to
use the image at 72 dpi or 300. It is the total pixel dimensions in width and
height that are important. Notice that in the following image, there is no
change in the top width and height dimensions, only below in the ratios of
pixels to the inch.

The Final TIFF

Here is an exaple of the final output. Note that lineweights display correctly!