How to Export SketchUp LayOut Drawings to a Scale-Accurate PDF for Printing
SketchUp’s own help page says it plainly. In Perspective, the default camera, “entities are not to scale.” With Parallel Projection, “Line lengths are at scale” (Viewing a Model). A LayOut PDF that prints at the wrong size usually picked up the problem before File > Export: in that camera setting or in one of three settings after it.
Think of it as a chain with four links. The PDF is only as accurate as the weakest one.
About the sources. Every setting below comes from SketchUp Help (help.sketchup.com). Those pages don’t say which LayOut version they describe. They carry “last updated” dates of Sep 29 and Oct 13, 2026, so the steps match the current release. Older versions may label things differently. Where the help pages don’t cover something, we say so.
Link 1: the SketchUp scene has to be orthographic
You can set this up in SketchUp with one of the standard views on the Camera menu (top, front, back and so on) and Camera > Parallel Projection turned on. SketchUp gives the same advice for exports to other file types such as DWG or DXF: “A standard view with Parallel Projection enabled is recommended” (Viewing a Model). In LayOut, the Ortho button in the SketchUp Model panel switches a viewport to Parallel Projection too, and LayOut’s help notes that “By default, most SketchUp models are in Perspective view” (Perspective and Scale). A floor plan in a perspective scene can look right on screen and still have no true scale.
Link 2: the viewport needs a real scale, not a dragged size
In LayOut, select the model viewport and open the SketchUp Model panel (Perspective and Scale):
- Click Ortho.
- Pick a scale from the dropdown, such as 1/4″ = 1′-0″, or choose Custom and type one in.
- Click Preserve Scale. SketchUp’s help says this “makes sure your model scales when you change the size of its bounding box.”
The help page doesn’t spell out what happens to the scale when you drag a viewport’s corner, so after resizing any viewport, look at the scale dropdown again and confirm it still shows the scale you chose. If your office uses a scale that isn’t in the list, add it under Preferences > Scales so everyone picks the same one.
Link 3: the paper has to be the sheet you’re printing
LayOut’s Document Setup dialog controls the page. The help page names the dialog but not the menu path to it (Document Setup). Under Paper you can set size, orientation and an exact width. SketchUp’s advice is to pick the same paper size you plan to print on, because it “can simplify the printing process.” For a standard plan set, that’s 24 x 36 inches. The help pages don’t list an “Arch D” preset by name, so type the dimensions if you don’t see one. If you start a new document from LayOut’s Paper template category, the size is set from the beginning (Creating a LayOut Document).
A few other Document Setup settings show up on paper:
- Print Paper Color. If it’s checked, your background color prints too. Most plan sheets want plain white.
- Margins. These are hidden by default. Print Margin Lines puts the margin rectangle on the printed sheet, which is rarely what you want on a construction drawing.
- Output Resolution. This sets the resolution of raster and hybrid viewports when you print or export. It defaults to High, and Output Override defaults to Hybrid.
Link 4: linework that holds up at full size
A 24×36 sheet shows every soft edge. Two settings in the SketchUp Model panel decide how crisp your lines come out.
Rendering mode (Rendering Models, Working with Dashes in SketchUp Files):
- Vector: “crisp and scalable linework.” Some textures won’t show, and complex models can take longer to render.
- Hybrid: crisp vector edges plus image textures, transparency and shadows, but it generally takes longer to re-render.
- Raster: pixel-based, and “lines are less crisp.” It’s the mode for sketchy edge styles, back edges, fog and depth cue.
For plans, sections and elevations headed to a plotter, Vector or Hybrid is the documented choice for clean edges. If Auto rendering is off, click Render before you export so the PDF doesn’t carry a stale view.
Line weight (Working with Dashes in SketchUp Files): A viewport’s Line Scale defaults to .5 pt. It works as a multiplier on each tag’s Edge Width. SketchUp’s own example: for walls at 0.4 pt, set Line Scale to 1.0 pt and the Walls tag edge width to 0.4 pt. You can also leave Line Scale at .5 pt and set the edge width to 0.8 pt. If you’re matching an office line-weight standard, SketchUp suggests setting Line Scale to 1.0 so the tag numbers mean what they say.
The export itself
With all four links in place, export from LayOut (Create a PDF):
- File > Export. The Export PDF dialog opens with PDF already selected.
- Choose a folder and a file name, then click Save. On macOS, the options sit behind an Options button in that dialog.
- In PDF Export Options, decide on each of these:
- Pages: All pages by default, or Range for a subset. This is handy for re-sending only revised sheets.
- Use JPEG Compression for Images: This affects images in the document. Sliding toward Smaller File lowers image quality, so leave it toward Better Quality for anything with photos or rendered views you want sharp on a large sheet.
- Create PDF Layers from LayOut Layers: LayOut makes a PDF layer for each document layer unless you deselect this. Turn it off if you want a flat file.
- Show Export in PDF Viewer: Opens the result as soon as it’s done, which is a good moment for the checks below.
- Click Export.
LayOut also prints directly through File > Page Setup, File > Print Preview and File > Print (Printing Your Document). For large-format sheets, though, the PDF is what a plotter or print shop works from.
If the PDF still looks wrong
| What you see | Link to recheck |
|---|---|
| The plan has converging lines, or no scale applies | Link 1: the viewport is in Perspective. Click Ortho (or use a standard view with Parallel Projection in SketchUp). |
| The sheet measures a little off, e.g. a 10′-0″ wall at 2-3/8″ instead of 2-1/2″ at 1/4″ scale | Link 2: the viewport doesn’t have the scale you meant. Re-select it in the SketchUp Model panel and click Preserve Scale. |
| The PDF page is 11×17 or letter, not 24×36 | Link 3: the Paper size in Document Setup. |
| A thin rectangle prints just inside the sheet edge | Link 3: Print Margin Lines is checked. |
| Lines look soft or stair-stepped when zoomed in | Link 4: the viewport is in Raster mode. |
| Every line is too heavy, or too faint | Link 4: Line Scale and tag Edge Width are multiplying each other. |
Two checks before you upload
SketchUp’s help pages don’t state that the exported PDF page will exactly match your Paper setting, so measure instead of assuming.
- Page size: Run the PDF through our PDF page size checker. It reports each page’s dimensions, so a stray letter-size page in a 24×36 set shows up before it’s printed.
- One known dimension: At 1/4″ = 1′-0″, every foot is a quarter inch. A 20′-0″ dimension string should measure exactly 5 inches with your PDF viewer’s measure tool or on a test print.
Our checklist for getting a plan set PDF print-ready covers the rest: sheet order, mixed sizes and color sheets.
Printing it
We print the PDF you upload, as-is and to scale. Print My Plans doesn’t design or redraw anything, so a correct LayOut export gives you correct paper. A LayOut sheet set to 24 x 36 inches goes straight onto our 24×36 large-format sheets. We also print 18×24, 30×42, 36×46 and 36×48 (pick a size per line item if your set mixes them). Prices are $1.95 a page in black and white and $3.75 in color. Order by 3 PM ET, ships same day, arrives as soon as the next day.
SketchUp and LayOut are trademarks of Trimble Inc. Print My Plans is not affiliated with Trimble. Steps reflect SketchUp Help as checked on Oct 18, 2026.
