ᐈ Autocad - Why Are Lines Not Visible on Printout?Tutorial ➡️ CGwisdom.com blog

Publication date: 06-01-2025 | Update date: 04-03-2025

There are several possible reasons why lines in AutoCAD are not visible.(1) Layers Turned Off: Make sure all layers containing the lines are turned on.(2) Layer Settings and Print Options: Check the layer settings in the manager and ensure that the print option for the relevant layers is enabled.(3) Locked Layer on the Viewport: Verify the viewport settings and check if the layer is inadvertently locked only in the viewport.(4) .ctb Print Style Settings: Check the precise settings of the .ctb file - print style.Read the article to learn more about dealing with such issues.

Autocad - Why Are Lines Not Visible on Printout?Tutorial

Sometimes it happens that we prepare a file in AutoCAD for printing and after receiving the drawings from the print shop or on the generated file, it turns out that some elements were not printed at all. Below are a few settings to check if some lines are not visible.

Turn on all layers

Autocad - Why lines are not visible in the printout? Guide, tutorial - 01

It may happen that under the pressure of a deadline, we accidentally turn off one of the layers. A very prosaic reason and very easy to identify.

Check layer settings and printing options

Autocad - Why lines are not visible in the printout? Guide, tutorial - 02

In the layer settings option panel (manager), when creating a layer, we disable the printing option. When drawing, there is no difference, the lines in the model are there, but they are not visible on the printout (the last two layers in the drawing will not be printed).

Check in the projection settings if the layer is not locked in the projection

If you are working on projections and the previous two possibilities failed, it may mean that the specified layer is only turned off in the projection. This is an additional icon, the third from the left, appearing only in the projection space, which turns off the layer in a specific layout, in the model the layer is normally visible.

Verify the .ctb print style settings

When the previous steps fail, you can check the detailed settings of the .ctb file - the print style. Here, in the line color, a very light color, very low screening, or line thickness of 0.0000 mm can be selected. In this case, the lines are printed very light or very thin - almost invisible. It's worth checking all the options. Change the line color to a darker one, set the Screening to a higher value, or experiment with the line thickness.

After performing these actions, the problematic disappearing lines should appear on the printout.

Read on our blog

Artificial Intelligence Tools in Interior Design
Interior Design, Artificial Intelligence Artificial intelligence is changing interior design by facilitating arrangement, visualization, and gathering inspiration. Discover the best AI tools on the market!
How Artificial Intelligence Helps Interior Designers?
Artificial Intelligence, Interior Design See how modern AI technologies are changing the approach to design, from automating inventory to creating inspiring visualizations.
10 useful SketchUp plugins you must know! Guide
Sketchup In this text, you will learn about 10 plugins that will help you work faster and achieve better results in SketchUp.
Sketchup - How to create Equipe tile material? Procedural maps in V-Ray.
Sketchup The current mega-trend for rustic, ceramic tiles continues. Learn how to recreate them in visualizations in SketchUp!