[meleliza]

OK, I apologize for my short temper but I’ve already lost an hour of my very short morning on this and this is why I *hate* PDF patterns. Anything digital is about 5x the time and effort of just using paper. And it causes about 1000x the frustration. I can order a paper pattern in a matter of minutes and be back to my busy day. Still, this is like the cutest skirt in history, so I’m going to take a breath and perservere.

I thought I remembered a blog post about printing these things, but I can’t find it.

I’m at the Staples Copy and Print website and figured out that what I want is an “engineering print.” It’s 36×48, black and white and about $7 per page. For a minute, I thought I was very clever having finally found an easy way to get that large sheet. However, the PDF for the pattern is 33 pages. I can’t save just page 33, so Staples will only upload all 33 pages and it won’t let me edit the file either. Also, it doesn’t read that large scale page 33 correctly.

Staples is a national chain and I would imagine pretty accessible to most people, so it would be nice if we could print there. Now I live in the middle of a major city, so we have plenty of print shops. But I don’t have time to trapse all over the business district with my kid in tow trying to figure out which place will do this for me. I also don’t know how to take the file to these people. Flash drive? Do they even do that? I guess that’s figurative. I realize I could call places, but that takes an awful lot of time too. And it would probably cost me an entire morning to go and do it. I’ve only got like one free morning a week. I would very much like to have this on one easy to use sheet rather than all those annyoing taped together pieces. But how on earth does one acquire these large scale prints?

So now my morning is almost gone and I didn’t get done the work I really needed to do. I’m sorry for the vent but I just don’t understand why these PDF patterns are a good idea. How does everyone else cope with digital stress?

[Mama_Knowles]

When I printed the puppet show pattern I first called around and talked to an employee. The place that printed mine printed only the pattern sheet, the last page, with no problem. Why not call Staples and ask?

I do hope this helps a bit

~Sharon~

[Robin]

This isn’t really going to help you, but it wasn’t that bad to print on 8 1/2 x 11″ paper and tape together.

I certainly think that customer service has a lot to do with our collective levels of frustration. I bet if you went back to the same Staples and got a different employee, you’d get a different answer.

You have inspired me to call around and see who can print files.

[Sarvi]

I print at Staples and I feel your frustration. If there’s somebody good working there, it’s easy and cheap. If there’s somebody working there who is untrained or just doesn’t care, it’s a huge pain. I have done two things:

1. Bring in the file on a flash drive, ask the clerk to print only the last page of the file with no scaling.

2. Upload the file to their website. Go in and ask the clerk to print only the last page of the uploaded file.

It can be done, I have done it, but it seems wholly to depend on whether you get a clerk who likes computers and likes to fiddle with them, or a clerk who feels that a minimum wage job deserves minimum effort.

[bren5kids]

I’m sure this isn’t going to help or make you feel better, but I LOVE to cut-out and tape together digital patterns. There’s something so relaxing and satisfying about putting it together so neat and tidy, and having everything match up so nicely. I go thru the pages on the computer and make note of which pages I need for the view/size I’m making and only print those. It’s very easy to do that with Liesl’s patterns because of the way they are arranged and tiled. I find it so convenient to go to my computer, shoot out a few pages, tape and cut, and off I go! It really doesn’t take much time.

[meleliza]

Depending on how fast the fabric arrives, I’ll probably print and tape. But what a huge waste of time all that taping is when I could be actually sewing. Plus, taped together pages do not make a usable pattern, so then you have to trace it off onto something more useful. And it’s 33 pages, not a few. So even the printing will take time.

Even if the print shop thing worked (yes, I’ll call a few places, but that’s going to take a lot more time than opening an envelope and unfolding tissue.) it costs what, $7? That makes the cost of the digital pattern $20 plus a boatload of pain and suffering. I for one, would happily spend $25 maybe $30 on a paper version. It would be worth my time and sanity.

It’s not that I’m in a huge rush to produce big quantities of sewing. It’s that my time for hobbies is limited. And taping pages together is not sewing. And dealing with all of this is really really not relaxing.

I only deal with this nonsense for a seriously good pattern. I did it for Rae’s Washi and made a good muslin and I have made at least 6 dresses from that. I’ve seriously lost count. I did it for the puppet show shorts because they’re so seriously adorable and it’s only a couple of pages. I also feel pretty confident that the Every day skirt is *perfect.* So I’m willing to deal with the hassles this time. But, I was considering the cape and one of the blouses and I have now lost interest. I’m not so much trying to complain as give feedback that I hope might be useful. I know these are good products that are designed with great care and attention to detail. I also know you can’t please all the people all the time.

[Jillls]

I also love PDF patterns. I don’t use tape though. I glue each pattern piece together and cut them once the glue is dry. Liesl’s patterns are clearly labeled and match up nicely.

[Mama_Knowles]

I am with you on liking the paper patterns over the PDF too. I would happily but paper any day over the PDF unless the PDF is much cheaper.

[dubhels2003]

I have never been a luddite, and I’m pretty quick with technology, but I live in fear of a world where I can only get pdf patterns, I hate them. I don’t have a printer at home, I like to get my pattern through the post and then trace it. I have bought some oliver + s patterns but it was such a fiddle printing them onto A4 and then sticking them together I just am not going to buy pdf only patterns.

That aside, I hope you get sorted with your printing and having seen the amazing quality of what you sew I can’t wait to see a picture of your skirt. I think the pattern looks amazing.

[KarenK]

I spent 2 minutes printing on my copy machine at work. We pay for personal copies, it was 1.50 for full color. I taped it together on my kitchen floor in about 15 minutes and cut it the size I wanted. I can print the pattern pieces again later if I want another size. While I much prefer a paper pattern over pdf it can be a simple process.

[Rebecca W]

I always thought I would hate PDF patterns too, but I was wrong. I actually find it oddly relaxing. If I am going to tape, I will do it in the evening while my husband and and are watching TV. I don’t mind it at all.

That being said, I still prefer to print the larger sheet, if I can. Which took me a couple of phone calls to find a place with a large format printer that was willing to work with me to get the page printed. I didn’t run all over the city to find a place. I just called a couple of places and sent them the file through their website. I told them what I wanted and they tried printing it. If it didn’t work (the first place didn’t work) then they didn’t charge me for it and I didn’t drive to the store to pick it up. then I tried Office Max- they were more expensive (by a lot) and weren’t able to print all 3 that I was trying to print at the time. So then I moved on. The third place that I called was able to do it and it costs me about $5-7. The way I found my print shop was doing a google search for “print shop (my city name)”. I think that I found the third one by searching on the map app on my phone for “printing”. And, yes, it took a little more leg work the first time I wanted to print one, but now I know where to go and it really isn’t that big of a deal. I have never been able to just send one page. I send the whole pattern and tell them that I only need the final page printed, at 100%, no scaling. yes, it was a bit more leg work. But, in the end, it is worth it.

[Nicole]

I second the glue stick trick, it works so well.

I also bribe my son with internet time to do it for me. He prints them off and glues them together, probably with a great deal more accuracy then I would.

[bren5kids]

I use the printed-off pattern as my final pattern, I never trace them. I’m curious why they wouldn’t be considered usable; is it because the paper isn’t as flexible as tissue?

[with love Heidi]

I hear your frustration Meleliza!

I prefer paper patterns, however in Australia the postage is quite high and it can be a 4 week delay, I order about once a year and quite a few at a time. I appreciate having the PDF option available to me so if I want/need a pattern during the year I can get it without the delay or extra cost for postage. I print at home and tape together. I was very happy to find last night I had already taped together the pattern I wanted 🙂 I have only found one place in my city that can print the patterns, as the width is non standard in Australia, I can take it in or email with what I want.

[Tamara]

I feel your frustration also. However, I live too far from any printing shop and wouldn’t have a clue on where to start on that point so I just print and stick. So far I have not had a problem and the patterns Liesl produces have been quite a satisfying initiation to pdf patterns. It might just be better in you time challenged case to if you can of course print and stick. It actually doesn’t take that long and will save the hassle of finding a place with the service to do it for you.

As old school as I am though, paper patterns are my preference however, the pdfs work and are time saving. I am yet to try printing the ladies patterns though.