When I print my project to PDF, the 3D Text objects are very distorted now. The same exact project, with no modifications, printed to PDF just fine on April 10, 2026. Back in April I did see a black rectangular shape on the bottom, middle, of the screen, the word “Sketchup” now appears where the black shape was. This is a Windows 10 PC.
Share the .skp and .pdf files with us so we can see what you are working with and getting.
Thanks for the quick response. The PDF file is too large for me to send via email; however, I can send the PNG files, 1 good one from April, and the bad one from this week. If you look at all the number squares from 1 - 49, and the rest of the text, the issue will stand out.
Thanks,
Lyle
The difference I see between your images is related to the thickness of Profile edges in the style. The “good” one looks like the Profiles are set to 1 while the “bad” one looks like the Profiles are set to 2. The latter is what is shown in the .skp file you uploaded, too.
Did you change the style at some point? Your profile indicates you are using the free hobby version which doesn’t permit editing the style but if you were still using the SketchUp Go trial when you exported the “good” PDF, you could have temporarily edited the style to make Profiles thinner. If that was what happened but you didn’t update the style, it would have reset to the selected style when you closed the file.
BTW, how does this PDF look?
Schooner Days 2026.pdf (3.9 MB)
I haven’t made any changes in the project 2026. I only opened it and saved it as project 2027 in order to make the changes for next year. When I printed the 2027 modifications to pdf I noticed the problem so I went back to the 2026 project and printed it to pdf and it also had the problem. I believe something has changed graphically in the web version because I no longer have the black box in the bottom middle, it now says sketchup there.
Lyle
This sounds like a switch from SketchUp Go to Free. The SketchUp watermark is default in the free version.
Yes, it is the logo and my guess is that is what was supposed to in the black rectangle box. The logo used to be on the upper left.
Lyle
They’ve moved it several times over the years. It was in the upper right for a while.
Sorry for the late response on this, I hadn’t noticed the PDF attachment on my iPhone. This PDF looks excellent, it is missing the tags that are in my “Scene All” view, else, I could you this PDF. Was this printed from the downloaded application or the free web? I do plan today to try the web version from my brothers computer, which is newer, has Windows 11, and probably better graphics.
I opened your file in SketchUp 2026 and then sent the model to LayOut before exporting the PDF. Better quality and more control available for creating the views you need. It would be even nicer looking if the text was added in LayOut instead of using 3D Text in SketchUp. Could also make multi-page PDFs if needed.
BTW, I notice you haven’t set the Camera to Parallel Projection which could create issues.
Here’s Scene All done the same way.
Schooner Days 2026 Scene All.pdf (3.9 MB)
Hi Dave,
I just noticed that the PDF you sent is from my “2026 .skp” project version. I originally sent that version because it printed fine in April of this year. I am attaching the new “2027 .skp” project version and if you could print that one using the “Scene All - WO Dimensions” that would be fantastic.
Today I discovered something else. In Sketchup Web when I zoom out my project to get everything in the scene at a certain point the 3D lettering becomes distorted, so I ran a test of printing the project with it zoomed in, just prior to the 3D distortion, and it printed fine. So basically, what I see happening on my screen is what I get in my printout. I am also attaching the zoomed in PNG results.
I will be testing this afternoon on my brother’s computer, which is a lot newer and has better graphics, I think, and is Windows 11.
Thanks again, I really appreciate your help and am sorry to be creating you more work.
Lyle
Here you go.
Schooner Days 2027 Scene All.pdf (3.9 MB)
I presume this is a volunteer thing but if you are going to be doing much of this kind of thing I would suggest that you get a SketchUp Pro subscription so you have access to LayOut.
Yes, I volunteered to do this for the Eden Prairie Lions club, which is an organization that donates 100% of the money they raise each year to community needs. They have a Schooner Days, the old wagons going west, event every summer. I used sketchup to layout the grounds with the 50 some vendor sites on a google map of the location. It is amazing how accurate the map and project drawings are. The vendor sites are 10’ x 10’ with 1’ separation and it all fits perfectly.
I don’t , nor does anyone else make money on this sketchup drawing. I do it for free and each year they make some changes which I update on the project.
Thanks,
Lyle
I tested on my brother’s computer which is new and has a resolution of 1920 x 1200. I really thought that would be the fix, unfortunately the results were the same. My conclusion is:
- This is a new issue in the web version, as I tested with a project that used to print OK.
- It didn’t help to try it on a new computer, with better resolution and Windows 11.
- It occurs when the size of the 3D text gets smaller, I can see the change in the text quality on my monitor when it shrinks to a certain point. My belief is that if I had a really big monitor and didn’t have to zoom out to see everything it would print fine. My current monitor is 24".
- I am pretty sure that it is a change in the web version since April 2026 that has caused the problem, because in April I had a solid black square on my screen where the word “Sketchup” now appears. My belief is that square was supposed to be saying Sketchup.
For reference the 3D text object I am creating has a Height of 4 feet, and a Text Extrusion of 0 inches.
I wouldn’t mind paying something for a better version of the app, however I probably only draw one or two things a year for a personal project, so the cost is not justifiable, not even a monthly subscription because I may make changes to a project several months later. I like learning so I do more practice projects from online tutorials, such as some chess pieces, it is fun to play with.
I really appreciate the fact that it is free and does quite a lot. I hope that whatever change was made that is causing the problem gets resolved.
Thanks very much for your help, I don’t think I have ever seen faster responses, even from IT services that I had paid contracts with.
Lyle
Hopefully the developers will be able to address this in a future update.
Glad I could help in a little way.
Stay cool and I hope you aren’t getting too much smoke up there. We’ve had a fair amount here although not as bad as some places.
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