Vent: I was stubborn about using my old 0.5mm mechanical pencil for everything

Skyler Cooper · 2026-03-21T12:30:07.07011+00:00

For years I stuck with it, even for big floor plan layouts, and my lines were always a bit too light for clear scans. Last week at the shop, a guy from the Cincinnati office let me try his 0.7mm with 2B lead on a Mylar sheet. The line weight was perfect, no smudging, and it scanned clean on the first try. Anyone else have a go-to lead size for different types of drawings?

miles2776mo ago

Yeah, that 0.7 with 2B is the sweet spot for me too, especially for anything that needs to scan later.

7

the_willow6mo ago

Saw a video where an architect said they use 0.9mm for sketching concepts. Makes the lines bold without pressing hard.

6

matthew1226mo ago

Wait, you used 0.5mm for floor plans?

2