Creating a Custom Plotter
Go to File > Plotter Manager… to open the Plotters directory in the Windows File Explorer.
Select a .PC3 plotter configuration file you wish to base your new plotter upon (e.g. AutoCAD PDF (Smallest File).pc3).
Press Ctrl + C to copy the .PC3 file, and then Ctrl + V to paste a copy into the same folder. This should create a new file with “ - Copy” at the end of its name.
Rename this file whatever you wish to call this plotter. We usually go with something like “[company name] Custom PDF.pc3”
Return to Civil 3D.
Select File > Page Setup Manager.
In the Page Setup Manager window, select your new .PC3 file from the Name drop-down.
Click on Properties next to the Name drop-down. This should open the your .PC3 file in the Plotter Configuration Editor.
In the Plotter Configuration Editor window, go to the Ports tab.
Ensure Plot to File is selected.
Go to the Device and Document Settings tab.
Under User-defined Paper Sizes & Calibration, you may select Custom Paper Sizes to define your own paper sizes.
Select Filter Paper Sizes to un-check paper sizes you don’t want to use. Only the checked paper sizes will show up in the Paper Size drop-down when plotting / editing the Page Setup.
Select Custom Properties and click on Custom Properties… to open the PDF Options window. Here you can define vector and raster image quality. This can be used to decrease .PDF file size, or increase .PDF quality when plotting using this .PC3 file.