Revit prints white artifacts — hidden line & raster/vector print setup

Joe B.

Reviewed for technical accuracy

Specialities: Revit & AutoCAD printing, PDF/plotter setup, Windows print drivers, large-format printers

Revit prints white lines or gaps — hidden line views, vector vs raster, PDF artifacts

Technician

Hey! Let’s clean up the white artifacts Revit prints on your sheets — the random white lines, gaps in hatches, and broken surface patterns that show up only in the PDF or on paper.
A couple quick questions so we hit the right fix: are you printing views in Hidden Line, Shaded with Edges, or something else? Does Revit say it’s using Raster or Vector processing in the Print Setup dialog? And are you sending to a PDF driver (Bluebeam, Adobe, etc.) or straight to a plotter/large-format printer?

Customer

We print from Revit 2024 to PDF first, then to an HP DesignJet. The sheets look fine in Revit, but the PDFs have random white lines through walls and filled regions, almost like a grid. It happens on elevations and sections in Hidden Line. I see “Vector processing” checked in Print Setup.

Technician

Got it — classic Revit white artifacts on prints scenario.
When Revit prints with Vector processing, it has to resolve a lot of hidden line intersections, masking regions, and surface patterns. Certain combinations (linked DWGs, underlays, filled regions, “Show Hidden Lines”) can create tiny misalignments that show up as white gaps or “hairline” artifacts in the PDF, even though the model looks fine on screen.
On the other hand, Raster printing renders the view as an image, which often removes those white seams but can soften linework if the Raster Quality is low. The plan: we’ll tune the Hidden Line Views settings, test raster vs vector choice per sheet, and repair any problem elements that are causing Revit to tile or clip the print.

Customer

Makes sense. Where exactly do I change the raster/vector setting, and how do I know when to use raster vs vector so those white lines disappear but the print isn’t blurry?

Technician

Step 1 — Test raster vs vector processing for the problem view
1) In Revit, go to File → Print → Print and click Setup… to open the Print Setup dialog.
2) Under Hidden Line Views, you’ll see options for Vector Processing and Raster Processing.
3) For the sheet that shows white artifacts, switch to Raster Processing and set Raster Quality to at least High (or Presentation for final plots). This keeps linework sharp while letting Revit render patterns and gradients as a single image.
4) Print just that one view or sheet to PDF and zoom in where the white lines used to be.
• If the white gaps disappear with raster, the issue is related to vector hidden line calculation or PDF tiling.
• If they’re still there, we’ll look at filled region boundaries, imported DWG lineweights, and masking regions next.
You can always keep vector printing for simple plans and switch to raster only on the “problem” sheets with complex shading or lots of underlays.

Customer

I tried raster and the white grid mostly disappears, but on elevations with a lot of surface patterns I still see little white seams in some hatches. Could that be a hidden line or region setting?

Technician

Right, that points to a mix of hidden line calculations and pattern tiling in those Revit views.
Step 2 — Clean up hidden line & region settings
• In Print Setup, under Options, look for Region edges mask coincident lines. If you’re using lots of masking/filled regions, toggling this option can remove thin white edges around regions in vector prints.
• If you have linked DWG files or Revit links behind your elevations, temporarily unload them or change their Visual Style to see if the white lines are lining up with linked geometry, underlays, or crop boundaries.
• Check any patterned walls and floors: if the surface pattern scale is extremely small, Revit may “tile” the raster output and leave slight seams. Try increasing the pattern scale slightly or swapping to a similar but less dense pattern on that sheet.
• For MEP views with Show Hidden Lines enabled, consider whether every hidden line needs to print. Heavy hidden-line overlays can cause Revit hidden lines not printing cleanly with vector and push you toward raster processing for those sheets.

Customer

We do have some linked DWGs and Revit links in those elevations. Also, Revit sometimes warns “will use raster printing because this view uses…” when we print. Does that affect the white artifacts too?

Technician

Yes — that message means Revit is overriding your choice and forcing raster printing for that view because of certain features (shadows, gradients, images, point clouds, decals, etc.).
Step 3 — Simplify the view so hidden line/vector prints are cleaner
• On the View Control Bar, set the visual style to Hidden Line (no shading, no gradients) for sheets where crisp vector output matters most.
• Turn off temporary graphics that force raster: shadows, sketchy lines, realistic views, background images.
• In Manage → Object Styles and Visibility/Graphics, consider turning off heavy halftone underlays or non-essential linked categories that sit behind your main linework — those often create overlapping edges and white artifacts in Revit PDFs.
• For critical sheets, try a version without linked DWGs (use Revit-native details where possible). Many “white gap” issues come from high-density CAD hatches combined with Revit linework in the same area.
The goal is to get your key detail sheets down to a clean Hidden Line view that either prints nicely with vector, or as a high-quality raster image without visible seams.

Customer

Understood. What about the PDF driver and printer side? Could blue lines or white gaps be from the PDF driver or plotter settings, not just Revit’s hidden line and raster/vector options?

Technician

Good question — yes, the PDF driver and plotter can amplify Revit artifacts.
Step 4 — Tune PDF and printer settings for Revit output
• In your PDF printer properties, set a consistent DPI (300–600). Very low resolution can exaggerate white gaps between tiles when Revit sends raster data.
• Disable any “optimize for fast web view” / “thin line display” / “enhance fine lines” settings in the PDF reader when reviewing; these can visually introduce white seams that won’t appear on paper.
• On the HP DesignJet (or similar plotter), check the spooling mode — for large Revit PDFs, spooling as “process in computer” can reduce banding or tiling artifacts compared to “process in printer.”
• If one PDF driver always shows white artifacts, test another driver (e.g., Adobe PDF vs Bluebeam vs Microsoft Print to PDF). Revit’s raster/vector printing behaves slightly differently with each driver, and sometimes simply switching drivers yields cleaner linework.

Customer

That helps a lot. We also noticed hidden lines from linked models sometimes drop out or show as weird white slices in vector prints. Any Revit-specific hidden line tips before we finalize our print setup?

Technician

Definitely — Revit hidden lines are a big part of why some sheets print perfectly while others show white gaps or missing edges in vector mode.
Step 5 — Make hidden lines & overlays print predictably
• For structural/MEP coordination views, try switching the Discipline of the view to Coordination. This can make hidden lines print more consistently in vector mode.
• If a specific Show Hidden Lines relationship (like beams behind slabs) is causing noise, see if you can simplify: for example, show hidden lines in a separate detail view instead of globally on a large sheet.
• Where hidden lines from a linked model refuse to print cleanly in vector, consider: (a) printing that sheet with Raster processing, or (b) exporting the view to DWG and plotting from there for final issue.
• Use Linework tool sparingly to override just the critical edges, instead of masking large regions, which tends to create more chances for white artifacts in Revit prints.

Customer

After switching a few complex sheets to raster, simplifying the views, and tweaking the PDF settings, the white lines are basically gone. Any final checklist so we don’t fight this again on the next project?

Technician

Final “no more white artifacts” checklist:
• Save two Print Setups: one with Vector processing for simple plans, and another with Raster (High/Presentation) for complex elevations/sections with shading and surface patterns.
• Standardize view templates so key sheets use Hidden Line and avoid unnecessary shadows/gradients that force raster.
• Document which sheets must be printed with raster (white lines gone) and which can stay vector (small PDFs, crisp linework). Include that in your office Revit print standards.
• Keep printer and PDF drivers updated and test your “master” Print Setups on each new Revit release.
Do that, and you’ll dramatically reduce cases where Revit prints white artifacts, gaps, or strange hidden line behavior right before a deadline.

Customer

Perfect — the PDFs look clean now and our plotted elevations don’t have those white gaps anymore. Thanks for the help!

Technician

Summary: To fix Revit printing white artifacts or random white lines, adjust the view to Hidden Line, try Raster processing with high quality on problem sheets, tune hidden line & masking region options, and test different PDF/plotter settings until the seams disappear. Use vector where it’s clean, raster where needed. Want help building a standard print setup for your entire office? Open the chat.

Quick answer: the accepted fix

Accepted fix when Revit prints white artifacts, hairline gaps, or white grids: in Print Setup, test Raster Processing with high raster quality for complex views, simplify views to Hidden Line, adjust hidden line & region edge masking, and verify PDF/printer DPI. Keep two print setups (vector and raster) and use raster for the sheets that show white lines in PDFs or plotted output.

FAQ

Step-by-step: fix white artifacts when printing from Revit

1. Open File → Print → Print in Revit and click Setup… for the affected print setup.
2. Under Hidden Line Views, test printing with Raster Processing and high raster quality for the sheets that show white lines.
3. Simplify the view to Hidden Line, disable shadows and gradients, and reduce overlapping filled/masking regions where possible.
4. Adjust Options such as Region edges mask coincident lines, and standardize view templates for printing.
5. Set PDF printer DPI to 300–600 and test output from different PDF drivers or directly to the plotter.

Note for different PDF drivers and devices

1. Revit typically runs on Windows, but you might view PDFs on macOS or mobile. Test your Revit print setup with at least two PDF drivers (for example, Adobe PDF and Bluebeam). Some handle Revit raster tiles and vector linework more cleanly than others.
2. When reviewing on Mac or iOS, disable “smooth line art” or “enhance fine lines” in the PDF viewer if white seams appear only on-screen. If the artifact is visible in multiple viewers and on paper, adjust the Revit raster/vector settings rather than relying on the viewer.

Sources

• Autodesk — About Vector Processing and Raster Processing in Revit
• Autodesk — Print Setup dialog and Hidden Line Views options
• Modelical — Export to PDF from Revit: vector vs raster troubleshooting

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