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Learn · Designers and builders · Lesson 11 of 19

Print quality renders in the cloud

You willRender a view on a cloud graphics card, clean enough to print, see the credits it uses first, and get an email when it is done.
Time4 min
Why it mattersA cloud graphics card renders a view in a few minutes that could take an hour on a laptop, and it carries on with Plotlay closed.
You needA Plotlay account. Project pass, Pro and Team include credits each month; a free account has 3 renders to try.

Try it in Plotlay → Opens an example project with this lesson beside it. Nothing to install.

Steps

  1. Open 3D, stand where you want the picture (or go to a saved view), then open Export and choose Photo render. Or press Ctrl + K and type Cloud renders.
  2. Under Print quality in the cloud (paid add-on), pick a size (Full HD, 4K, A3 at 150 or 300 dpi) and a quality, Standard or High. The line beside it says how many credits it uses and how many you have left, or on a free account how many you have to try.
    Print quality in the cloud at the bottom of the Photo render dialog: Full HD, Standard, the Print quality (cloud) button, Uses 1 Print credit, 3 to try (free trial), the top-up button, and the jobs list with one render running and one done.
  3. Choose Print quality (cloud). Plotlay prepares the scene with its finishes, sun and sky and sends it to a cloud graphics card, which renders it in Blender Cycles: about 1 to 3 minutes for Full HD at Standard.
  4. Carry on working, or close Plotlay: the render runs in the background in the cloud. The jobs list under the button, and Renders (Ctrl + K, then Renders), show how it is going.
    The Renders panel listing two Print quality renders in the cloud: one rendering, one done with Open result and Delete.
  5. When it is done you get an email and the picture goes into Documents. If Plotlay was closed, open the project and choose Open result in Renders; for a cloud project, the link in the email does it for you.

Tips

  • One credit is a Full HD render at Standard. 4K, A3 and High use 2 to 8: the line beside the button always says how many before you start.
  • Credits each month: Project pass 10, Pro 25, Team 75 shared by the team. Unused monthly credits don’t carry over. Buy 20 Print quality credits adds a top-up pack whose credits never expire.
  • Credits are taken when a render starts and given back if it fails or you cancel it.
  • When a Photo render on your own device would take over 10 minutes, Send to the cloud appears at the top of the dialog: the same view as a Print quality render.
  • For a room pack, tick Print quality (cloud) for the render sheets. The credits for every sheet are shown before it starts.
  • The cloud scene keeps everything up to about 30 m beyond what the middle of the view looks at; the rest of a large site is left out to keep the upload small.

Common mistakes

  • Rendering 4K High for a quick look: try Full HD Standard first, it uses one credit.
  • Looking for the button after a free account’s 3 tries are used: Print quality comes with Project pass, Pro and Team, or buy a top-up pack.
  • Expecting a closed tab to stop the render: it carries on in the cloud. Choose Cancel in the jobs list to stop it and get the credits back.
Check yourself

A Print quality render fails on the server. What happens to its credits?

Words in this lesson

Room pack
A PDF about chosen rooms: each plan at scale, every wall, views inside and the finish and fit-out schedules. Can show before and after side by side.
Saved view
A place to look from, kept with the project: the plan, a 3D camera or a spot to stand in walk mode, with the design options, layers, phase and level shown. Saved views play as a tour and can be where a share starts.

Related lessons

Make a photo render of a roomTrace the light in a 3D view to get a photo-like still: daylight through the windows, real glass and metals, soft shadows.5 minShow options and the before rooms in a room packMake a room pack that shows the rooms before and after, side by side, with each design option and a comparison.4 minSave views and play them as a tourSave the places to look from (plan, 3D or walking, with design options), play them as a tour, and share a link that opens at one.4 min

Steps checked in the app on 18 October 2026.