As a Member of the Tartan Authority, and a contributing researcher, here's the facts:

A tartan with a small check will inevitably produce more pleats per given distance than a tartan with a large check.
The sizes of setts can vary according to the tartan cloth manufacturers who are known to have their own sett sizes for specific tartans.
The number of pleats is an important aspect with the average man requiring between 25 - 34 pleats. It should be noted that fewer would produce pleats, which will look "too wide" and any more than 34 give the appearance of the pleats being too narrow.
The depth of the pleats will vary depending upon the design of the tartan, bearing in mind that to ensure continuity of appearance all round, the tartan checks have to be matched both vertically and horizontally.

Different types of pleating allow the kiltmaker some choice in the pleating of various tartan setts. There are essentially two main styles of pleating for kilts:

SETT PLEATING
This is the term used to describe pleats which, when sewn, reproduce the sett (or design) of the tartan in the pleated area. The ease (or on the other hand, the difficulty) of producing correct pleats wholly depends upon the design of the tartan, particularly the intricacy of the various checks and overchecks. It is the experience of the kiltmaker, which is important in visualising the end result.

MILITARY PLEATING
Military pleating as the name suggests, is the style of pleating used for the production of kilts worn by Scottish Army regiments. It is said that military pleating was introduced to create a more striking effect and to introduce a very defined appearance of uniformity amongst the ranks. Also important is the fact that military pleats are very cost effective because in certain tartans more pleats per metre of fabric can be achieved than with regular tartan fabrics. Military pleats should have a prominent line or lines running the length of each pleat.

MILITARY PLEATS (alternative)
This is a variation of conventional military pleating where the prominent design feature runs the length of each alternate pleat as opposed to each individual pleat. A good example of this style of pleating is displayed in the kilts of the well known Queen Victoria Boys school of Dunblane which are made up from Hunting Stewart tartan with the pleats running in the alternating colours of red and yellow to the fore. As indicated previously, this also serves to minimise the use of fabric whilst still producing an acceptable though somewhat lighter weight garment.