Poster Tiling
Split a big image across several sheets with overlap so the tiles line up when taped. Runs in your browser with no upload.
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Poster Tiling: complete guide
Walk through the steps and examples, or jump straight to the topic you need.
At a glance
- Image
- One PNG, JPG or WebP image, up to 30MB.
- Paper
- A4, A3, B4 or Letter, placed in portrait or landscape and divided.
- Defaults
- Finished size 594 x 420mm, edge margin 10mm, overlap 10mm. You can match the height to the image's aspect ratio.
- Sheet count
- Up to 100 sheets, and if it goes over, it tells you how many sheets before creating.
- Saving
- Saved as poster.pdf with cut positions and numbers like "row 1, column 2". Leave the print scale at 100%.
How to use Poster Tiling
Add your image
Drop a file into the box labeled Add the image to make into a poster, and the name, size and pixel count appear.
Set the paper and finished size
Choose the paper and orientation and enter Finished width and height (mm). Pressing Match height to image ratio keeps the image from stretching.
Set the margin and overlap
Edge margin is the width the printer can't print, and Overlap is the width that overlaps when you stick tiles together. The divided preview and "width x height = n sheets" update right away.
Save as PDF and print
After Create PDF, press Save PDF. In the print dialog choose actual size (100%), and stick the sheets together overlapping in number order.
What it’s good for
It accounts for the edges your printer can't print
A printer can't print all the way to the edge of the paper and leaves a margin. If you cut up the poster without subtracting that margin, the edge of every tile gets cut off, so lines misalign and the picture breaks when you stick them together. That's why you enter the edge margin yourself, and the tool subtracts it when dividing.
Overlap absorbs hand error
If you cut tiles to fit exactly, you'd have to cut the paper precisely and butt it together precisely, which you can't do by hand. If you make tiles overlap a little and stick them overlapping, a few millimeters of error disappear within the overlap. The next tile then has to advance not by a full sheet but by a sheet minus the overlap. If this calculation is skipped, the assembled poster comes out larger than the original and the picture is stretched.
It checks that no gaps are left
A test checks that when all the tiles are joined, the original is covered with no gaps. Even one gap would leave a white strip on the assembled poster. When it doesn't divide evenly, the last tile is pulled inward, not outside the original, to line up the edge.
Worked examples
Default values as they are
Finished 594 x 420mm · A4 portrait
Margin 10mm · overlap 10mm4 x 2 = 8 sheets · finished 594 x 420mmOnly the paper orientation changed to landscape
Same size · A4 landscape3 x 3 = 9 sheets · finished 594 x 420mmUsing larger paper
Same size · A3 portrait3 x 2 = 6 sheets · finished 594 x 420mmChoosing paper
Swipe the table sideways to see the rest.
| Paper | Size in portrait | When it fits |
|---|---|---|
| A4 | 210 x 297mm | Most home and office printers |
| A3 | 297 x 420mm | When you want fewer sheets |
| B4 | 257 x 364mm | Copiers that use B4 paper |
| Letter | 216 x 279mm | Printers that use US-style paper |
When the result isn’t what you expected
It says there are too many sheets
For example, making 3000 x 2000mm on portrait A4 shows "That would be 136 sheets. Only up to 100 sheets can be made." Reduce the finished size or choose larger paper.
It says the overlap is larger than the paper
The width left after subtracting twice the margin and the overlap is 0 or less, so the tiles can't advance. Reduce the overlap or the margin.
The tile edges get cut off when I print
The width your printer actually can't print is wider than the margin. Increase the Edge margin a little and create it again.
My image won't go in
Only PNG, JPG and WebP up to 30MB are accepted. For other formats, convert the image first and then add it.
Key terms
- Overlap
- The width where neighboring tiles overlap. It absorbs error from sticking by hand.
- Edge margin
- The width the printer can't print to the paper's edge. It is subtracted from the tile size by that width.
- Actual size printing
- A setting that prints at 100% scale. Using fit to page makes the tiles not match.
Poster Tiling FAQ
How much overlap is good?
If you'll stick them by hand, about 10mm is recommended. At 0, you'd have to cut the paper precisely and butt it together precisely, which is hard. The larger the overlap, the more sheets you need.
I printed it but the tiles don't match
It is almost always the print settings. Using fit to page or shrink to fit shrinks everything by some percent, so the tiles won't match. In the print dialog choose actual size or 100 percent.
How many sheets can it make?
Up to 100 sheets. If it goes over, the tool tells you how many sheets it would be before creating, so reduce the finished size or choose larger paper.
Is my image uploaded to a server?
No. The PDF is also created inside this browser.
Which orientation is better, portrait or landscape?
Even for the same finished size, the sheet count depends on orientation. Try both and use the one with fewer sheets; there will be fewer seams to stick.
How do I match the finished size to the image's ratio?
Set the finished width, then press Match height to image ratio. The height changes to follow the image's ratio, so the image isn't stretched or squashed.