Tiled Printing

Are you looking for a unique way to decorate your walls?

Instead of printing a 4×6 inch photo of the beautiful sunset that you took on vacation last year, blow it up into a poster that will cover an entire wall in your bedroom!  Tiled printing is separating an image into several individual pages (from a PDF file), giving you a fun way to be creative with your decor! Best of all, instead of paying print shop prices for an expensive poster print, you can do it at home for the cost of paper and ink or toner.

Like a jigsaw puzzle, each sheet of paper represents a small piece of an image.  Alone, each piece may seem like nothing, but when put together, it makes a vivid picture.

Any standard printer, laser or inkjet, monochrome or color, is capable of tiled printing but you will have to download The Rasterbator application.  Here is how it works:

• Download and open The Rasterbator application – Click here to download The Rasterbator Standalone 1.2!
• Upload an image from your camera or use an image you have found on the internet.  The Rasterbator application will automatically break it up into pieces on your computer screen, like the example below:

• Select the paper you will be using and the overall size of the poster.
• Choose the rasterizing options that best suit your needs.
• Save and print the PDF file.

This process is easy and free, only requiring printer paper and someone willing to do the legwork to put the tiled print on the wall.  This can be done using any kind of adhesive that will not destroy the wall or you can frame each sheet and hang them.

Here are some unique ways others have used this fascinating printing technique:

Leave a bit of space between each sheet to give the image a unique feel.

Frame each piece of paper before putting the image together, making it more artsy.

Put the sheets of paper directly next to each other to make it look like an actual poster.

And my personal favorite:

Be creative and have fun with this printing technology!

Tiled printing and The Rasterbator application are steadily growing in popularity because of the simplicity and the limitless possibilities.  Anyone can do it.  Instead of purchasing artwork or posters,  you can make your own for free! If you are looking for inspiration, see Eight Great Resources for Web Based Art and Design.