From 0688ad04d760bd0690cb34115c6284a8fc36ffd9 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Zaxaerith Date: Mon, 19 Oct 2026 11:34:26 +0800 Subject: [PATCH] docs: document tiled poster printing (#2857) --- README.md | 2 + docs/print-tiling.md | 125 +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 2 files changed, 127 insertions(+) create mode 100644 docs/print-tiling.md diff --git a/README.md b/README.md index db50d7fbe..cff9d3b95 100644 --- a/README.md +++ b/README.md @@ -163,6 +163,8 @@ exposes to agents, and exported by VectorCraft's own renderer. The source files ## Quick start +For posters and sewing patterns, see [Print a large poster across multiple pages](docs/print-tiling.md). + ```sh git clone https://github.com/storytold/vectorcraft cd vectorcraft diff --git a/docs/print-tiling.md b/docs/print-tiling.md new file mode 100644 index 000000000..fabb03790 --- /dev/null +++ b/docs/print-tiling.md @@ -0,0 +1,125 @@ +# Print a large poster across multiple pages + +## Overview + +Use tiled printing to spread a large poster, sign or sewing pattern across several sheets of A4, +Letter or other paper. VectorCraft divides the drawing into numbered tiles at the scale you choose. +Overlap repeats part of the drawing on adjacent sheets to help you align them after printing. + +## Print a poster on multiple sheets + +1. Open your drawing in VectorCraft. For a full-size pattern, check that the drawing has the intended + dimensions before printing. +2. Choose **File → Print…** to open VectorCraft's **Print** dialog. In **Printer**, select your printer + or **PDF File** to save the tiled job as a PDF. +3. In **General**, under **Artboards**, choose **All** or **Range:** to select the artboards to print. + For example, use **Range:** `1` for the first artboard. Choose **Ignore Artboards (all the art as + one page)** only if you want to tile the bounds of all the artwork instead of individual artboards. +4. Under **Media**, set **Size** to the paper loaded in the printer, such as **A4** or **Letter**. + Choose **Custom** to enter **Width** and **Height**. **Auto-Rotate (turn the paper to each artboard)** + is on by default; turn it off to choose a fixed **Orientation**, such as **Portrait** or **Landscape**. +5. In **Advanced**, set **Unprintable margin** to allow for the edges your printer cannot print. + VectorCraft uses one value for all four edges; use a value that covers the printer's largest + required margin. The default is zero, and VectorCraft does not read this value from the printer. +6. Return to **General**. Under **Options**, set **Scaling** to **Tile Imageable Areas** or + **Tile Full Pages** (see [Choose a tiling mode](#choose-a-tiling-mode)). Set **Scale**, both **W** + and **H**, to `100%` to keep the drawing's size. Use the same percentage in both fields to keep + its proportions; larger percentages enlarge the drawing and can require more sheets. +7. Set **Overlap** to repeat a strip along adjoining tiles. For example, `10 mm` gives room for + alignment. Length fields accept units such as `mm` and `in`. Overlap must be less than half + the smaller tile dimension; increasing it can increase the sheet count. +8. Leave **Tile Range** empty initially. Use the **Previous page** and **Next page** arrows beneath + the preview to inspect each sheet. The label identifies its artboard and tile; the preview also + shows the paper size and scale. Check **Summary** for warnings or invalid settings. +9. Keep **Tile Range** empty to print every tile, or enter a range such as `1-3, 5` to print a subset. + Check the preview again after changing the range. +10. Click **Print**. With a printer selected, VectorCraft sends the laid-out job to the system's print + service. With **PDF File** selected, it asks where to save the PDF, with one page per printed + tile for each copy in composite output. **Done** keeps the print settings with the document + without printing; save the document to retain them for next time. + +The tiling controls belong to VectorCraft's **Print** dialog on Windows, macOS and Linux. +**Setup…**, beside **Printer**, opens the system's printer settings, whose interface varies by +platform. Set tiling in VectorCraft's **Scaling** list. Keep the printer's paper settings consistent +with **Media**. In the web app, printing goes through the browser's print dialog; **PDF File** +downloads the PDF. + +For a paper proof, select **PDF File** and click **Print**, then open the saved PDF to inspect its +pages before sending it to a printer. When printing that PDF, keep its page size and scale rather +than applying another fit-to-page reduction. For a sewing pattern, measure a known length on a +printed sheet before printing the full job. + +## Choose a tiling mode + +| Scaling | How it divides the drawing | When to use it | +|---|---|---| +| **Tile Full Pages** | Each tile uses the full paper width and height. Adjacent tiles advance by that size minus **Overlap**. | Use when you need a grid based on whole sheets, such as with a printer that supports the required borderless paper setting. On a printer with unprintable edges, artwork near tile edges can be lost unless sufficient overlap covers those gaps. | +| **Tile Imageable Areas** | Each tile uses the paper area inside **Unprintable margin**. Adjacent tiles advance by that smaller size minus **Overlap**. | Use for printers with unprintable edges. Set the margin in **Advanced** so the tiles account for those edges; this can require more sheets than full-page tiling. | + +With **Unprintable margin** set to zero, the two modes use the same tile dimensions. Neither mode +makes a printer capable of borderless printing. **Fit to Page** scales an artboard onto a single +sheet; choose a tile mode to keep a large drawing spread across sheets. + +## Check the layout on the canvas + +1. Set up tiling in **File → Print…**, then click **Done** to keep the settings. +2. Choose **View → Show Print Tiling**. The canvas shows each sheet's paper edge and a dashed, + numbered imageable area. Tiles excluded by **Tile Range** appear dimmer. The overlay uses the + saved print settings; it does not print anything. +3. Select the **Print Tiling Tool**. In the default toolbar, press and hold the **Hand Tool** button + in the **Navigate** group to open its tool list, then choose **Print Tiling Tool**. The tool also + shows the overlay while it is active. +4. Drag on the canvas to position the grid. The pointer places the top-left corner of a page's + imageable area and snaps near artboard edges. Tiles extend left and up as needed to cover the + drawing, so that page may not be tile 1 after the move. Reopen **File → Print…** to check the + resulting pages and tile numbers. Dragging the dialog's preview does not reposition tiled pages. + +To restore the default grid position, double-click on the canvas with **Print Tiling Tool** active, +or double-click the tool's toolbar button. Alternatively, reopen **File → Print…** and click +**Reset** beneath **Placement** when the dialog says **The Print Tiling tool placed the pages.** +Click **Done** to keep that change. **View → Hide Print Tiling** hides the overlay after switching +to another tool. + +## Print only selected tiles + +**Tile Range** uses numbers starting at 1, across each row from left to right, then down. +For a grid with three columns and two rows, the first row is `1, 2, 3` and the second is `4, 5, 6`. +Enter `2, 5` to print the middle column, or `1-3, 5` to print the first row and tile 5. +Leave the field empty to print all tiles. + +**Range:** under **Artboards** selects drawings; **Tile Range** selects sheets within each chosen +drawing. Tile numbering restarts for each artboard, and the same tile range applies to each one. +To reprint one damaged sheet of one artboard, select that artboard with **Range:** and its tile +with **Tile Range**. A tile number must exist on every selected artboard. Changing paper, scale, +margin, overlap or grid position can change the grid and its numbering; check again before reprinting. + +## Assemble the printed sheets + +Lay out the sheets in tile order. Align repeated artwork in the overlap, trim unprinted edges as +needed, and tape or glue the sheets together. Print a pair of adjacent tiles first to check the +scale, margins and overlap before committing to a large job. + +## Troubleshooting + +- **The preview shows only one page.** It displays one sheet at a time. Use the arrows and check + the count beneath it. If the count is one, check **Tile Range**, the chosen artboards, paper size + and scale: the drawing may fit on one tile. +- **The image shrinks to one sheet.** Change **Scaling** from **Fit to Page** to a tile mode and + check both scale percentages. Also check for another fit-to-page setting when printing a saved PDF. +- **Artwork is missing along sheet edges.** Check the printer's unprintable margins. Use + **Tile Imageable Areas** with a suitable **Advanced → Unprintable margin**, or allow enough + overlap in full-page tiling to cover the missing edges. Check that the physical paper matches + **Media**; a zero margin does not remove a printer's hardware limits. +- **No tiling boundaries appear on the canvas.** Keep the settings with **Done**, then enable + **View → Show Print Tiling** or select **Print Tiling Tool**. If the settings are invalid, the + overlay has no pages to draw; reopen **Print** and check **Summary**. +- **The job has the wrong number of pages.** Check **Artboards**, **Tile Range**, **Copies** and + **Skip Blank Artboards**. Paper size, orientation, scale, margins and overlap affect the grid. + Under **Output**, **Mode → Separations** produces a page per enabled ink; use **Composite** for + an ordinary poster. The dialog preview shows one copy; the saved PDF includes all copies. + +## Related documentation + +- [Printing and PDF file output](mcp.md#printing) — command reference. +- [Print tiling](mcp.md#print-tiling) — overlay and positioning command reference. +- [Print settings](mcp.md#print) — paper, scaling and output settings reference.