Help printing big

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Neil Williams
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I want to print this image 32 inches x 44 inches using my Epson P800. Obviously I cant do that because the max size for that printer is A2 so my plan is to make 4 prints and join them together making one large print. My question is this. I have never done this before so want to know if I would be better off leaving say a 10mm gap all the way around to make it obvious that its 4 prints joined together or should I try and butt them up together. Like I said I have never done this before so looking for advise and any help possible.
I plan yo use PScc and a roll of 16 inch Premium Luster or my other option would be 4 or 6 A3+ sheets of Epson canvas Hot Press
Thanks

Neil
Neil's_Photography_January-25,-2016__NUK6738.jpg
 
Try it on a smaller scale - maybe 4 6x4 prints at the same size that the final product will be' using the centre point as the centre point for the test prints.

I've done a 4 panel of A4 prints for a friend of Dad's which I butted together and he was very pleased with the result. Cutting cleanly could have been a problem but I was aware of that so I used a brand new craft knife blade.

For the size you want though, maybe farm the job out to get a single sheet print.
 
Try it on a smaller scale - maybe 4 6x4 prints at the same size that the final product will be' using the centre point as the centre point for the test prints.



For the size you want though, maybe farm the job out to get a single sheet print.
The 4 x 4x6 prints is a fantastic idea, I will do that.
I thought about farming it out but trying to kill time while on lockdown so fancy trying it myself
 
Pretty sure I used PSE's Poster Printing option to do the prints and that it put cutting guides at the corners but it might have been the Canon printer's utility that did that.
 
I'd probably do it all with a few mm of overlap and tape them up securely on the back. That way there's no (chance of a) gap. I can just see my trying to do it so they butt together and failing - even if I did a test print on smaller paper first. There's nothing more sickening than screwing up a big print.

With roll paper there's no chance of the print going in at an angle, but with hand fed (?) sheets, anything that's not perfectly straight is going to leave a gap. Overlap will remove that possibilty.
 
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I'd probably do it all with a few mm of overlap and tape them up securely on the back. That way there's no (chance of a) gap. I can just see my trying to do it so they butt together and failing - even if I did a test print on smaller paper first. There's nothing more sickening than screwing up a big print.

With roll paper there's no chance of the print going in at an angle, but with hand fed (?) sheets, anything that's not perfectly straight is going to leave a gap. Overlap will remove that possibilty.
I was thinking something like this but not having much luck getting info off google so maybe a 5mm gap either in white grey or black
Neil

Screenshot 2020-04-16 14.04.51.png
 
Ah... Right. That makes more sense :)
 
I just did a mock up with the 4x6 that Nod suggested using a piece of grey board. I think possibly black or white would give it a bit of punch
IMG_20200416_143318_resized_20200416_023857295.jpg
Of course this is just a rough slap on but I think I might give it a go with 4 x A2 size prints
 
Looks great. I think I may give this a go myself.
 
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Okay here's an update. I ended up using PScc to slice the picture into 4 equal sizes, these were saved as individual images, I then used Epson Image Layout to align each image individually and printed them all out.........here are the setting I used in Epson Image Layout
Screenshot 2020-04-16 18.20.11.png

Epson Print Layout shows 106 DPI and PScc shows 104 DPI so about the same. Looking at what's coming out of the printer the resolution looks okay considering the size of the final print is going to be ~46 inches x 31 inches. The problem I had was that PScc will only save the slices as JPGs which is a shame as the original image is really quite big.
Anyway I will drop the prints off tomorrow and get them mounted......still swithering over black or white inside borders but I will make my mind up once they are laid out.
Thanks for everyone's help
Neil
 
Will be cool to see the finished image.
How are you mounting them and what paper did you end up opting for?
 
Will be cool to see the finished image.
How are you mounting them and what paper did you end up opting for?
I used the Epson Premium Luster, I find it prints better in B&W than the Epson Canvas Satin. We are on lockdown here in Phuket so I will have to wait to get it mounted. My plan is to have them mounted on a board with about an 1/8 to 1/4" gap between the inside edges of the prints with either Black or White showing through the gap....my gut feeling is black but interested to hear what others have used?
I will then have about a 3" white border all the way around with a 2" black plain picture frame.....like the one i had done below.
IMG_20200416_184412_resized_20200416_073003379.jpg

Neil
 
How are you mounting them and what paper did you end up opting for?
here is a template of how i am going to mount it. There is a small issue whereby when PScc sliced the original image into 4 (I assume PScc does that presis) somewhere along the line I managed to screw that up and 2 of the slices are 3mm narrower and unfortunately one of them is the right hand side where the baby elephant tail is. I think I can still mount it and still have about 5mm between the tail and the border to show some separation if not then I don't think I will proceed with it.
I will hopefully find out later today when I go to the framing shop Untitled-1.jpg
 
Personally I find the black cross is very distracting. I wouldn't do it this way. If you need the size and your printer is not up to it just pay to get it done.
Secondly I have concerns about left side being quite out of focus which may be all too obvious at larger sizes.
Finally I would want to use matt paper for this.
 
Thanks for the feedback, but it's printed already and now waiting for the lockdown to finish to get it mounted. The left side looks pretty good to me on each of the A2 segments.
Neil
Personally I find the black cross is very distracting. I wouldn't do it this way. If you need the size and your printer is not up to it just pay to get it done.
Secondly I have concerns about left side being quite out of focus which may be all too obvious at larger sizes.
Finally I would want to use matt paper for this.
 
I will take another picture tonight to without the reflection, unfortunately they didn't have the non reflective glass in that size
Neil
 
Looks amazing Neil. Good stuff.
 
The way to do this w/o the gaps is to make the individual prints overlap notably. Once printed you align the prints and secure them in place; then use a very sharp razor knife to trim both prints simultaneously through the overlapping area. When the cutoffs are removed the remaining seam should be perfectly aligned and nearly invisible.
 
I thought about doing it like that but I wanted to do it as 4 individual prints with a gap around them so that there was no question as to whether they are joined or not. In real life it looks amazing and I'm chuffed to bits with it.
Neil
The way to do this w/o the gaps is to make the individual prints overlap notably. Once printed you align the prints and secure them in place; then use a very sharp razor knife to trim both prints simultaneously through the overlapping area. When the cutoffs are removed the remaining seam should be perfectly aligned and nearly invisible.
 
That`s a great shot Neil and it works well and how it looks divided into 4 again this works well but this part for me (circled) is throwing the show right out of the window as it does not align.
Just my 2 cents worth and is just my opinion.
Untitled-1.jpg
 
really got me thinking on what else I have that can print this big

Big prints are really something else. I did a 9ft print on roll paper of a Grand Canyon pano. It's rolled up in the loft because I have no (allowed) wall space for it. I keep looking at my 6x17s and thinking about doing a silly big print again. Think I need to unwatch this thread :eek:
 
That`s a great shot Neil and it works well and how it looks divided into 4 again this works well but this part for me (circled) is throwing the show right out of the window as it does not align.
Just my 2 cents worth and is just my opinion.
View attachment 276844
Morning Graham
On the actual print that misalignment is there but not as in your face as the print above. It was a mistake made by me in the original slicing of the image in PScc that I knew off but didnt want to reprint the whole picture again (Hay I come from Scotland lol).
Anyway like I said, on the finished print that's now hanging on my dining room wall, its there but not too bad.
Neil
 
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