UPDATE: See my new video from March 2021!
Let’s say you’ve got a ginormous image that you’d like to print. Maybe it’s a picture of a map, and the resolution of the image is something like 2000 by 2200 pixels.
Obviously, you could just print the image to a single sheet of A4/Letter paper, but you’d lose a lot of detail.
If you’re a serious Photoshopper, you’d probably just fire up that particular app and use the built-in functionality to split and print.
For the rest of us, however, that’s not exactly what we’d call “easy”.
The good news is that Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7 all give you a wonderful (AHEM!) application that does exactly what you need…
You’re going to find this hard to believe, but that built-in Windows app that will split-print an image for you is none other than Microsoft’s much-maligned Paint application!!
I know – whodduh thunkit?
Although I have to say that Paint in Windows 7 is definitely better than the previous version, at least in terms of looks…
In any case, here’s what you do:
- Open the image you’d like to print in Paint
- Select: Print -> Page Setup (Vista and 7), or File -> Page Setup (in XP)
- Under Scaling, select Fit to and change the setting to something like “2 by 2 page(s)”
- Click OK
- Print the image from Paint, and make sure to select “All Pages”
That’s it – you’re done. You can take any image and have Paint print it out on multiple sheets of paper. If you’d like, you can also adjust the page margins in the Page Setup. In any case, all that’s left is to trim the white border from the individual printed pages, break out the scotch tape, and go to town.
Before you know it, you’ll have your huge image printed and assembled on regular-sized paper.
What’s really strange about this little feature is that I know a lot of people who would love to know about it. But 10 out of 10 people I asked had no idea that Paint could do this. Most people I talk to also have no idea that even in Windows XP, you can select a bunch of images, right click, and choose Send to -> Mail Recipient. That will present a little box that lets you automatically resize the images to a smaller resolution before opening your default e-mail client and attaching the resized images to a new message. And yet every Mac user knows their system can do that…
But then, I guess we shouldn’t be surprised. When has Microsoft ever successfully advertised the truly useful features in their operating systems?
Just wanted to say thanks and this also works in Windows 10 🙂
There’s no Page Setup in Paint3D in Windows 10, that I can find.
Windows 10 still has old paint right? At least it does for me
Yeah, I think regular Paint is still there for everyone.
THANK YOU!!! This is what I’ve been looking for! <3 ^_^
A big thanks!! This is what i have been looking for, it really helps !!!!!
Thank you, very helpful!
veryyyy helpful
thank you so much
Thanks. This was exactly what I was looking for.
Very helpful.
blockposters.com does this awesomely!
You need to be up. 🙂
Thank you so much! I can’t believe it took me so may hours to find this simple solution 🙂
Sometimes the best solutions are the simplest! Thanks you for sharing this.
This also works in Windows 10, so it is still relevant information!
I had no idea Paint had this feature. Thank you so much for this post!!!
YOU ARE INCREDIBLE!!! MANY MANY THANKS!!!
Just a big Thanks !! It works in Paint, Windows 10
Genius! I am currently on Windows 10 & of course Windows never offers an easy answer. Yours’ was spot on! Thanks a ton. Now I can print an image as a 12×12 to trace onto canvas & paint.
I’d wasted time fudging around with Photoshop before I found this tip. Many thanks!
A tip with Paint?! THAT’S AWESOME! Very useful tip. Thank you!
As everyone else is saying, THANK YOU!!!
Amazing!!! Thank you so much! Really saved the day 🙂
Thank you, this is working great! Well, until I ran out of ink, twice… lol SOooo now, does anyone know how to SELECT CERTAIN PAGES (in the middle of the picture, using 2 sets of cartridges, I have printed from front to back and back to front and now am missing 5 pages in the middle) TO PRINT??
Can’t find an option to select pages to print!
Deborah, print to a PDF file and then it’s easy to select which pages you want printed.
thank you very much! it worked for me.
Thanks a lot. Before getting this simple method, i often used to edit images in photoshop then make it possible to print on 2 or 3 legal size papers.
Thx a lot for the Tutorial! Good work. As for me, last step (printing) i was making with the support of RonyaSoft poster printer , cause, unfortunately, i have only my a4 printer… But result was really cool! Thanks you again ! :)))
Thank you for your information on- Print a Large Image to Multiple Pages.
Since reading this I have used it many times for enlarging my quilt patterns using the- To Fit 2×2 pages.
Now I’m trying to do the simple task of just enlarging a pattern on to 2 A4 pages… can I do this no! “sounds silly doesn’t it”
Please advise
Regards Sue
If this helps I have tried – Fit 1 by 2 and 2 by 1
Still only getting a full print on 1 page
I just tried it, and it doesn’t seem to like 1×2 or 2×1… It wants 2×2 or higher. 🙁
Thank you Scottie for your reply 🙂
I was up most of the night with the humidity being at 90% so I dicided to have another go on the printer. This time I picked a design which was clearly a portrait size and printed off the 2×2 which will work great as a wall hanging for patchwork. Then I had the idea to change the orientation to Landscape and the -To Fit to 1 by 2 pages -it WORKED!
WOW! I thought to myself, I’m fantastic (laughing)
But really it is all done to you for informing us what painter can do.
Aha! I had tried with a landscape image, but maybe it just wasn’t wide enough to do 2×1. Thanks for the tip!
Thank You I,ve been going around in circles trying to do this!
Works a treat (Windows 10). Thanks for sharing.
Worked perfectly! I was able to print a 36×36 sketch I had created in Photoshop from a photo. Thank you for sharing this!
Thank you so much. I could have wasted hours figuring this out. In my head, I had thought I was going to end up in paint, but it would have taken forever to find this option. I would look everywhere in the program, but I wouldn’t think to click print until I had found the option. Windows 10 sure does take some getting used to.
You made my day! Simple but AMAZING tip. Thank you!!! God bless!
Hi,
Some more information for those who need to print a wide or tall image:
In Page Setup, where it says: Fit to (x) by (y) page(s),
X = width, Y = height.
Thank you for the tip! Now I can print my wide family tree. 🙂
Thanks. 🙂
Hi i am trying the 2 by 2 however it is cutting off the left bit of the picture and also only printing on two sheets of paper. i need it to be printed over about 14 sheets as it needs to be really big… any help?
Thanks!
I am facing a strange problem, out of two pages, first page is fine in colors but the second is bit dark, I can’t join them together. Half the picture is light & half the picture dark.
Please help.
Thanks!
Hmm… Well, either Paint is doing something weird, or more likely Paint + your printer driver is doing something weird. I would try installing an updated printer driver (preferably from the maker’s web site). If that doesn’t work, uninstall the printer driver and let Windows install its default one, which it will prolly grab from Windows Update.
Thank you Scottie, I will try and let you know tomorrow.
so useful thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thx!
Simpler is better:)
Thank you so much! I volunteer as a canvasser, and this will make printing off turf immensely easier!!!
It really helpful. Thanks…
I had a notion that Paint might be the answer and a search turned up your suggestion. I needed to produce a template for painting a business sign based on a drawing. This saved me an enormous amount of time.
To scale my drawing, I had an easier time specifying a certain percentage of increase rather than the pages option. That way I can calculate very closely the percent increase needed from my smaller scanned original. At least that was my experience.
Many thanks for writing up this hint.
Incredibly useful – many thanks 🙂
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This is super useful and super easy! Thank you so much!
Its June 2018. Why am i only figuring this out now?
thank you. works perfectly.
On Win10, paint and paint 3D say: “That image was too big, so we resized it for you.”
NT very helpfull of MS.
The picture is a PNG of 33000 x 300 px