Printing Tips for Perfect Posters

Everything you need to know to print, assemble, and hang your rasterbated poster without frustration.

Before You Print

Check Your Ink Levels

Run a nozzle check or test page before printing your full poster. Low ink mid-print causes banding and color shifts that ruin the final result. Replace or refill cartridges if any color is below 20%.

Choose the Right Paper

Standard 80gsm copy paper works fine for most posters — it's cheap and widely available. For a more premium look, use 100–120gsm paper: it handles ink better, warps less, and feels sturdier when assembled. Avoid glossy photo paper unless your printer supports it, as it can smear.

Do a Test Print First

Print just the first page (A1) before committing to the full run. Check that colors look right, the image isn't blurry, and the scale feels correct. This saves ink and paper if something needs adjusting.

Critical Print Settings

Always Print at 100% Scale — Never use 'Fit to Page' or 'Shrink to Fit' — these options rescale each page differently and cause misalignment when assembling. Set scale to exactly 100% (or 'Actual Size') in your print dialog.

Disable Double-Sided Printing — Make sure duplex (two-sided) printing is turned off. Each page should print on one side only. Double-sided output makes assembly impossible.

Use Standard or High Quality — Draft mode saves ink but produces visible banding on large halftone patterns. Use Standard or High quality for best results. The difference in ink usage is small compared to the visual improvement.

Try Borderless Printing If Available — If your printer supports borderless printing, enable it to eliminate white margins entirely. This makes assembly easier since you won't need to trim edges. Not all printers support this — check your printer settings.

Fixing White Gaps Between Pages

Why Gaps Happen

Most printers cannot print to the very edge of the paper — they leave a small unprintable margin (typically 3–5mm). When pages are placed side by side, these margins create visible white lines. There are three ways to fix this.

Use the Overlap Feature

Rasterbator includes a built-in overlap setting. When enabled, each page slightly repeats content from adjacent pages. You trim the overlap on one side before assembly, and the seam disappears. This is the recommended approach.

Trim the Margins

Print normally, then use a ruler and craft knife (or paper trimmer) to cut off the white margins on the right and bottom edges of each page before taping. This requires precision but works well with any printer.

Use a Dark Background Color

If your poster has a dark background, thin white gaps are nearly invisible. In Rasterbator, set the background color to black or a dark tone — small seams will blend in naturally without any trimming.

Assembly Tips

1
Lay Everything Out on the Floor First
Before taping anything, spread all printed pages on the floor in the correct grid order. This lets you spot any missing pages, misprints, or orientation errors before it's too late.
2
Follow the Position Labels
Each page is labeled with a grid position (A1, A2, B1, B2, etc.). A = column, number = row. Start from the top-left corner and work right, then down. Don't guess — the labels are there for a reason.
3
Trim Along the Crop Marks
If you used the overlap setting, each page has small crop marks in the corners. Cut along these marks with scissors or a craft knife before assembly. A paper trimmer gives the cleanest, straightest cuts.
4
Tape from the Center Outward
Start assembling from the center of the poster and work outward. This prevents small alignment errors from accumulating at the edges. Use low-tack tape on the front for invisible seams, or regular tape on the back.
5
Mounting Options
Blu-tack is great for temporary display and won't damage walls. Double-sided tape gives a flat, permanent hold. Pins work well for fabric or cork boards. For a professional finish, mount the assembled poster on foam board or have it laminated.

Troubleshooting

Gaps Between Pages

If you see white lines between pages after assembly, the most likely cause is printer margins. Re-print with the overlap feature enabled, or trim the margins from each page before reassembling. Also double-check that you printed at 100% scale — 'Fit to Page' is a common culprit.

Inconsistent Colors Between Pages

Color variation between pages usually means your ink ran low mid-print, or your printer paused and resumed. Print all pages in a single uninterrupted job. If colors still vary, check that you're using the same paper type throughout and that your printer's color calibration hasn't drifted.

Image Looks Blurry or Pixelated

Blurriness usually means the source image resolution was too low for the poster size you chose. Go back to Rasterbator and either reduce the poster size or upload a higher-resolution image. As a rule of thumb, your source image should be at least 1MP for a 6-page poster, and 4MP+ for anything larger.

Start Making Your Poster