Print image easily across multiple pages

Talk about Pixelmator Pro, share tips & tricks, tutorials, and other resources.
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2018-10-04 10:16:44

I don't own Pixelmator yet and before I purchase I just wanted to make sure it could handle multi-page image printing. I have yet to find a simple mac solution to this.

Basically, I want to be able to take an image (say of a map or sewing pattern), scale it, and then print it at the new scale on a standard printer. I understand that these pages would need to be trimmed and taped together. The important thing is that nothing be lost and the edges of the actual image pages be clearly identified for trimming.

Can Pixelmator or Pixelmator Pro print an image on multiple standard printer pages in this way? I'm assuming that scaling is no big deal.
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2018-10-04 17:32:10

Hi Rolf.

What you're asking sounds like pretty reasonable thing to ask but turns out to be a struggle to do. Neither Pixelmator nor Pixelmator Pro really have a concept of paper. Sure you can specify an image to be a particular size at a particular ppi but, once it's created it's just pixels. And the print dialog doesn't have the option to split an image across pages (not that I can find anyhow). (edit: I can cut the image into pieces in either app, export all the pieces at once, then drag the resulting into Preview and print from there but that's rather a manual process)

My go-to app when I need a print option that another app can't provide is Apple's Preview but it turns out (surprisingly to me) that Preview can't tile pages either.

If I had a DTP or page layout app on my machine I'd probably turn to that. It's a bit of a sledgehammer to crack a nut, but it would be aware of colour management (and paper) and would be used to driving printers.

With what I had on my computer, my best two options would be:
1. Apple's Numbers. OK, so it's a spreadsheet app, but if you paste an image over the grid and drag it to make it really big that works. It's a bit clunky l but you can print a tiled image.
2. Literature and Latte's Scapple. This little-known app is intended for brainstorming but, you can drag an image onto its virtual paper and resize it at will. You can even turn on page guides to work out how many pages you want to print it across. Quick and easy but no easy way of getting an exact scale.

Numbers is (I think) free.
Scapple is (I think) about £15 (but the app store won't tell me how much apps cost if I've already bought them) but a free trial is available.
Both Pixelmator and Pixelmator Pro have free trials if you want to check them out.

Hope this helps and good luck with your search.

- Stef.
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2018-10-05 00:28:18

Scapple does it? Cool. Are you a writer as well? I actually have Scapple on my mac, but didn't think to try it. I don't really use the app, but picked it up awhile ago as I'm a big fan and user of Scrivener.

I agree with you about Preview. It does so many other related things so very well.

Thank you for your reply. After posting a couple places, I was beginning to think that I was the only person with this feature need. I used Pixelmator awhile ago, but switched to Affinity Photo and Designer. They have the same limitations that you describe.

I ended up finding and buying a niche app for this purpose before seeing your reply. It works very well and I would recommend giving it a try. It has a number of nice features like a non-destructive crop, supports overlapping, and a clear view of what will end up on which page by printer settings. It's also about $5.

Print to Scale: https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/print-t ... 7832?mt=12

In a way I'm a little bummed, I was also kind of looking for a reason to "have" to buy Pixelmater Pro... :wink:
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2018-10-05 07:44:17

I'm a sort-of writer. I'll call myself a writer when I eventually get that novel out. I've worked as a technical writer and and have attempted NaNoWriMo several times with just the one win. I've used a lot of writing apps over the years including Scrivener. I fell in love with Ulysses then out of love again when they switched to a subscription model. I think I'm going to try to kickstart my writing and test out Highland2 this November using Scapple as a notetaking/planning tool to supplement it.

Little apps rock. All too often a big app will pay lip-service to a particular function and not do it well enough. Little apps that do one thing, and do it well are awesome.

Reasons to buy Pixelmator Pro? Well... it is on sale at the moment. :wink:
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2018-10-07 00:45:48

It sounds like we have many writing things in common. I had the same relationship with Ulysses and it ended the same way. I looked at Highland 2, but like the movie Highlander 2, it just wasn't for me. If I were interested in writing scripts I would probably feel differently.

Keith has been working pretty hard on Scrivener, and 3 is a big improvement over 2. It already works well under Mojave, and the next update adds Dark Mode. If you haven't tried it since 2, I would recommend dusting it off. There's nothing I've found that's quite like it for long writing, but I'm still learning the craft as well--so what do I know. For me, its killer features are scrivenings and its painless outline integration. I don't follow an outline method, but I've found that outlining in reverse helps keep my mind open to the larger story structure so that it can emerge--less time spent writing scenes I don't have a place for after finishing them.

Congrats on NaNoWriMo. :thumbs_up: I've tried twice, but have yet to win. But it's almost November...
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2018-10-07 00:49:46

Oh I forgot, on doing one things really well, have you tried MindNode? My condolences to L&L, but I think it's far superior to Scapple.
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2018-10-07 21:36:34

Highland2: I've got a busy mind. Often much busier than I would like. I really like the everything-in-one-place approach of Scrivener but find that the ability to fiddle with things feeds the non-productive side of me. Highland calms me down a bit and gets me to focus on the writing more. I think it will be a good fit for me (at least for first drafts). November will tell.

Scapple: From about 14-ish years old I've drawn what I call 'spider diagrams': words and little blocks of text connected with lines and arrows, ocasionally with decoration. When I came across mind maps I was really excited as they are close to what I did anyway. There's a subtle but fundamental difference between a mind map and a spider diagram, though. A mind map flows outwards from a central concept: it has a hierarchy. A spider diagram is an aggregation of connected thoughts: if a spider diagram has a hierarchy, it is a loose and flexible one. Sometimes I'll get an insight into a problem from a spider diagram that changes its focus as it develops. Scapple is fairly sparsely featured but it is a good fit for spider diagrams (and you can draw huuuuuge diagrams with it).

After a couple of years off, I'll be doing NaNo again this year. If you want to say 'hi', I'm on the NaNo website as st3f. Best of luck. Hope you get a win this year! :memo: :memo: :memo: :memo: :memo: