Printing a long and large image on multiple pages can be easily achieved by using third-party graphic software, such as Adobe Photoshop. However, for casual users like us, we cannot call it easy. Fortunately, in Windows 10 or 11, Paint can do the job amazingly.
Let’s say you have a huge and long image or picture with a large resolution, such as a map, a poster, a banner, or any large publication. If you print it on just a sheet of A4 paper, you will definitely lose most of the details.
To print a large image without losing much of the details, we can split the image and print it on multiple A4 pages. Microsoft Paint will do the job just fine.
Print large image on multiple pages using Paint
Here’s a detailed instruction on how to use Paint to print large image onto multiple sheets of papers in Windows 10/11.
- Go to Start menu. Type Paint and open it.
Windows 11
Windows 10
- In Paint, click File, then Open.
- Browse to the image you want to print and open it, or simply paste the image to Paint.
- Click File again. Hover to Print, then select Page Setup.
- Under Scaling, select Fit to. You can set how many pages you want the image to be split and printed on. For example, a 2×2 pages will have a total of 4 pages, while a 4×4 pages will have a total of 16 pages, for a single image.
- Click OK.
- Optionally, you can go to File > Print > Print Preview to have a look at how the pages will look like when they are printed.
- When you’re ready to print. Go to File > Print.
- Select your printer. Enter how many copies you want it to be printed (if you need more than one copy). Then, click Print.
- Be ready to have sufficient sheets of A4 paper for your printer to print your image.
All that’s left to do after printing them is to trim the white borders and connect them by tape or however way you like. Alternatively, during step 4 in Page setup, you can also adjust the page margin to suit your needs. A lower margin will reduce the size of the white border for each page.
For scaling, it’s not always necessary to set for a square setup. You can also set it to be like 2×4 or 5×2, depending on how wide and tall your original image is. You can always experiment with the setup and go to Print Preview to see the result, until you are satisfied with your setup.
It’s also worth mentioning that we use Paint in this guide, not Paint 3D. If you search for Paint in Windows 10/11 start menu, you will probably see Paint 3D first, as it’s meant to be the new Paint since the Windows 10 creators update. However, Paint didn’t get replaced. You can still open it in Windows 11/10.
Other tips for printing big pictures on Windows
If your picture is too large for your paper, you can change its size in Paint before you print it. Just head over to Image > Resize and tweak the width and height to fit your needs. Don’t forget to tick “Maintain aspect ratio” to keep your picture from looking weird.
After printing, you might see the edges don’t line up right. You can fix this with a ruler and a craft knife to trim the white edges and make them straight. Then, stick the pages together with tape or glue. A straight edge can also help get the pages lined up before you join them.
To share your image or keep a digital version, you can save it as a PDF. Hit File > Print, choose “Microsoft Print to PDF” as your printer, and do the same adjustments you would for printing. Click Print, pick where you want to save your PDF, and you’re set.
If you need more tools than what Paint offers, especially for big projects, try software like Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, or InDesign. They’re packed with advanced features for splitting, scaling, and getting your large images just right.
When printing big pictures, picking high-quality paper and ink is important to keeping the colors and details sharp. Play around with the printer settings to boost the image quality, like cranking up the resolution or opting for the “Best” quality. Always preview your image before printing to catch any oops moments.
