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Split across four A4 sheets in a 2 by 2 grid

This page is for the way people usually think about it: about four sheets of A4. Give it a column and row count and it works backwards from the margin and the glue flap to the real finished dimensions.

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Fixing the page count fixes the cost

Asking for a finished size can quietly produce more sheets than you expected once margins and flaps are subtracted. Fixing the grid instead pins down the printing time and the ink. Two by two is four sheets of A4; with the default 5 mm margin and 5 mm flap that assembles to roughly 395 by 569 mm, a little smaller than a true A2 of 420 by 594.

The arithmetic behind the finished size

The printable width of a sheet is its width minus two margins: 210 minus 10 is 200 mm for A4. Neighbouring sheets share the 5 mm flap, so two of them side by side span 200 times 2 minus 5, which is 395 mm. The height works out as 287 times 2 minus 5, or 569 mm. The page recalculates this every time you change the grid.

Sheet orientation follows your artwork

In grid mode the orientation is chosen from the aspect ratio of your source: landscape artwork gets landscape sheets. The same 2 by 2 grid gives 395 by 569 mm on portrait A4 and 569 by 395 mm on landscape A4. Feed it a wide photograph and it turns the sheets automatically, so you do not end up with blank bands down the sides.

Frequently asked questions

How big is a four-sheet result?

395 by 569 mm with A4, a 5 mm margin and a 5 mm flap. Set both to zero and it becomes exactly 420 by 594 mm, which is A2.

Should I use this or the finished-size mode?

Use finished size when you need to hit a standard such as A2 or A1 exactly. Use the grid when you want to control how many pages you print, or when you are simply filling an empty space on a noticeboard.

The centre of my four sheets does not line up

Do not glue the four in sequence. Join the top pair, join the bottom pair, then bring the two halves together along one straight line, which pushes the accumulated error to the outside edge instead of the middle.

Common presets

Poster & pattern tilingA3 from two A4 sheetsA2 poster from A4 sheetsA1 poster from A4 sheetsA0 poster from A4 sheetsA1 from four A3 sheetsA0 from eight A3 sheetsB3 from four B5 sheetsSplit across a 3 x 3 grid of A4Split across a 4 x 4 grid of A4Sewing patterns at true 100%Enlarge a photo across sheetsBig text signsBanners and long formats

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