Editing Tiled printing

{{Advert|date=February 2017}}

[[Image:Tiled printing example - MARTA.jpg|thumb|A tiled printing of a subway station hung in a hallway ([[:Image:MARTA - N3 Station.jpg|source photo]])]]

'''Tiled printing''' is a method that [[computer program]]s use to enable users to print images larger than a standard page. This method was popularized by a program called '''The Rasterbator'''. A tiled printing program overlays a [[Grid (spatial index)|grid]] on the printed image in which each cell (or tile) is the size of a printed page, and then prints each tile. A person can then arrange the tiles to reconstruct the full image.

Tiled printing has been widespread since the days of [[mainframe computer]]s. An early example is the [[Unix]] <code>[[banner (Unix)|banner]]</code> program which created very large printable text banners out of ASCII characters in some Unix variants. Programs were available to convert images to [[ASCII art]] that when printed large enough and viewed sufficiently far away, appeared to be smoothly shaded. Modern software may use [[halftoning]] to achieve a similar effect.

Another form of tiled printing, inspired by continuous feed printers, involves making a long message of letters, possibly with inline graphics of the same height, and printing it sideways over several pages to make a banner. This type of printing is usually associated with [[The Print Shop]], a 1980s software package.

Since high-resolution images are used to create the prints, a large amount of ink is used in the process. [[Ink jet printer]]s are used to make tiled printouts without sacrificing the resolution of the original image at reasonable cost. These decorations are sometimes called ''rasterbations'', after a popular tiled printing program, "The Rasterbator." The Rasterbator program accepts users images and divides them into a grid format. Users can specify how big the final product should be, in terms of pages. The application then produces PDF images that when printed out, form the entire picture.

==World records==
[[Image:UTS2012rasterbation.jpg|thumb|left|The 2012 [[University of Toronto Schools]] rasterbation]]
[[File:The Gathering 2013 Scream rasterbation.jpg|thumb|Picture of the world record rasterbation at [[The Gathering (computer party)|The Gathering]] 2013]]
Rasterbation is often the subject of [[world record|record-breaking attempts]] to create the largest and most impressive tiled prints. The title of the world's largest rasterbation was previously held by "the Doomtech crew".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Rasterbation TG06 - Doomtech |url=https://rasterbation.doomtech.net/ |access-date=2023-04-24 |website=rasterbation.doomtech.net}}</ref> However, in June 2007 the graduating class of the [[University of Toronto Schools]], a [[Toronto]] high school, produced a rasterbation incorporating 1462 sheets of {{frac|8|1|2}}"×14" [[Legal paper|legal-sized paper]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://sites.google.com/site/shaniqua2007/Home|title = Google Sites}}</ref> This achievement surpassed the previous record by over two hundred sheets, but then was overtaken by a group from [[Groton School]] in May 2008. The [[Groton School]] Rasterbation<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://maclellanimages.com/blog1/2008/07/01/my-prank/|title = Ian MacLellan - Boston portrait, travel, and adventure photographer and filmmaker}}</ref> used more than 1500 sheets of 11x14" paper and was 100' tall, making it the largest ever.

In June 2012, another graduating class from the University of Toronto Schools produced 74 {{convert|9|×|9|ft|m|adj=on}} rasterbations in one night, each incorporating 143 sheets of {{frac|8|1|2}}×11" [[Letter (paper size)|letter-sized paper]], for a record-shattering total of 10,582 sheets. Each rasterbation included the face of one of the graduating students with a doorway cut out of his or her gaping mouth - altogether, they created a corridor of mouths throughout the school's hallways.

In March 2013, a {{convert|1017|sqft|m2}} rasterbation of [[Edvard Munch]]s iconic painting [[The Scream]] was created at Norway's largest computer party [[The Gathering (computer party)|The Gathering (TG)]], as part of the art project [http://thescreamfromnature.com/ "Scream from nature"].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.aftenposten.no/kultur/Skrik-blir-kunstprosjekt-pa-The-Gathering-7132277.html |title="Skrik" blir kunstprosjekt på The Gathering - Aftenposten |website=www.aftenposten.no |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017045501/http://www.aftenposten.no/kultur/Skrik-blir-kunstprosjekt-pa-The-Gathering-7132277.html |archive-date=2013-10-17}}</ref> It is the largest known reprint of any Munch painting. The rasterbation, made by the crew at [http://www.sorlanet.no Sørlanet], consisted of 1,517 (37 × 41) sheets of [[ISO 216|A4 paper]], and measured {{convert|28.25|×|36.05|ft|m}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://h-a.no/Nyheter/Nyheter/tabid/72/articleView/true/moduleid/202101/Default.aspx#.UVRdD1f1VTJ |title=Hamar Arbeiderblad > Nyheter |website=h-a.no |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130329100918/http://h-a.no/Nyheter/Nyheter/tabid/72/articleView/true/moduleid/202101/Default.aspx |archive-date=2013-03-29}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fvn.no/digital/--Vi-har-printet-ut-verdens-storste-Skrik-2384964.html#.UVRdHFf1VTJ |title=- Vi har printet ut verdens største "Skrik" - fvn.no |website=www.fvn.no |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130331001217/http://www.fvn.no/digital/--Vi-har-printet-ut-verdens-storste-Skrik-2384964.html |archive-date=2013-03-31}}</ref>

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
{{commons category}}

=== Applications ===
* [https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.emersonracca.pufferizer Pufferizer] - a free tiled printing application for Android devices and is designed for printing on standard photo papers
* [http://tileprint.jhi.fi/ Tileprint] - a free tiled printing application for iOS-devices
* [https://rasterbator.net/ The Rasterbator] - a popular tiled printing application for [[Windows]], which is [[Free Software|free]] and [[open source]] software
* [http://rasterbator.net/ The Rasterbator Online] - official online version of The Rasterbator
* [http://code.google.com/p/rasterbator-ng/ Rasterbator-NG] - a [[Mono (software)|Mono]]-based Rasterbator version
* [http://blockposters.com Block Posters] - online application that creates any size pdf posters from up to 1 MB images (free)
* [http://posterazor.sourceforge.net/ PosteRazor] - a graphical multi-platform tiled printing application that takes [[bitmap image]]s as input and creates a multi-page [[PDF]] document (free)
* [http://pythonhosted.org/pdftools.pdfposter pdfposter] - a command line tiled printing application for PDF files (free)
* [http://linux.die.net/man/1/poster poster(1)] - a command line tiled printing application for [[PostScript]] files (free)
* [https://apps.apple.com/us/app/printtiler/id6745239959 PrintTiler] (2025) – a macOS application that automatically splits large images into multiple pages for printing, with live preview, support for ISO A-series and US formats, custom sizing, and 300 DPI output.

=== Articles ===
* [http://www.pcworld.com/article/192193 "Freebie Rasterbator Makes Arty-Looking Posters"] - ''PC World'', April 8, 2010
* [https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/09/AR2009050901582.html "Turn Photos Into Wall-Size Posters"], ''PC World'', May 13, 2009
* [http://www.dakotastudent.com/2.5858/rasterbate-in-your-dorm-room-1.868697 "Rasterbate in your dorm room"], ''Dakota Student'', August 25, 2006
* [http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2004/12/9/rasterbate-more-talk-about-your-rasterbation/ "Rasterbate More: Slap a pixelated Larry on your wall"], ''The Harvard Crimson'', December 9, 2004

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tiled Printing}}
[[Category:Computer printers]]
[[Category:Photographic techniques]]