How to make a poster using 4 A4 sheets?

So, I've got this massive image that I want to split up into four separate A4 sheets. The plan is to just tape them all together later to make one giant poster.
I'm running Windows 10 and I've got CorelDRAW 2017, Microsoft Word 2003, and Adobe Photoshop 2021 sitting on my machine. I was wondering if any of those can handle this, or should I go hunting for some other software?
Just a heads-up, I'm planning to take the files down to a local print shop to get everything printed out.

Open up Adobe Photoshop 2021 and set your canvas to an A2 size at 300 DPI. Drop that massive photo you've got in there, then split that A2 sheet into four equal quadrants—basically turning it into four A4 sections by cutting it right down the middle both vertically and horizontally.

Take each quadrant and move them one by one into a new A4 file, which is the size you'll actually be printing to piece together later. Just set up four different layers in that A4 PSD and label them clearly so you don't lose your mind, like TL (top left), TR (top right), and so on. Once you're done, just take that A4 PSD to a local print shop. Seriously, it's that simple.

That’s not quite it, man. If I print those four pieces out and try to cut them up with scissors, there’s zero room left to actually glue them together—I don't know if you catch my drift here
Each image really needs to have that little white paper border (maybe about half an inch) so there's actually some space to stick the next one onto it

Sam Peterson6 said:That’s not quite it, man. If I print those four pieces out and try to cut them up with scissors, there’s zero room left to actually glue them together—I don't know if you catch my drift here
Each image really needs to have that little white paper border (maybe about half an inch) so there's actually some space to stick the next one onto it

Yeah, trim and bleed. I figured the print shop would just handle that part since they're doing the printing, so I didn't bother mentioning it. A 0.2 inch margin on all sides should do the trick.

But honestly, here is a super easy way to do it. Actually, even better—and you'd get a much cleaner result—would be to just print it in two A2 sections instead. Just two halves, then you just butt them together:

Sam Peterson6 said:That’s not quite it, man. If I print those four pieces out and try to cut them up with scissors, there’s zero room left to actually glue them together—I don't know if you catch my drift here
Each image really needs to have that little white paper border (maybe about half an inch) so there's actually some space to stick the next one onto it

The question should really be...Do you even hear yourself?'...

Yes. 'Locations. For adhesive. I have. Let's say, white.
The final result would look exactly like the image on the right.

Nothing changes. No matter how he lays it out. Your collection of images in A2 (or any other size):


If they’re printing in A2...Print center.Just have them print that image as a single piece on paper or cardstock at A2 size. 42.0 x 59.4 cm (that’s A2 size). Done. 🤷

Sam Peterson6 said:That’s not quite it, man. If I print those four pieces out and try to cut them up with scissors, there’s zero room left to actually glue them together—I don't know if you catch my drift here
Each image really needs to have that little white paper border (maybe about half an inch) so there's actually some space to stick the next one onto it

Quoting you again.
This time regarding a potential fix, assuming you actually care this much about having "white borders for gluing"
(which is a different approach than the video shared by our colleague @ruggedcyclist56):



Though, from an aesthetic standpoint, it would be far more sensible

- either mount those four A4 prints onto a single sheet of A2 paper...
- or flip them face down and tape them together "crosswise" using wide clear tape.

Even if a "project" like this seems straightforward,
it is better to have a solid strategy in place before starting:

for instance,
- which edges to overlap;
- using a staged gluing process instead of doing it all at once:
say, glue the top two sheets first, then the bottom two... and finally join the top and bottom halves into one complete image;
- the specific sequence of steps, and so on.

I mean, what is even the point of all this hassle with taping up individual sheets of A4 paper? If you're already making the trip down to a print shop, why wouldn't you just load a massive roll onto the plotter and call it a day?

There is actually some software out there designed specifically for this. https://www.ronyasoft.com/products/proposter/en/

Kenneth Cruz67 said:I mean, what is even the point of all this hassle with taping up individual sheets of A4 paper? If you're already making the trip down to a print shop, why wouldn't you just load a massive roll onto the plotter and call it a day?

👍 You simply set your canvas to A2 in Adobe Photoshop, tweak the image until it looks right, and you're done. When it comes to plotting or standard printing, 72 dpi is perfectly adequate; of course, 300 dpi—along with LPI—remains the industry standard for professional printing, though that really depends on the specific paper stock you're using.

That A2 project could easily be handled by a standard desktop printer, as most modern software includes tools to tile large formats into sizes the machine can actually manage. But, looking at the big picture, your best bet is always to finish the job on a plotter or via digital printing.

You can find those services on practically every street corner these days, and unlike in the old days, they are incredibly affordable.