Printing arched text huge???

[tomknox]

I'm currently about to hand paint (pinstripe) an enclosed trailer and i need help/advice on it. I usually do not work this big and i just dont have the time to draw this logo by hand, i need to be able to print it out to a certain size and was hoping to use my home printer. As you can tell by the attachment, i have already converted the text to an outline and put it on an arch. I need to print it out to be 8 foot wide, how do i go about making the logo that size, and would it be possible to print on my printer here at home and tile the paper together? Thanks so much for any help/advice!!

 

[tomknox]

One more try, not sure if the attachment worked...

 

[ALB68]

Home printer? If you were to have this as a vector file the 8' part can be done no problem. However, let's say you had this text in a program such as Corel or Illustrator. As a vector, the software can take the existing size you have there and make it 8' wide with one command, however, if you keep it proportional as it should be, it would probably be about 2' (feet) tall. Now, what you have there can be easily traced into a vector, but the part about printing it on your home printer is probably not feasible unless you have a wide format capable of this kind of printing. What is the final intended use? A permanent sign?

 

[ALB68]

PS. I loaded it into Corel Draw, traced it to a vector, increased the length to 96". As I guessed, proportionally it is 96" x 22.566".

After I read a little closer, sounds like what u need is a template to paint the sign by hand. Depending on your printer, you can probably produce it in sections. I made some templates this week with my laser for a school that was hand painting a bunch of school mascots (hawk) on a sidewalk. Fundraising thing. Not advertising for myself, but I could cut this in 3 pieces with the letters open to trace off for painting by hand because I have 24" height x 36" length capability.

 

[tomknox]

Alb, thats exactly what i want to do, print it like tiles from my home printer if possible. I will hand paint it like the old school way and i just want to use it as a template. It sounds as if i need corel draw or vector program then? Would it be possible to download a trial version and print it out? Thanks for the help!!

Tyler

 

[ALB68]

There is a free one..it's called Inkscape. You might be better off to just re-do it in Inkscape, but I think it has a tracing module. Just do a search on Inkscape.
What kind of printer, do you have? I have it as a vector that I can cut into pieces for you and then convert it back to a PSD file. If you run into trouble, let me know.

 

[tomknox]

Its a Cannon MP280, its a beauty!

 

[ALB68]

That's a small printer, you have your work cut out for you. Depending on where you live, I would consider doing this for you if you would pay for the paper and postage. I have some paper already cut into 24 x 36 panels I cut for that project the other day. We ended up using hardboard because they were painting 200 of those things and the paper would not have made it.

 

[tomknox]

So im guessing my Cannon printer won't print out tiles that i can just tape together?

If i could print it out straight with zero arch i could then tape it together myself but is there a way to ensure its 8ft or a lil less via photoshop?

Thanks!

 

[ALB68]

I told you that your work was cut out for you. What your wanting to attempt is an awful lot of work. I think what your going to have to do, #1 is to make the artwork the size of the end result your needing. Then, in the image software, chop it in to sections that your printer can print. Each one of those sections will have to be a separate file. You will have several. Do you have anyone that you know that has a vinyl cutter (plotter) in a 24" width? That would be the way to go..might cost you a few bucks, but most all sign companies have them. That way it can be cut in 1 piece, stick it to the wall and go ta paintin! Tell the sign guy what you want and he can do it.

So im guessing my Cannon printer won't print out tiles that i can just tape together?
You could do it in photoshop but your document size would need to be 96" x 24". You could mask (select) sections and make the selections into layers. Then make new files to print from each layer. That might work for you.

If i could print it out straight with zero arch i could then tape it together myself but is there a way to ensure its 8ft or a lil less via photoshop?

Thanks!

 

[dv8_fx]

I didn't follow this thread til now... ...

Before anything.... What's in Layers 1 & 2 ... lol. It's driving me batty coz I can't make them visible. If you use CTRL+T, you'll see there's something there. If you don't need them, delete.....



It's been years since I took on something like this.

All printers should have PRINT IN TILES capability. If your printer has that option control, you're good to go. But you should create the image at actual size.

In Photoshop create a new document at 96" x 22" (8 Feet long) . Razterize and merge the Text Layer in your Text file , drag into the new document and re-size to fit the document. Enlarge the canvas size by 2 inches all-around thus you have 100" x 26" - This will compensate for the printing boundary limit home printer's have.

I don't know the controls of your printer but SET the printing output to maximum paper size. This will minimize the empty spaces and minimize the number of prints ....

If possible, set the printer to add crop marks in the print (I'm sure it has that capability). It'll make your job of splicing the pages easier.

To be safe , do a trial print - of several pages - to see if the print tiling will work for you. If not , CANCEL the print. No need to sacrifice more trees for paper.

If the tiling print is acceptable , BE PREPARED ... I estimate over 40 pages of print on this one ...

Do the necessary "puzzle work" to get the text into shape with ol' scotch tape...LOL.


Hope this works out for you.

 

[dv8_fx]

Just to add -

You can "fool" a home printer into printing more than it's default limit on a standard sheet by setting the page layout to a bigger size by manually entering a slightly bigger paper size in the Custom page layout field.

An A4 or Letter size sheet setting will have (by print default) a 1 inch all around boundary print limit. The bottom is usually 1 and 1/4 an inch. Even if you set the printer to maximum print size, it may only give a fourth of an inch extra print.

By doing what I outlined above, you can reduce the empty boundary to as much as 2 thirds or even 3/4 an inch.

But do this if you know your printer well or know what you need to do with the settings..... and needs a bit of experimenting to squeeze the max out of your printer.

 

[ALB68]

A very nice explanation dv8_fx however...
Some horses can be led to water, but they still won't drink. I could, and have offered, to cut this in 3 pieces of paper on my laser. Just pay the postage. Might cost $10.00 tops. Time to do the suggested operation will take several hours at best. What is your time worth? Not to mention the paper and ink. I could also do it with a vinyl cutter in one piece, but I don't run the plotter often and prefer the laser. OP could take it to a local sign guy and get it done quick and easy.

 

[dv8_fx]

I agree. But the OP asked so all we could do is deliver what we can.

It's up to him now - to do it himself which will take much of his time..... or sub it to someone else which saves effort and less expense on his part.

 

[ALB68]

Yup. His printer max paper size is 8-1/2 x 14. Lots of un-necessary work but some folks want to do for themselves and we don't know his situation. His main competition may be the sign guy with a plotter..might be a bit awkward to get it processed by his competitor. Don't know that,,but just sayin.

I agree. But the OP asked so all we could do is deliver what we can.

It's up to him now - to do it himself which will take much of his time..... or sub it to someone else which saves effort and less expense on his part.