Digital Prints

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Mastering Digital Printing
Application Tiling: If you’re not using a RIP, you can use application tiling to exceed the
print device’s maximum page-length limit and print in banner mode up to the application’s
maximum. This neat trick divides the image into smaller pieces that, when laid endto-end,
form one long image without breaks. Both Corel Draw 8.x/9.x and Adobe
Illustrator 8.x/9.x allow you to do this. Figure 11.2 shows how Adobe Illustrator 8.01
would be set up to print a tall banner that’s 44 inches wide and 227 inches tall on an Epson
10000 under an older OS.
A PostScript RIP, however, gives you even better control over tiling and may eliminate the
need to use a page-layout or drawing program in the first place (unless you’re creating your
image that way).
Another way that application tiling can be done is by breaking up the image into individual
tiles that are printed separately and physically reassembled by either butting or
slightly overlapping the edges with tape or adhesive. The downside to this type of image
tiling is that there will be visible seams.
This single image was output 50 feet
long in one piece from an HP
Designjet 5500 printer using the
German-made PosterJet RIP. PosterJet
has the ability to print a single image
up to 50 meters in length!