Purpose

Studio printing modes determine whether the artwork is printed at its actual physical size (1:1) or fitted on a single sheet of paper. When the canvas is larger than the selected sheet, Tiled Printing (1:1) divides it into separate page regions while preserving the original scale.

For multipage printing, Page Overlap and Crop Marks can help align and trim the printed sheets. These settings are available in Output → Print Preview…, under Printing Mode and the additional options. For printer and paper settings, see Print Setup and Preview.

Actual Size (1:1)

Actual Size (1:1) prints the canvas at a one-to-one physical scale: one centimeter on the ARS canvas should correspond to one centimeter on the printed sheet. The artwork is placed on one sheet, without scaling.

Use this mode when the entire canvas fits within the selected paper’s usable area, for example, for a small study, a selection of color samples, or a small-format drawing.

Important: if the canvas does not fit one sheet at 1:1, ARS does not silently scale it down or cut off its edges. Instead, it reports that the artwork does not fit and directs you to tiled printing. For a reduced full-canvas print on one sheet, choose Fit to Page.

Fit to Page

Fit to Page places the entire canvas on one sheet while preserving its proportions. If necessary, the artwork is reduced to fit the available printable area.

An artwork that is already small enough is not enlarged automatically: the current ARS implementation only reduces the scale when necessary. The image is centered within the space allocated to it.

This mode is useful for checking the overall composition, colors, and tonal relationships on a convenient single sheet. However, if the artwork is reduced, printed distances no longer match the canvas’s physical dimensions at 1:1. Do not use this mode for direct dimensionally accurate transfer unless the canvas was already small enough to remain at its original scale.

Tiled Printing (1:1)

Tiled Printing (1:1) divides a large canvas across several sheets. Every page region retains the original 1:1 scale, so the original artwork dimensions can be reconstructed by aligning the sheets correctly.

Pages are arranged in columns and rows starting at the top-left corner of the canvas. They are numbered row by row: left to right, then downward. The last sheet in a row or column may include unused paper because its remaining portion of the artwork may not fill the page.

If the canvas already fits on one sheet, the Tiled mode can also produce a single page. Overlap has no practical effect in that case because no neighboring sheets exist.

How the Page Count Is Determined

ARS considers the paper’s physical dimensions, the printer’s imageable area, user-defined margins, and any space required for crop marks before calculating how much of the canvas fits on each sheet.

The same 50 × 60 cm canvas may therefore require a different number of pages when you change the printer, orientation, margins, or crop-mark options. The actual page count is shown in the preview dialog. To avoid accidentally creating extremely large jobs, the layout has a 1000-page safety limit.

Page Overlap

When Page Overlap is enabled, neighboring sheets repeat a small strip of the same canvas image. Set the overlap in millimeters. The initial input value is 5 mm, but it is not applied unless you enable the option.

With 5 mm overlap, adjacent sheets share 5 mm of the artwork horizontally or vertically. This helps you align grid lines, color boundaries, and fine reference details before joining the sheets.

Overlap does not change the 1:1 scale or stretch the artwork. It merely specifies which part of the canvas is repeated on neighboring sheets. Because each page contains some repeated material, the layout may require more sheets.

Trim Boundary at the Middle of the Overlap

When overlap is enabled, ARS places the suggested trim boundary at the midpoint of the shared strip. With a 5 mm overlap, the boundary lies approximately 2.5 mm in from either edge of the shared area. Adjacent sheets therefore have trim boundaries corresponding to the same location on the canvas.

A blue dotted outline marks this boundary in the preview. The outline itself is not printed: only the artwork and any enabled crop marks appear on the physical sheets.

Crop Marks

Crop Marks adds short black lines indicating where to trim. These marks are printed outside the image area, not across reference photographs, Sample Strips, or grid lines.

Crop marks are independent of overlap and may be used with or without it, on single-page as well as multipage layouts.

When enabled, ARS reserves extra space around the image. The current defaults are 4 mm mark length and 2 mm gap between the image and each mark. This reduces the printable space available for the artwork and may increase the number of pages or reduce the Fit to Page scale.

Do not confuse the two types of guides:

  • The blue dotted outline is a preview-only visualization of the suggested trim boundary; it is not printed.
  • The black crop marks are actual output marks when Crop Marks is enabled.

Practical Tiled Printing Example

Suppose you want to print a 50 × 60 cm composition with a 5 × 5 cm Canvas Grid on A4 paper.

  1. In Studio, show the Canvas Grid and set Mode → Cell Size, using 5 cm for both cell dimensions.
  2. Open Output → Print Preview….
  3. Choose your printer under Printer, then select A4 under Paper Size.
  4. Select Tiled Printing (1:1) under Printing Mode.
  5. Set the margins, for example to 10 mm on each side. To help with assembly, enable Page Overlap and set it to 5 mm.
  6. If you plan to trim the sheets, enable Crop Marks.
  7. Check the total page count and use Previous / Next to inspect inner and outer sheets.
  8. Select Print. Once the pages are printed, first check a known grid distance with a ruler, then align and join the sheets.

The ARS 1:1 implementation has been tested with a physical printer: a 5 cm grid cell measured 5 cm on paper. Printer drivers can still have their own scaling options, so checking a known dimension is recommended when using a different printer or printing configuration for the first time.

Joining the Pages

Before trimming, identify the areas shared between adjacent sheets. When overlap is enabled, align the matching grid lines and image details first. Crop marks indicate the suggested cutting location, while the repeated strip gives you some tolerance during assembly.

For dimensionally accurate results, do not rescale the printed pages through a copier or another application. An additional Fit to Page step could change the 1:1 geometry.

Common Situations

Actual Size Does Not Fit the Paper

If Actual Size (1:1) reports an error, choose a larger paper size or switch to Tiled Printing (1:1). To obtain a reduced full-canvas print on a single page, choose Fit to Page.

Enabling Crop Marks Increases the Page Count

This is expected because the marks need space around the artwork. If crop marks are unnecessary, turn them off or reduce the margins within the printer’s supported imageable area.

Adjacent Pages Are Difficult to Align

Enable a small Page Overlap and, if useful, Crop Marks. First match the repeated image details, then trim and assemble the sheets.

Fit to Page Produces Smaller Grid Cells

This is expected. Fit to Page prioritizes fitting the complete composition on one sheet, not maintaining exact physical measurements. For a true-size grid, select Actual Size (1:1) or Tiled Printing (1:1).

Important Notes

  • Actual Size and Tiled Printing preserve the canvas’s physical 1:1 scale. Fit to Page may reduce it.
  • Page Overlap applies only in Tiled Printing, and only when the option is enabled.
  • Printed crop marks are different from the colored preview-only guides.
  • The layout uses the selected printer’s actual imageable region, so page counts can vary between printers.
  • Printing does not change the ARS project or the Studio canvas dimensions.