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Efficient Printing – Guide

If you’re looking to up your game from the office printer for your pin-ups, a good starting point is to try efficient wide format printing.

When used effectively, this can save you a lot of money and produce high quality prints. The principle is simple: make one document the width of the print roll, align your artworks onto this document, and minimise gaps by filling any blank spaces where possible.

Jump to:

A3s – 297 x 420mm

The cheapest way to print A3s on higher quality paper than the office printer is through the wide format print submit on 610mm lightweight matte paper.

Check Image Size: Image > Image Size or Option + Command + i in Photoshop

1 x A3

For 1 x A3, it’s most efficient to print in landscape on the wide format printer:

An A3 page laid out on the 610mm (24″) paper roll

To do this, rotate your image to landscape, then change the canvas size to 610mm.

n.b. in Illustrator they are called Artboards rather than ‘Canvas

Image > Canvas Size or Option + Command + C

You will be charged for 30cm of paper & ink – $6

2 x A3s

For 2 x A3s, it’s most efficient to print two side by side portrait layouts on the wide format printer:

Two A3 pages laid out on the 610mm (24″) paper roll. 420mm in length. Artworks by Alumni Crystian Lopez Da Cruz (2019)

IMPORTANT: If your artworks have white or light backgrounds, make sure you add a 1 pixel, 10% opacity stroke for a cut line!

Size of two A3 pages laid out on the 1118mm (44″) paper roll x 420mm in length. Artworks by Alumni Crystian Lopez Da Cruz (2019)

You will be charged for 42cm of paper & ink – $8.40

3 x A3s

Three A3 pages laid out on the 1118mm (44″) paper roll x 420mm in length. Artworks by Alumni Crystian Lopez Da Cruz (2019)

IMPORTANT: If your artworks have white or light backgrounds, make sure you add a 1 pixel, 10% opacity stroke as a cut line!

Size of three A3 pages laid out on the 1118mm (44″) paper roll x 420mm in length

You will be charged for 42cm of paper & ink (on the 1118mm (44″) roll) – $10.50

Other Sizes

Once you get the hang of a few A-series prints, you will start quickly being able to adjust the width of our paper rolls and use whatever height fits your artwork best.

An example of efficient print layout in Photoshop. Artworks by alumni Rachel Klyve & Lila Raymond (2020)

If you lay your artwork out on the width of the roll – in the most efficient way possible – it will not only save you money, but it will also save paper and our time!

The Paper Types article has a list of the currently available paper stocks.

The Print Media Payment Portal has the current pricing of all offered materials.

If your artworks have white backgrounds, make sure you add a 1 pixel, 10% opacity stroke for a cut line!

Updated on July 7, 2023

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