Check both layers of print settings
- Open the downloaded PDF in a PDF reader and select your physical printer.
- Set the paper to the same size used for export. A4 is 210 × 297 mm; Letter is 215.9 × 279.4 mm.
- Choose Actual Size or 100% scaling. Turn off Fit, Shrink and multiple-pages-per-sheet printing.
- Print one page per sheet, single-sided. Do not select Poster tiling for a PDF that Rasterbator Studio has already tiled.
- Open the printer properties too. Disable driver scaling or borderless expansion if exact dimensions matter, and match the orientation shown in the print instructions.
Measure the ruler
Print the test file before the full poster. Measure the 100 mm line between its endpoints with a physical ruler. A 95 mm result means the output is 5% smaller; a 103 mm result means it is 3% larger.
Resolve paper-size mismatches and automatic scaling before trying a compensating percentage. A correction that fixes one axis may hide a driver or feed problem on the other. For scale-sensitive templates, test both directions.
Distinguish two different PDF workflows
Acrobat’s Poster option divides a single oversized page across sheets. Our tiled output has already done that division. Applying Poster again can change the layout or produce extra tiles.
If you deliberately use an oversized single-page PDF from another application, the Acrobat tiling workflow can be appropriate. Check which kind of file you have before choosing the print mode.
When the size is right but an edge is missing
Actual Size preserves scale; it does not make a printer capable of printing outside its printable area. Increase the export margin and regenerate the PDF instead of shrinking an exact-size poster to fit.
Keep a record of paper type and print quality for replacement sheets. Different quality settings can change colour or density, even when physical dimensions match.