If you make a 1,000 piece puzzle on a single sheet in your GF, the pieces are going to be very small. You’ll also find that the kerf is more than you think it is (which makes the pieces looser than you might want and more interference with the image). A higher piece count will exacerbate that.
I’ve been making 11x14-ish puzzles for holiday gifts and doing it with 300 pieces which is a reasonable size (15 x 20).
This is the generator I used: https://draradech.github.io/jigsaw/jigsaw.html. I took the output and changed it up a bit to make weeding easier.
Essentially, I extended the horizontal cuts and added an extended frame around it. So, I mask it, cut the horizontals (on my machine it’s 155/Full) and do a quick pass. (500/Full) on the extension and frame I did. Then I open the lid, de-mask the horizontals and remask the piece. I “ignore” the two parts I just did and cut the verticals. The author of the generator was kind enough to split the horizontals and verticals into two different colors, so it’s very simple to add this.
The reason for doing this is so that you don’t have to de-mask all 300 (or more) pieces. Instead, you’re pulling 15 pieces on the first pass and 20 pieces on the second. You might have to clean up a few nibs that tear, depending on your mask and tack.
A few things I’ve learned.
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Don’t mask the back. While it would be nice to avoid some scorching, it forces the 300 piece demask (unless you’re willing to pull the material between cuts and have a good way to register it back in the same place).
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I don’t squeegie the mask as I usually do. I just hand press the mask. I’ve found that too much pressure just translates into lots of torn nibs and nobs to go clean up and adds a lot of time. Do get the air pockets out since that can lead to image scorching, and make sure it’s down so it doesn’t peel and burn.
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I’ve found that sealing the photo works pretty good. I’ve had good luck with this product with two passes. I generally do one horizontally, let is set up and then one vertically and leave overnight before masking.
Here’s the file that I adapted and used for my 11x14’ish puzzles for gifts this holiday. If you don’t have the ability to do the vector editing, drop me a note with your dimensions and desired piece count and I’d be happy to make you an SVG that suits you.
