With help from my GlowFolk friends, I have arrived at a solution to my challenge. That is, to split an image, align the sections, lock the pieces together (so that they don’t lose their alignment) and enable the sections to still be printed sequentially, if necessary.
Step 1:
Send your huge image to ImageSplitter (suggested by GF, but other tools if you prefer). Download the resulting files. I used .PNGs.
Resulting files:
Step 2:
I used Adobe Illustrator, but Inkscape probably works similarly.
2a. Import and embed your images in an Illustrator file as separate layers.
2b. Align the edges of your images.
2c. Draw a bounding box around your set of images. This locks them as one unit in the GFUI. I do this to avoid losing image alignment in the GFUI.
2d. “Save A Copy” as an .SVG.
Step 3
Import the .SVG into the GFUI. Set the bounding box to “Ignore”.
Each layer is still selectable, but the pieces will stay locked together.
My original file was 10Kx10K (large). I was able to print this at LPI 270. When I tried this by importing each file in separately into the GFUI, it would not print at that resolution.
So what this enables:
- Use a large file.
- Split it into even pieces.
- Align them accurately.
- Lock them together.
- Maintain ability to turn on and off layers in the GFUI, if needed for print buffer or positioning on your material.
Hat tip to @Jules, @jbmanning5, @cynd11 and @evansd2 for guidance.
