How to scale images to print on a single page

Benson Gray

Canoe History Enthusiast
Staff member
Scaling an image to fit your printer can be a bit of a challenge. It depends on the web browser, operating system, and imaging tool that you use.

The first step is to save the image to your hard drive. This is usually done with the Save As function that is often found with a right mouse click on the image from your web browser or under the File menu.

The second step is to open the image you just saved with a good imaging tool. Most older Windows PCs have a reasonable one at Start | Programs | Accessories | Imaging. This tool may be added from the Start | Settings | Control Panel | Add/Remove Programs | Add/Remove Windows Components | Kodak Picture Easy Software option under Windows 2000 or something similar on your system. Windows XP has one at Start | Programs | Accessories | Paint. The Microsoft Office Suites also include an optional Photo Editor (PhotoEd) or Picture Manager tool which both have image scaling capabilities. Another option is to download and use a good image processing utility. I have found the one from http://www.irfanview.net/ to be both simple to use and very powerful.

The last step is to print the image with the "Fit to page" option turned on. The Windows Imaging tool hides this under File | Print | Image Options | Print Format | pull down box. The Windows XP Paint tool has these controls in the File | Page Setup | Scaling option that has a "Fit to 1 by 1 page(s)" option. The PhotoEd tool has the Fit to Page option as a check box on the File | Print menu.

A last resort is to find a local copy shop that will print it out in a poster size on a large plotter although that can be expensive.

Your mileage may vary, good luck,

Benson
 
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