Should be easy - but it isn't

Ok, I got this question from someone asking how to print a very large pdf file (think measured in feet not inches). They can't print onto letter or A4 without needing a magnifying glass to see the text. Solution? Well my head says tile it and it should be a feature of the Reader software.

Nice try but no cigar! It isn't a feature of the software. Adobe if you're listening, you so have to add this as a feature, it's almost inexcuable that it isn't there. You should be able to specify the number of pages tall and wide to print a single page onto.

Ok, so next thought is a poster program. One that takes an image/file and breaks it into pieces. I'd settle for one of two methods of operation - ideally it would open a PDF file and just print it for me - ok, enter fantasy land Helen! There are poster programs but they take images and not PDFs - not entirely unexpected but it was worth a look.

Other accepted method would be for the program to operate as a printer driver. I would print from Reader to the driver and then it would handle the tiling and final printing. Good concept and, as it happens there are a few options out there. Funny thing is, most I downloaded and installed and tried didn't work. Very strange, frustrating and annoying. Final solution worked and did so pretty well. It's called Click2Poster and it's from Blue Squirrel. It installs as a printer drivers so you print to it from your applicaiton. This overcomes the file compatibility issues as, provided you can open a file in something and print it, this program will capture it. Then it opens automatically (I liked this feature), with your print job on the screen. You choose how many tiles and the printer and send it off to print. It works, which by that stage of the day put it in the "miracle software" category!

The trial version slaps its own stuff on the page but shell out a measly $19.95 and all your poster printing problems will be solved. I can see it would be useful for printing large versions of your images for wall art and all sorts of things. In the meantime, my happless reader can print and read his/her pdf files so I have another happy reader. I like those!