Inkarnate exports maps as image files rather than print-ready PDFs. You can print the exported image directly, send it to a professional print service, or use another application to prepare it for printing.

Print Size and DPI

The quality of a printed map depends primarily on:

• The map’s pixel dimensions.

• The desired physical print size.

• The resolution at which the image is printed.

DPI describes how densely pixels are printed on paper. It does not normally need to be set inside the Inkarnate image itself. For example, an image that is 6000 pixels wide can be printed approximately 20 inches wide at 300 pixels per inch.

A professional printer may request a particular DPI, file format, or image size. In that case, follow their requirements and provide the intended physical dimensions of the finished print.

Printing Your Map

Export your map using Export as Image from the editor.

For large or detailed prints, use a high-resolution export such as 8K when available. PNG provides lossless image quality, while JPEG and WebP produce smaller files.

Open the exported image in your preferred image or printing application. Select the desired paper size and orientation, then choose how the map should fit on the page. Before sending your final files off to the printer, make sure to double check their resolution and size.

For prints where the exact physical size does not matter, the image can be scaled to fit the available page. If you need an exact size, such as for a battle-map grid, configure the print dimensions manually instead.

You can also send the exported image to a professional print service. Specify the desired physical dimensions and ask them to preserve the map’s aspect ratio.

Printing Battle Maps to Scale

For battle maps, the important measurement is the physical size of each grid square. A common tabletop scale is: 1 grid square = 1 inch (2.54 cm) but depending on what models or counters you have available to play, the grid square could be smaller.

Before exporting, check the number of horizontal and vertical grid squares on your map using the Grid Layer settings. To determine the required print size:

• Print width = horizontal grid squares × desired square size

• Print height = vertical grid squares × desired square size

For example, a map with a 30 × 20 grid and 1-inch squares should be printed at 30 × 20 inches.

When printing at an exact scale, make sure your printing software does not automatically resize the map to fit the page. Select 100%, Actual Size, No Scaling, or the equivalent option where available.

Printing Large Maps at Home

Large battle maps often do not fit on a single sheet of paper. Inkarnate does not split an exported map into printable pages automatically, so you will need an external application with poster or tiled printing support.

Set the final dimensions using the print size calculated above if you need a specific grid scale.

If your printer cannot print to the edge of the paper, use page overlap or margins and trim the sheets before assembling the map. Borderless printing can be used where supported by your printer.

See Also

• Export Maps: Export your map as a high-resolution image.

• Grid Layer: Configure the grid displayed on your map.

• Understanding Resolution: Understand how editing and export resolution affect image detail.