We often receive questions about printing the maps included in our D&D 5E DM’s Resources for Waterdeep: Dragon Heist, Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus, Ghosts of Saltmarsh and Storm King’s Thunder.
So, by popular demand, I’ve put together this guide on how to create ready-to-print PDF-files out of any battlemap, encounter map, region map, etc. which works regardless of the size of your paper and other personal preferences.
As a demonstration, I’ve made a printable PDF of our colorized ‘Elfsong Tavern Map’ for Baldur’s Gate: Descent into Avernus. I’ve included both the PDF and the JPEG version of the map at the bottom of the post – for free!
Step 0: Download PosteRazor
First, download the free software PosteRazor (Eventyr Games has no affiliation with PosteRazor and aren’t responsible for any issues using PosteRazor – always do your own due diligence before downloading unknown software). PosteRazor allows you to make cutout PDFs out of JPEG files, in 5 easy steps, which we’ll outline below.
Step 1: Load an input image
After installing and launching PosteRazor, select the map you want to print as the ‘Input Image’. (Because of a bug with how images are rendered by Photoshop, you may see that the resolution of the image is reported as 72 DPI under ‘Image Informations’, and that the size in inches doesn’t match up with the map’s real size. Just ignore that for now, we’ll fix it in step 4.)
Step 2: Define the printer paper format
Choose your printer paper (usually U.S. Letter or A4). Also select a border width (the blank space around the print on each piece of paper) – usually between 0.2 and 0.5 inches, depending on the accuracy of your printer.
Step 3: Define the image tile overlapping
Overlapping is simply put the amount of overlap each piece of the map has with the next piece. If you’re using tape or glue to put the map together, you’ll probably want at least 0.2 inches of overlap. As for the position of the overlap, it usually doesn’t matter, so we tend to go with ‘Bottom Right’.
Step 4: Define the final poster size.
Because of the minor bug mentioned in Step 1, you’ll often see a wrong ‘Absolute Size’ suggested in Step 4. Eventyr Games maps usually include the actual dimensions of the map in inches in the map’s file title (such as 30×30 or 40×20, etc.). Input these numbers under Width and Height in ‘Absolute Size’, and you’ll get an accurately sized map. If you think the print uses paper inefficiently, you can go back to step 2 to change the orientation and see if that helps. You can even get away with creating a map with slightly smaller squares, by reducing the absolute size of the map by up to 20 percent.
Step 5: Save the Poster
Congratulations, you’re done, and now have a ready-to-print PDF of the map that matches your specifications.
That’s it! If you enjoyed this content, or any other content we create, make sure you sign up for our mailing list, so you don’t miss out on early access, special promotions and other cool stuff!
Free Elfsong Tavern Map!
