Anyone know how to print a backscene?

[keithp1707821843]

I was wondering if anyone knows how to print a backscene? Do you need special software or is there a way to do it with a normal printer? I have searched google and although there is information - none of it seems able to give an easy method, so I wondered if anyone has actually done it themselves. I have some photographs that form a wide scene and also a free backscene. So it is just the actual printing I cannot work out.

By the way I have an Epson printer, and even on their help section I can't find the answer!

Keith

[Chrissaf]

You will need image software that allows an option to allow tile printing of an image across multiple sheets.

Microsoft Visio drawing software had this tile printing capability, but that was years ago. Whether or not Visio is still available and whether it still has this capability I cannot say. And being Microsoft, Visio is not cheap software.

You basically have two options. Use photo editing software to crop your master panoramic image into a number of A4 sized elements or use software that supports tile printing that can then be individually printed on multiple sheets and glued to your back-scene mounting board. Or take your panoramic image as a file on a USB stick to your local high street commercial photocopying / printing specialist. My local town has one that I used to print A1 sized building plans. Then ask them to print on full sized paper from your supplied file. But I would not expect that to be cheap.

Use your local Thomson or Yellow Pages directory [if they still print these, it was many years ago] and look in the 'Printers' section. That is how I found my local one tucked away out of sight in a small local industrial estate.

My own printer does A3 sized paper, so in my case I could print half the number of sheets needed, compared to A4 for the same sized image. There are quite a few places on-line selling ready printed back-scenes on quality photo paper.

[keithp1707821843]

Ok thanks. I suspected this would be the case.

Probably easier to just buy one I suppose - but thanks anyhow.

[joe_holmes1]

You could ask for a quote from this company who can do continuous printing in full colour.

www.ncrprinting.co.uk

I have no connection with the company in any way.

Good Luck

JoeH

[morairamike]

Yes I did this back in February and repeated it last week with improvements. See here

https://uk.hornby.com/community/forum/back-scenes-293436 or go to page 2 (the next page) of general discussion and scroll down the page to my Back Scenes post.

I took the picture on my mobile using panorama mode. A 180⁰ shot. Then I used a free app called Posteriza to make the poster the size I wanted, 7 A4 sheets landscape wide. Then printed the result on my Epson XP-335 inkjet printer. I used Epson matte A4 paper with the printer set to normal. However I printed on the reverse of the paper as the result was better and told the printer is was plain paper. The paper is 102g/m².

I printed in landscape mode and spread my image across 7 sheets. These had 3mm borders all round which I trimmed off afterwards. I tried borderless but the edges were distorted as warned by the printer. The sheets were then stuck on the wall using 12mm wide double sided ultratape. The joins between the sheets share I length of tape i.e. 6mm.

I was limited to 180⁰ because I took the picture standing on a footpath. If I had rotated thru 360⁰ then the footpath would have not been to scale and the result spoilt. I did try 360⁰ but discarded it. To have taken 360⁰ without the path I would have needed to go into private property to stand in the middle of the field.

[JJ73]

How's your Painting Skills??? I've been watching / getting into watch Bob Ross on BBC4 around @ 7:30 in the evening & he make it look so easy!!! That might be an idea 🙂🚂🚂🚂

[keithp1707821843]

How's your Painting Skills??? I've been watching / getting into watch Bob Ross on BBC4 around @ 7:30 in the evening & he make it look so easy!!! That might be an idea 🙂🚂🚂🚂

 

 

Thanks. I do actually paint - oils, watercolour and acrylic - my back-scene was painted - but I wanted to try a photograph instead.

Yes Bob is very good - but - you need to use his 'magic white', and of course it is quite expensive.

[JJ73]

Oh ok fair enough 🙂🚂🚂🚂

[37lover]

I have finally managed to reset my access after the launch of the new forum which is why I am a little late posting to this thread.

To Chrissaf,

My own printer does A3 sized paper, so in my case I could print half the number of sheets needed, compared to A4 for the same sized image.

Not quite; the length of an A3 is twice the width of an A4, similarly the length of an A2 is twice the width of an A3.

[Chrissaf]

Precisely. As you say one A3 landscape = 2 x A4 portrait. So the A3 paper is half the number of A4 portrait sheets for the same 11" height of back scene image. Which is what I was saying.

[37lover]

Quite right, that's clear now you say the original was assumed A4 portrait and not landscape

[Ghutchi1]

If you are on a Windows computer you can use the Paint program to print off a panoramic photo over multiple sheets, you select print preview and use page setup, the option to set scaling using fit to will break the panorama into multiple pages, the first box is set to the number of pages you want and you can scroll through the pages before you print.

[keithp1707821843]

If you are on a Windows computer you can use the Paint program to print off a panoramic photo over multiple sheets.......

 

 

Thanks. I actually managed to use this and have found it works perfectly. Using the margins settings you can get the size just right for your background and by zooming you can make adjustments or link photos to extend if required. So if anyone wants a background but does not want a commercial product I suggest trying this.

[morairamike]

Thanks for the heads-up. Tried it this morning and produced a backscene of a photo I took yesterday at Emsworth harbour.

Works well. The picture is the first print of the scene.

[RB51]

That's very impressive. Well done. R-

[keithp1707821843]

Much better than mine! Glad you found it useful.

[PatB]

If you are on a Windows computer you can use the Paint program .........

 

 

Just tried it, brilliant thank you. Still a great little program - Paint

[PatB]

@moiramike

Excellent

[morairamike]

After my efforts on the 23 March, I decided to visit a different location and take a new panorama shot. The reason being that the last one was a little short total length. This time I went to Langstone Harbour, just south of Havant and shot a 270 degree instead of a 180.

This was then transferred to my laptop and opened in Photos. The bits I didn't want were edited out, very large seagulls and any blemishes touched up. The colour and brightness were increased as it was fairly dull yesterday.

Once happy with the results it was saved. Then it was opened in MSPAINT. The print output was spread over 6 sheets of A4 Landscape, no margins, it still leaves 2.5mm all round. I used Matte photo paper 102g/m2, but reversed so in effect it is plain paper. Printer set to colour normal; plain paper. Head alignment performed and adjusted.

Backscene then printed. All margins cut-off. Then the sheets mounted on 210g/m2 card (this wont feed thru my printer), but the joins in the card were offset from the picture joins to give rigidity. The picture was attached with Pritt stick. The rear of the card, where the joins are, was reinforced with gaffer tape.

This is the result:

[Chrissaf]

The blending of physical foreground to back scene is excellent. The eye just follows the grey tarmac into the background as being one contiguous scene.

[Mac-_-]

Morairamike, That back scene looks really really good, I would go as far to say the best I have seen yet. Excellent work, only wish I had the ability to do that.

[morairamike]

Cheers. I really had fun producing them.