Turn Small Pics into Giant Wall Decor: A Guide to Rasterbator for Eye-Catching Wall Art

rasterbator large poster
Photo Credit: Bogdan Boiangiu

I had an empty wall in my room, which looked bare. Large wall art can be costly, and I wasn’t ready to commit to a big purchase or punch a lot of holes in the wall. The Rasterbator tool has been around for a long time, and I’ve used it occasionally to create large posters. I thought it would be a fun project to make one for my home. The best thing? It’s free to use.

In short, the Rasterbator is a tool that allows anyone to transform a standard image into a large poster through a process called rasterization. It’s a great way to personalize a space with unique visuals, whether it’s a favorite photograph, a graphic design, or even text.

Because of the dotted images, it has an old-school retro vibe, which I love.

Materials:

  • 1x IRJA Curtain rod set
  • 1x RIKTIG curtain hook with clip

How to Create Your Rasterbator Custom Poster

Photo Credit: Bogdan Boiangiu

Step 1: Image

Measure your wall and decide how large you want the collage to be. Then pick your image. This is probably the hardest part of this DIY poster, as I ended up looking at old photos for hours.

Besides the photo subject, choose an image that has high resolution for best results. The clarity of the final raster graphics heavily relies on the original image’s resolution. If using Photoshop or GIMP, check the image details for dimensions larger than 3000 pixels on the shortest side. This is a good benchmark that the image can be enlarged as a poster without losing visual integrity.

Then, upload your image to the online software, and the Rasterbator will cut it up into grids.

Step 2: Size

Experiment with the Output Size to get the best size for your poster. See the “poster size” dimensions for the approximate size of the poster. Overlapping the pages is also a good idea if you want more precision when joining the pages into a large poster.

Step 3: Style

Once you’re happy with the image size and page size settings, continue with the style. In this section, you can choose the Half-toning effect in color or black and white, which is the original Raster style. There’s also an option for “no effect” if you’re not keen on the dots. Scroll down for more options like wavy lines or pixels.

Step 4: Color

In this step, you’ll get to add different colors to the raster and background. There are some presets you can play with. Click on them to see a preview. While I ended up with the black-and-white option, I was seriously tempted by some pops of colors.

Step 5: Options

Now you’re given even more options – such as circles, squares, or triangles. You can increase the density, size, and layout of the grids. Smaller dots offer more detail, while larger dots offer a more abstract visual. Fine-tune your image with effects you may not even have thought of. I certainly didn’t when I first started fiddling with the Rasterbator tool. (It’s not all dots, guys!)

One small but very helpful thing is to enable the “page position” option. This creates a pagination at the bottom of each page, marking the rows with numbers and the columns with letters.

Step 6: Rasterbate

Continue to download your Rasterized poster in PDF and save it to your computer.

Step 7: Print

Print the images from your home printer or send them to a printing shop to have them printed. If printing at home, select the ‘actual size’ setting in the print dialogue to ensure each page’s content aligns correctly without scaling. For printers that support borderless printing, the ‘Fit to page’ feature may be used to extend the print to the paper’s edges. But every printer may work differently, so test print a few pages before printing all pages to ensure you have the correct printer settings.

Once printed, the pages can be assembled according to the output size to create the final large-scale artwork.

I also had the pages laminated in a matte finish for more durability. Before laminating the trimmed pieces, write a small identifier number on the back of the prints; you can easily lose track of the pages and start assembling a jigsaw out of the prints.

How to hang the Rasterbator collage poster

Rasterbator poster hung on curtain rail with curtain clips, renter friendly
Photo Credit: Bogdan Boiangiu

1. Install the IKEA TACKSAM (or IRJA) curtain rod on the wall with screws, or like I did, with a good, heavy-duty double-sided tape.

3. Trace the middle of all the prints and make holes with a nail – in the upper and bottom parts. Skip the holes at the top of the first row and bottom of the last row of prints.

4. Install the IKEA RIKTIG curtain clips from the curtain rod and clip the first row of prints, then insert the RIKTIG hook into the bottom of the first row and clip on the second row.

Rasterbator poster hung on curtain rail with curtain clips, renter friendly
Photo Credit: Bogdan Boiangiu

5. Continue until you finish your entire grid of images. Enjoy a nice collage and a prettier wall.

Rasterbator poster hung on curtain rail with curtain clips, renter friendly
Photo Credit: Bogdan Boiangiu

More ways to hang Rasterbator images as suggested by readers:

For a more durable Rasterbator photo collage:

  1. Mount the images to foam-core poster boards. After first cutting the poster board into rough tiles slightly larger than the photo, use a spray adhesive and carefully roll the photo out, taking care to prevent bubbles.
  2. Then, using a steel carpenter’s square and a utility knife, trim each tile to the exact size desired. Practice a bit so you can make a single, clean cut on each side.
  3. Use a finishing nail to punch a hole carefully in the lower edge of each finished tile. (A bit of sturdy tape on the back of the tile will reinforce the hole, if necessary.)
  4. Then, attach the RIKTIG curtain hooks to each hole and hang them.

Alternatives to the IKEA RIKTIG curtain hooks:

Paper clips: Besides the IKEA curtain hooks, you can fashion hooks from paper clips (colored or plain). by first straightening them, then using pliers to form the wire into a uniform-sized “|_|” shape, inserting that between each photo tile, and bending the ends outwards to form a loose staple. Of course, you’ll have to punch holes in both the top and bottom edges of your tiles.

Binder rings: Punch holes at the top and bottom of the section of the photos. Open up the binder rings and insert the top and bottom picture into a single ring. Clasp the ring and let the images hang down.

~ by Bogdan Boiangiu, Bucharest

Rasterbator World Map on IKEA TRONES

Rasterbator posters stuck on IKEA storage cabinets
Photo Credit: Emily B.

In my small bedroom, I wanted to hang up the IKEA TRONES for more storage. However, I didn’t like the look of 9 black boxes up on the wall. I thought I could use the space for some affordable wall art and stumbled upon the Rasterbator.

The first image that came to mind was a world map — a reminder of the countries I would love to travel to.

It worked out really well, and the TRONES feel less bulky and blend better with my space.

Materials: 

  • 3 sets of IKEA TRONES shoe storage
  • Wallpaper adhesive
  • Sponge brush
  • Photo collage printed from rasterbator.net
  • Clear coat
  • Electrical tape
Rasterbator posters stuck on IKEA storage cabinets
Photo Credit: Emily B.

I used a decoupage technique (similar to Mod Podge) to adhere a mural of a world map onto 9 compartments of the IKEA TRONES.

I used a sponge brush and wallpaper adhesive to paste the images onto the fronts and then again over the top of the images.

Once it dried, I used a clear coat to seal the images. I then waited for the mural to dry and then evened out the sides of the compartments with electrical tape.

~ by Emily B., United States

What is the Rasterbator, and how does it work for creating posters?

The Rasterbator is an online tool that transforms images into large poster-sized works of art. It works by enlarging an image and dividing it into sections that can be printed individually and assembled into a poster.

Where can one download the Rasterbator application?

Users can access the Rasterbator online. The tool is free to use.

Are there any free alternatives to Rasterbator for poster printing?

There are free alternatives available, such as Block Posters, which offer similar functionalities to create large-scale prints from standard-sized paper.

How can I use Rasterbator to create a cardboard cutout?

To create a cardboard cutout using Rasterbator, first generate a rasterized image file, print the tiled PDF, and then mount the pages onto cardboard before cutting out the design.