How to print a tattoo stencil at the right size
Most sizing mistakes happen in the print dialog, not in the design. Here is how to get exact centimetres on paper.
Measure the placement first
Measure the height the design should cover on the body with a soft tape. Curved areas such as calves and forearms need a little extra, because the stencil wraps around.
Set the height, not the scale
In the stencil maker, type the height in centimetres or inches. The width is worked out from the photo, and the ruler beside the preview shows the height you set.
Print at 100% or Actual size
Browsers and printers like to shrink pages to fit. In the print dialog, set scale to 100% (some dialogs call it Actual size) and turn off Fit to page. The PDF download is already laid out at exact size; the footer of every sheet states the printed size so you can check it with a ruler.
Check before you transfer. Hold a ruler against the printed stencil. If the size is off, the print scale was changed somewhere along the way.
Large pieces across several sheets
When the design is bigger than your paper, the PDF splits it into sheets with a 1 cm overlap, labelled by row and column. Line the overlaps up and tape the sheets before transferring.
Thermal printers and transfer paper
Thermal stencil printers print the stencil directly onto thermal transfer paper. With an inkjet or laser, print on transfer paper made for your printer type. StencilPad prints black; the transfer comes out violet on the skin.