How to print D&D maps with Dungeon Mapper
If you're looking for the best way to print out D&D maps (such as the battlemaps I draw & publish here at Cyclopean), there's a fantastic third-party tool called Dungeon Mapper. It's got a lot of cool features:
- Automatically divide an image into many small sheets for large-scale printing
- Turn colored images into black-and-white ones to save on ink
- Add grids, square or hexagonal, to any image
- Print only portions of the map
- Design & print out fog-of-war coverings for selected map regions
You can visit Dungeon Mapper by clicking the button below! (It'll open in a new tab.)
1. Set up the map
By default, when you open the editor, it'll throw you into the Grid tool (at the top of the left sidebar). From here, you can choose the image file you want to use (it takes WEBP, JPG, PNG, etc.).
The tool will try to automatically guess the resolution of the map, defaulting to 70ppi. If you're using one of DnDungeon's maps, my maps are drawn at 140ppi — so you'll want to do one of the following:
- Go to the Extra Settings dropdown & specify 140ppi
- Enter the true dimensions of the map in grid squares into the Grid Dimensions boxes
After this, you can optionally add a grid to the map. You can even add hexagonal grids!
1a. Consider a black & white filter
If you're printing at home or are price-sensitive, Dungeon Mapper has a convenient greyscale filter that can save you a lot of ink. When you click the filter icon on the left sidebar, you'll get a dialog that lets you enable the greyscale filter. You can then adjust the threshold slider for the black/white cutoff; darker areas will remain shaded or black, and this lets you choose how dark an area should be before it becomes shaded.
1b. Consider if you'd like some fog of war
Dungeon Mapper has a Fog of War tool that lets you define areas on square grid maps. Later on, the tool will automatically create printouts for you based on the areas you created, saving you the work of manually measuring paper to fit any rooms you'd like to have covered.
For example, in this image to the right here, I've drawn a single fog of war area to obscure the interior of the burning warehouse.
2. Set up a page layout
When you click the Pages button on the sidebar, you'll get a dialog that can be used to automatically generate a page layout for printing. Simultaneously, you'll get a page layout overlay on top of your map, depicting how each page will be set up.
The default paper size is A4. If you're in the USA (like me!), you'll want to change it to the Letter preset, but you can also select a variety of other options if you've got a home printer capable of handling Legal or other unusual sheets.
You can also configure the print size of squares in millimeters (1" is 25.4mm & 0.5" is 12.7mm) or define a page overlap (which prints the edges on both sheets, letting you make imprecise cuts so you can overlap & glue/tape sheets together with more leniency).
Once you've set up your defaults, clicking Generate pages will create a new page overlay based on your settings. But you can go more in-depth if you only want to print part of a map! Using the selection tools in the bottom toolbar, you can drag & reposition each sheet, or even delete them by pressing D while hovering over them. This gives you some fine-tuned control over how exactly you'd like to print.
3. Export & print
Once your pages are configured, the Export button in the top right will open a dialog for producing a PDF file you can download. You can mess with the compression if you'd like a smaller PDF file, and then click Export to download.
If you set up fog of war areas earlier, you can also click the toggle to print out those areas using one of several provided tilesets. They'll be attached at the end of the file. Areas too large to print on a single sheet of paper will get divided up into smaller pieces.
After you've got your PDF file, the only thing left to do is to print it out with a PDF viewer!
Get pre-made full-color PDFs
If it's full-color PDFs you're after, each DnDungeon map pack comes with a full package of pre-made PDF files for your game nights ready for print on Letter or A4 paper. The best way to get the full archive is to become a DnDungeon patron! (I'd be eternally grateful. You'll also get Dungeondraft assets, Foundry modules, and more.)
Thanks to Tim for making the tool
If you'd like to thank Tim for his fantastic work putting Dungeon Mapper together, consider joining his Patreon!
Further Advice
If you'd like to know more about using the tool, you can read the Dungeon Mapper FAQ or join Tim's Discord to ask questions!
What map is that?
Most of the demonstration images depict the Forbidden City map pack! The fog of war image depicts the Asian City Seaport Dock Warehouse.