Printing a Poster PDF on macOS Using Command Line

For users working with macOS and needing to create poster-style PDFs, the command line offers a powerful and efficient solution. While tools like Terminal might seem daunting at first, they unlock functionalities that are both precise and customizable. This guide focuses on using mutool, a command-line tool, to easily print a poster PDF on your macOS system.

Before diving in, it’s important to ensure you have the necessary tools. mutool is part of the mupdf suite and can be installed via Homebrew, a package manager for macOS. Homebrew itself relies on Apple’s command-line developer tools, which Homebrew will automatically install if they are not already present on your system. Installing mupdf through Homebrew will also handle its dependencies, ensuring a smooth setup process.

To utilize mutool, you’ll first need to install mupdf. Open your Terminal application and run the following commands:

brew update
brew install mupdf

Once the installation is complete, the mutool binary will be located in /opt/homebrew/bin on Apple Silicon Macs or /usr/local/bin on Intel Macs. To execute mutool commands directly, you may need to ensure that your Shell’s PATH variable includes the appropriate directory.

Now, let’s get to printing your poster PDF. The mutool poster command allows you to divide a PDF page into multiple tiles, ideal for creating large posters from standard-sized documents. The basic command structure is as follows:

$(which mutool) poster -x <columns> -y <rows> input.pdf output.pdf

Here’s how to break down the command:

• $(which mutool): This ensures you are using the correct path to the mutool executable, regardless of your system configuration.
• poster: This specifies the mutool subcommand for poster creation.
• -x <columns>: This option defines the number of columns in your poster layout. For example, -x 3 will divide the page horizontally into 3 sections.
• -y <rows>: This option sets the number of rows in your poster layout. -y 4 will divide the page vertically into 4 sections.
• input.pdf: Replace this with the name of your original PDF file that you want to posterize.
• output.pdf: Choose a name for your resulting poster PDF file. For instance, poster.pdf.

For example, to create a poster PDF named poster.pdf from original.pdf with a 3×4 tile layout, you would use:

$(which mutool) poster -x 3 -y 4 original.pdf poster.pdf

This command will generate poster.pdf, which, when opened, will display your original PDF content spread across a 3×4 grid. You can then print these pages individually and assemble them to form your poster.

For more advanced options and a comprehensive understanding of mutool‘s capabilities, the manual page is an invaluable resource. You can access it online at https://www.mankier.com/1/mutool. Additionally, for users who install MacTeX, mutool is offered as an optional installation component during the MacTeX 2024 installation process, providing an alternative installation method.

In conclusion, using mutool via the command line offers a straightforward and powerful way to print poster PDFs on macOS. By understanding the basic command structure and options, you can efficiently create customized poster layouts for various needs.