How to Print D&D Battle Maps at 1-Inch Scale at Home

Why print your own battle maps?

A printed battle map changes the table. Miniatures sit on real terrain instead of a blank grid. Players can see the tavern layout, the forest path, the dungeon corridor. Dry-erase mats work, but a full-color map from Dungeondraft or Inkarnate brings an encounter to life in a way that a hand-drawn grid cannot.

The problem is printing. Most battle maps are large images designed for virtual tabletops (VTTs) like Roll20 or Foundry. They are not formatted for paper. Getting the grid to print at exactly 1 inch per square on a home printer takes some setup. This guide walks through the entire process.

What you need

• A battle map image (PNG or JPG) from any source
• A home printer (inkjet or laser, color or black-and-white)
• Regular printer paper (A4 or US Letter)
• Scissors or a craft knife, and tape
• GridPrint (free web app, no download needed)

Step 1: Get your map image

You can use a map from any source. The most popular map-making tools for tabletop RPGs are Dungeondraft, Inkarnate, and Dungeon Scrawl. All of them export PNG or JPG images. If you use a VTT like Roll20 or Foundry, you can download the map image from the game assets.

Free battle maps are available from creators like Dice Grimorium, 2-Minute Tabletop, Czepeku, and the r/battlemaps community on Reddit. Most are shared as PNG or JPG images ready for printing.

Step 2: Calculate the print dimensions

This is the step where most people get stuck. The key is simple: count the grid squares on your map, and set the print width (or height) to that many inches.

For example, if your map is 22 squares wide and 30 squares tall, set the target width to 22 inches (55.88 cm) and the height to 30 inches (76.2 cm). Each square will print at exactly 1 inch, which is the standard for D&D and Pathfinder miniatures.

Step 3: Upload to GridPrint and set the size

Open GridPrint and upload your battle map image. You can drag and drop, paste from clipboard, or use the file picker. GridPrint accepts PNG, JPG, WebP, and SVG.

Set the target width or height in the size controls. Use inches if you counted squares, or centimeters if you prefer. GridPrint automatically calculates how many pages are needed and shows a preview of the tiled output.

Choose your paper size (A4, US Letter, or A3) and set the overlap. An overlap of 10-15mm makes it easier to align pages when taping them together. GridPrint adds crop marks and page numbers to the PDF.

Step 4: Exclude empty pages

Many battle maps are not rectangular. An L-shaped dungeon or a winding cave will leave some tiles mostly empty. Click on any tile in the GridPrint preview to exclude it from the PDF. This saves paper and ink.

Step 5: Print and assemble

Download the PDF and print it. Make sure to print at 100% scale (actual size) in your printer settings. Do not use "fit to page" or "shrink to fit" because that will change the grid scale.

Cut along the crop marks on each page. Use the overlap guides to align the pages, then tape them together on the back. The result is a full-size battle map ready for miniatures.

Tips for better battle map prints

• Print on heavier paper (32 lb / 120 gsm) for maps that will be reused. They resist curling and lay flat.
• For black-and-white maps or stencils, use the edge detection effect in GridPrint to convert color maps to outlines.
• Laminate frequently used maps so you can draw on them with dry-erase markers during play.
• Print at a copy shop on a single large sheet if you need a quick one-piece map. FedEx and Staples offer engineering prints at low cost.
• Store assembled maps rolled up in poster tubes to avoid creasing.

Where to find free battle maps

• Dice Grimorium (dicegrimorium.com) - free gridded battle maps for D&D and Pathfinder
• 2-Minute Tabletop (2minutetabletop.com) - hand-drawn maps with free and premium tiers
• r/battlemaps on Reddit - community-shared maps, many free for personal use
• Czepeku (czepeku.com) - high-quality maps with free samples
• Dungeon Scrawl (dungeonscrawl.com) - free browser-based map maker, great for quick dungeon layouts

Common map-making tools

All of these tools export images that work directly with GridPrint. Export at the highest resolution available, upload, set your grid scale, and print.

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