For a full-size PDF, make the Affinity page match the intended physical dimensions before exporting. Drawing Scale does not provide a PDF enlargement control; Affinity documents its export application only for DWG/DXF.

This guide covers preparing one large-format artwork file in the current Affinity desktop app on Mac. The task is to deliver the correct physical size, including when the artwork was created at a reduced scale. Menu names follow the current Affinity Help Center.

What determines the exported artwork’s physical size?

Record three things before changing the document: the finished width and height, the actual page or artboard dimensions, and any enlargement expected after export. For example, “3000 × 1000 mm finished; 300 × 100 mm supplied; enlarge to 1000%” is an unambiguous specification.

Affinity’s New Document settings distinguish Page width, Page height, DPI, and Drawing Scale. Physical document units, such as millimeters, let you specify the page directly. Drawing Scale has its own scale factor and readout units. These settings serve different purposes. Creating new documents.

The consequential export limitation is explicit: Apply drawing scale is available for DWG and DXF. Those formats support only one drawing scale, so Affinity uses the first or most common scale when the document contains several. The documented PDF controls do not include that option. Do not expect a PDF export to multiply the page dimensions by the drawing scale. Export Settings.

Choose the delivery route before adjusting resolution:

Required delivery Preparation
A PDF whose page is the finished physical size Build or resize the actual page to that size before export.
A deliberately reduced PDF Agree the enlargement factor with the recipient and supply it explicitly.
A raster image Calculate the required pixels from the finished dimensions and agreed output resolution.
DWG/DXF using drawing scale Use the format-specific drawing-scale option and account for its single-scale limitation.

How to prepare a full-size page on Mac

For a new single-page artwork, choose File > New, select a suitable starting preset, and set Document units to millimeters or inches. Enter the finished Page width and Page height, choose the required document resolution, and create the document. For this workflow, leave Use Drawing Scale disabled so measurements remain straightforward. These controls are documented in Creating new documents.

For the illustrative artwork used here, enter 3000 mm for width and 1000 mm for height. These are example dimensions, not a prescribed large-format size. Obtain the required resolution and any finishing allowance from the recipient before committing to the setup.

Resize an existing reduced page with its contents

Save a separate working copy first. For an existing page-based document, open Document > Setup > Document Setup. Select Whole Document, then use the Dimensions settings to enter the required page dimensions. Enable Rescale when the objects must enlarge with the page. Anchor to page keeps object dimensions unchanged instead. Confirm with OK. Document setup (Desktop only).

If a 300 × 100 mm page contains the complete composition and must become 3000 × 1000 mm, both dimensions increase tenfold. Rescaling the contents is essential: merely enlarging the page leaves the original composition occupying a smaller portion of it.

Inspect the result before exporting. Check the artwork’s position, text, line widths, effects, and image detail against the intended composition. Treat this as a new output version whose geometry needs confirmation.

Document Setup changes according to the document’s contents; Affinity specifically notes that artboard documents show fewer options. The page-resizing procedure above should therefore be used for page-based documents where those controls are available. Do not assume changing a document setting also resizes every artboard. Document setup (Desktop only).

How to export the correct page or artboard

Choose File > Export > Export. Select a PDF preset, then inspect the settings on the right. Affinity groups common options under File and additional options under Advanced. Export dialog.

Set Area deliberately. Use Current Page for the active page in a page-based document, or select the named artboard for one artwork in an artboard document. Whole document can include all artboards. Selection-based options export the selected content’s area, so they are unsuitable when the required deliverable is the complete page boundary. Export dialog.

Choose a preset that matches the recipient’s specification, then review its individual settings. Affinity’s comparison table shows that PDF (for print) uses 300 Raster DPI with downsampling enabled, while PDF (for export) uses document resolution with downsampling disabled. Neither preset includes bleed by default. A preset name alone does not establish that the file meets the delivery requirements. Compare PDF export presets.

For PDF, Raster DPI controls effects rasterized during export. Rasterize: Nothing can omit unsupported properties; Unsupported properties rasterizes those properties. Neither setting is a physical enlargement control. Export Settings.

At the bottom right, choose Ask for Location, optionally enable Show in Finder, and click Export. Name the file, select its destination, and save it. Export dialog.

How reduced-scale delivery changes resolution

A reduced file is useful only when the recipient agrees to enlarge it. Keep the supplied page dimensions, finished dimensions, and output percentage together in the handoff. The following calculation is illustrative; its 150 pixels-per-inch target is an assumed requirement, not a universal recommendation.

Quantity Illustrative value
Finished artwork 3000 × 1000 mm
Reduced document 300 × 100 mm
Linear enlargement 10×
Output percentage 1000%
Assumed final raster resolution 150 ppi
Corresponding resolution at reduced size 1500 ppi

The arithmetic is resolution at reduced size = required final resolution × enlargement factor. Enlarging a raster element tenfold spreads the same pixels over ten times the distance. Thus, 300 ppi at the reduced size becomes 30 ppi at the finished size. Raising an export setting cannot supply missing detail in an already limited source image.

This makes resolution planning necessary before exporting the reduced PDF. A low-resolution rasterization made at the small page size remains low resolution after enlargement. If the required intermediate resolution is impractical, use a full-size document or agree another delivery arrangement.

For a fully rasterized version, calculate each dimension with pixels = millimeters ÷ 25.4 × pixels per inch. At the illustrative finished size and 150 ppi, the result is approximately 17,717 × 5,906 pixels, rounded to whole pixels. This pixel requirement is the same whether the composition began at full size or one-tenth size.

Affinity’s raster Size controls let you specify export width and height and lock the aspect ratio. Its help warns that output exceeding a format’s maximum dimensions is scaled down, with a warning before export. Stop and resolve that warning when exact dimensions matter; the documentation does not establish one universal maximum across formats. Export Settings.

How to check the exported result on Mac

Open the actual exported file before handing it over. In Preview, use the toolbar’s Info button to open the Inspector. Apple documents general file information and image resolution there. For PDFs, the Crop inspector can display a selected region’s dimensions in a chosen measurement unit. Use these numerical checks to investigate a suspected size mismatch. View information about PDFs and images in Preview on Mac.

Screen appearance alone is insufficient. Preview has separate definitions of 100% scale for PDFs and images under Preview > Settings. A file’s apparent size on the display can therefore be misleading when assessing physical output. If PDFs or images aren’t the correct size in Preview on Mac.

For a print check, choose File > Print in Preview. In the Preview section, select Scale and enter the intended percentage: 100% for a full-size file, or the agreed enlargement for a reduced file. Scale to Fit changes the relationship to the paper; its fill option can also crop the image. Print PDFs and images in Preview on Mac.

A small desktop sheet cannot verify an entire large-format composition at full size. Use a separate proof containing a known-length rectangle or line, print it at the intended scale, and measure it. This checks the output scale for that proof without requiring the whole artwork to fit on the sheet.

Before delivery, reconcile three numbers: the file’s page dimensions, the requested output percentage, and the finished dimensions. A 300 × 100 mm PDF enlarged to 1000% and a 3000 × 1000 mm PDF output at 100% describe the same finished size. Choose one arrangement, verify it, and communicate it alongside the file.

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