print something in inkscape that is larger than a4 size by spreading it out onto 2 a4s

you can try PosteRazor - it is free and cross-platform :-)

You have an image in Inkscape which you have sized larger than 8.5" x 11." You want to print two halves of the image onto two sheets. Here is a method I like to use especially for creating screen printing transparencies.

Pros of this method:

• Requires no extra software
• For printing screen printing positives onto transparencies, you can make parts of the image overlap, allowing for easier, more exact alignment of the two halves

Cons of this method:

• Though not impossible, it may be difficult to print out two exact halves--meaning no repeated parts of the image on either page, as well as no missing parts. So, if you are printing onto white paper, you may have to print out slightly more than one half of the image and then cut part of one page using scissors in order to properly line the two halves of the image up. If you are willing to spend some time lining them up carefully on Inkscape, though, you may achieve two close-to-perfect halves.

To start, have your image open. Size it, using inches, to your desired dimensions.

Go to "File" > Document Properties and set Page Size to US Letter (which is 8.5" x 11"). If your image is long, you can select Orientation: Landscape. Otherwise, it should be set to Portrait.

Within this dialog box, you will also see the section titled Border. Here, make sure "show page border" and "border on top of drawing" are selected. If they are, you should see a rectangle appear over your image. I will call this rectangle the Page.

Make sure your file is saved as SVG (maybe other file types will work--I'm not sure--but I do know that PDF will not work).

Use the Select and Transform Tool to move your image. Since you will want to print out two halves of the image, set one half of the image over the Page. When you go to File > Print, the half that falls inside of the Page will print. The other half of the image will not.

Finally, use the Select and Transform Tool again to move your image so that the second half of the image falls within the Page. File > Print, and voila. You should have two halves of one big image.