You may have already seen our tutorial for our favorite way to transfer graphics onto furniture. But we know old school overhead projectors can be expensive and hard to find. This method is a great option for those who don’t have access to an overhead projector.
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Now before we get started, I should probably define “special equipment”. You’re still going to need access to the internet and a printer. We’re assuming if you’re reading this you have access to the internet. And even if you don’t own a printer, you can still easily print things at multiple places like FedEx or a public library.
First, choose your graphic. You can check out our favorite places to find free graphics here. It’s also important to remember that low quality graphics may become blurry or pixelated if you blow them up too much.
Next, go to blockposters.com.
Click the “Get Started” Button in the center of the screen.
Next, click the “upload your image” button
After you’ve uploaded your image, scroll down just a bit and you’ll see your image. This is where you’ll be able to crop and change the image size. The free version should be all you need for most graphics, even on large furniture, but if you happen to need a really big graphic you can choose the premium version of Blockposters for $5.
When you’re finished sizing your graphic, check the little box to accept the terms of service, then click the green “create my poster” button.
Click the “download your poster” button.
Your image should now be downloaded to your device and you’re ready to print. (If you’re having trouble finding the download in your files, it usually saves as “blockposter” followed by some numbers). Once you’ve printed out all your pages, you’ll want to lay them out on a flat surface face up. Carefully line the pages up and tape them together so you have one big poster.
You can see in the photo above that there’s a small border around each page (even if you choose “be borderless” in BlockPosters). I just cut the little borders off with scissors so the pages would line up perfectly. Try to position your tape so it’s behind the blank portions of your graphic.
Now it’s time to transfer your graphic. Flip the poster over so it’s face down. Using a pencil, rub the pencil lead all over the back side of the graphic. You don’t have to do the entire page, just anywhere there’s a graphic.
Next, flip your graphic face up and line it up on whatever surface you’re transferring to. Once it’s lined up it’s a good idea to tape it in place so it doesn’t accidentally get shifted. Using a pen or pencil, carefully trace out your image. This will transfer the pencil lead on the back side of the page onto your piece, leaving an outline of your graphic.
When you’re finished, slowly peel back one corner of the graphic and take a peek to make sure everything transferred nicely. If you’re good to go, remove the whole poster.
If you’re transferring your graphic onto a dark surface, you can rub chalk instead of a pencil on the back of your poster. This is a little messier and smudges easily so it’s not my favorite method, but it works in a pinch.
Now you just have to paint your image in. I have a ton of different brushes but I really like this inexpensive set.
Is this the most ideal method for transferring large graphics? Not in our opinion. We prefer an overhead projector like this one for most of our projects. But if you don’t have access to an overhead projector or you’re just doing something small, this is definitely a doable method. If you’re interested in reading more about how we transfer graphics with an overhead projector, check out this post here.
What’s your favorite method for transferring graphics? We’d love to hear about it in the comments.
We are not affiliated with Blockposters.com in any way and we have not been compensated for writing this post. We’re simply sharing information we think you might find useful.
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You girls are the queens of using graphics! Thank you so much for sharing this post. I’d been using an overhead projector for larger projects but it just didn’t make sense to use that method for smaller projects. I’m working on some laundry room prints now so I can’t wait to try this. Sending you hugs, CoCo
Some day we are going to give this a try. Your painted graphic pieces are always stunning and inspiring. Thanks for sharing the details!
I can’t wait to try this out! I don’t really want to get an overhead projector but still want to be able to print and transfer larger graphics. Thanks for sharing.
I had never hear of that website….I’ve got to go check it out. And thanks for the reminder of how to transfer an image…..I was trying to work on a project on Friday with carbon paper onto craft foam but the lines weren’t showing up. I hadn’t even thought of the pencil/chalk on the back method. Cross your fingers that it works 🙂
The pencil method is awesome! I use it all the time for smaller projects when I don’t feel like dragging out the overhead. Can’t wait to see your project :).
Oh wow! This is so great to know! Thank you very much – I KNOW I will use this in the future!
Great post
Hey… I have done a ton of research on transferring images onto larger furniture. When getting to the step to enlarge…. Blockposter.com requires the up load to be a jpeg file. It was a real runaround down loading a file converter. NO blog site that I could find explains this. I went to multiple computers thinking it was my laptop…. Nope. Blockposter.com doesn’t accept pdf files. Any suggestions?
You can save your PDF file as a jpeg file from. Go to file > Save As > Image > jpg. Or some are just File > Save As > Jpg.
Claire, thank you! I missed Caitlin’s question and appreciate you answering it.
I have heard/read about “freezer paper” to transfer graphics….does anyone have any experience with those?
I’ve only done the freezer paper transfer method once and I was transferring the image onto fabric. The ink smears really easily on the paper and I’m not sure how well it would work for furniture. If you give it a shot let me know how it goes!
My first visit. I have learned something new to try. I will have to let you know how it goes later.
Welcome Linda! I’m glad you found us. Definitely let me know how your project goes!
Hey girls,
This is also a great way to transfer a graphic. I read your post on using an overhead projector, which is genius! As I said on another post, I shared your idea and link on my Facebook page for my DIY Bohemian, which is mainly about clothing style, but I love any DIY ideas.
I don’t know if carbon paper is still around, but, that could also be used instead of scratching a pencil around.
Pinning your pin on my Pinterest.
Blessings,
Cindy Davis, creator of diybohemian.com
Hey! Many thanks for the blockposters idea! I will use it for decoupage technique😍 I have recently viewed a tutorial how to print rice paper using a normal A4 printer, but I wanted a larger image( for painting rice paper, you glue it on a normal A4 sheet with a paper adhesive and that’s it, you only need to print it🤭