Ubuntu – How to print multiple copies of an image on a single page – gui

image processingimage-viewersprintingshotwell

I am looking for a GUI way to select one image file and print it multiple times on a single sheet of paper. This is basic functionality in other OS's, but my best shot for doing this in Ubuntu so far is this question: How to print multiple copies of an image on a single page

While that question got answers, they all seem to require either to use command-line, the will to workaround, or both. For many Ubuntu users that might be OK or a slight inconvenience (I find it quite annoying), but it's a no-go for many new users and discouraging for people considering to try out FLOSS.

Since other N-Up functionality, like printing a multi-page document with two or more pages per sheet of paper, works easily from most programs it would seem it should be trivial to achieve it for a single file. However, bugs like this one on Launchpad indicate difficulties…

So where does the problem actually live? Is this feature missing from CUPS, or is it a problem of the various programs? Neither gThumb, Shotwell, Okular, Ristretto nor any of the other programs I tried does this in a simple, straightforward manner.

How can this functionality be added to the system print dialog?

Best Answer

I don't know how to do it in the system print dialog, but I can with LibreOffice.

After installing LibreOffice (if it isn't already on your system), open LibreOffice Writer and add your desired image to the page at its upper left.

Choose Print, then the Page Layout tab, and set the number of pages per sheet.

Go back to General and under Range and Copies choose Pages. Use the same page number(s) n times, where n is the number of instances to print per sheet. For a one page document printed 4 times on a sheet, enter: 1,1,1,1. To print 9 images on three successive sheets, enter: 1-9,1-9,1-9.

You may need to change from portrait to landscape page, if the image is not a square, so check first with Print Preview.