Export, print, and use your bead pattern PDF

A RetroBeads PDF turns your finished pattern into something you can actually use at the bead table. Export it, print it at the right size, and decide whether the paper is a reference beside you or a full-size guide underneath transparent boards.

If you have not made a pattern yet, start with Create your first RetroBeads pattern. This guide starts when the bead chart already looks right and you are ready to press Export PDF.

Pick how the paper will be used

The Export PDF dialog starts with one important choice: Chart Reference or Exact-Size Tracing. RetroBeads product RetroBeads PDF export dialog The current dialog exposes Chart Reference and Exact-Size Tracing as the two export styles.

Chart Reference Scaled reference map kept beside your work.

Exact-Size Tracing True-size underlay for transparent pegboards.

Choose Chart Reference when the paper sits beside the project. Choose Exact-Size Tracing when the paper goes underneath transparent boards.

Chart Reference is a reference map. Each pegboard is scaled to fit on a sheet of paper, with symbols, row and column labels, board labels, a color legend, and bead counts. Use it when the paper stays beside the project, either because you like reading from a chart or because your pegboards are not transparent.
Exact-Size Tracing prints the pattern at real physical scale. Use it when you want to cut, tape, and rebuild the paper template so it can sit underneath transparent pegboards while you trace the colors bead by bead.

If you are unsure, export Chart Reference first. It is easier to print, easier to keep beside a project box, and less fussy when your printer adds margins. Choose Exact-Size Tracing when the paper template itself is part of how you plan to build.

Set up the export

Open Export PDF from the editor after the pattern is created. The dialog description shows the pattern size in beads and the number of colors, which is a quick sanity check before you print. RetroBeads product RetroBeads PDF export flow The export dialog and success toast include pattern size, color count, export mode, page size, and page count.

Choose Chart Reference or Exact-Size Tracing.
Choose Paper size: A4 or Letter. Pick the paper that is actually in your printer, not the one that looks neater in the dialog.
If Exact-Size Tracing is selected and the pattern uses more than one board, choose the page layout. Board-by-board prints each pegboard at exact scale on its own sheet or sheet group. Full canvas (optimized) treats the whole pattern as one big template and tries to use fewer sheets of paper.
Decide whether to keep Show pegboard guide behind the pattern on. The guide can make board boundaries easier to see on paper, especially when the colors are light.
For exact-size sheets, keep Show Do Not Iron on Pegboard reminder on exact-size pages on unless you have a deliberate reason to hide it. It is a reminder on the printout, not a full ironing lesson.
Press Export PDF and wait for the browser download. If the app warns that a large exact-size export needs many pages and tape joints, read that warning before you continue.

Read a Chart Reference page

Use Chart Reference when you want to build from symbols and counts. A chart page is not meant to be full physical size; it is meant to be readable beside your boards.

Chart Reference pages are for reading. Symbols point to the legend, labels help you count across rows and columns, and the board/page details keep loose sheets tied to the right project.

The pieces to read:

Project print ID. This identifies the export. Keep pages with the same print ID together.
Mode and paper size. The header tells you whether you are holding a Chart Reference or Exact-Size Tracing packet, plus A4 or Letter.
Board and page label. Multi-board projects have board labels and page references. If pages get separated, sort by these before building.
Row and column labels. Use these to count across a board section. When you lose your place, return to the nearest row or column label instead of recounting from the corner.
Symbols. Each colored cell has a symbol. Symbols are useful when two bead colors look similar in the room light or on a black-and-white print.
Legend. The legend maps each symbol to a bead code, bead name, and count. Read the code and name together, because different brands can have similar names.
Total bead count. Use it as a project-size check, not as a shopping cart. RetroBeads lists counts; it does not sort beads or guarantee what you have in storage.
Locator map. The small board map tells you where this page sits in the larger layout.

For large patterns, sort the paper before you sort beads. Put the cover page on top, then group chart pages by board or by page number. If you are building over several days, clip each board’s pages together so the legend and page references stay with the board.

Read an Exact-Size Tracing page

Use Exact-Size Tracing when the printed paper needs to match bead size because it will sit underneath transparent boards. Exact-size pages are not symbol charts. The export dialog says this directly: exact-size tracing does not include per-bead symbol overlays. RetroBeads product RetroBeads exact-size tracing note The current dialog states that Exact-Size Tracing is best printed in color and does not include per-bead symbol overlays.

Scale guide Exact-size only works when the print dialog stays at 100 percent.

Overlap marks Dashed trim lines and crosshairs show where tiled sheets meet.

No symbols on tracing pages Exact-size pages are for placement and alignment, not symbol reading.

Exact-Size Tracing is an under-the-board workflow. Its useful parts are scale, overlap marks, page labels, and a locator map. The per-bead symbol chart lives in Chart Reference instead.

The pieces to read:

Scale guide or ruler. This is the first thing to check after printing. If the ruler is wrong, the sheet is not full scale.
Board label and sheet label. These tell you which board or canvas section the page belongs to.
Locator map. Use it to place the sheet in the larger pattern before cutting or taping anything.
Overlap marks. Crosshairs, arrow tips, and dashed trim lines show where two tiled pages meet.
Color cells. The cells show placement and color regions through the board, but they are not a replacement for the Chart Reference legend when colors are close.
Do Not Iron reminder. Treat it as a paper reminder. It does not replace a fuse-method guide.

If you choose Full canvas (optimized), the paper pages may cross board boundaries because RetroBeads is trying to reduce the total number of sheets. If you choose Board-by-board, page groups stay easier to match to each physical board. Neither choice places beads for you; it only changes how the exact-size paper is broken up.

Print at true size

Exact-size printouts only work when the printer leaves the PDF at real scale. Most print dialogs have a setting called Actual size, Scale: 100%, or something very close. Choose that. Do not choose Fit to page for exact-size tracing.

Good for tracing The printed ruler measures correctly and the bead grid stays full scale.

Too small for tracing Fit to page can shrink the sheet, so the printed grid no longer matches bead size.

Chart Reference can still be useful when scaled, but Exact-Size Tracing depends on true print scale. Print one test page, measure the ruler, then print the rest.

Print the cover or first scale-check page first, not the whole packet.
In the print dialog, choose Actual size or 100%. Turn off Fit to page, Shrink oversized pages, or other automatic scaling.
Print one test page and measure the PDF ruler with a real ruler. Check both a metric mark and, if shown, an inch mark.
If the ruler is off, fix the print dialog and print the test page again. Do not compensate by trimming differently; the bead grid itself is wrong.
Once the test page measures correctly, print the remaining pages with the same printer and the same settings.

For Chart Reference, exact scale matters less because you are reading the chart rather than tracing the physical grid. Still, keep the print readable. If the chart looks too small after printing, re-export on the paper size you actually use or read it from a tablet.

Cut and join tiled exact-size sheets

You are joining printed pages so the paper guide reads as one larger template. For the separate fusing technique that lifts a bead design off the pegboards, see the tape method for large fuse-bead projects.

Work slowly the first time:

Clear a flat table or floor space larger than the finished paper layout. Put the cover page and locator map where you can see them.
Sort the exact-size sheets by board label and sheet label. Keep one board group together before you start trimming.
Dry-fit the pages before cutting. Lay them in the rough order shown by the locator map and make sure the pattern continues across page edges.
Find the dashed trim line on the page that has it. Cut only that edge. Leave the overlap area on the matching page uncut so the two sheets can slide over each other.
Slide the cut edge over the overlap area until the crosshairs and arrow tips meet. Also check that the printed grid lines or color blocks continue smoothly across the seam.
Use a small piece of low-tack tape on the front to hold the alignment while you check the next mark. Do not cover a color area you still need to read.
When the seam is right, flip the joined paper carefully and tape the back of the seam. Then remove any temporary tape from the front if it hides the pattern.
Repeat seam by seam. Join rows first if that is easier to keep straight, then join the rows together.
Label the back lightly with board/page names if the assembled guide will be moved, folded, or stored between sessions.

A good seam looks boring. The grid continues, the crosshairs meet, and the paper lies flat enough that beads or a board do not rock on top of it. If the seam creeps by even one bead, lift the tape and realign now. It is much easier to fix paper than a misplaced bead field later.

Use the printout while building

Different makers use the PDF in different ways. Pick the one that keeps you from losing your place.

Paper chart beside the board. Best for Chart Reference. Read a small section, place beads, then tick a row note or cover finished rows with a ruler or spare sheet of paper.
Exact-size paper underneath transparent boards. Use this only when the print scale is correct and the paper lies flat. The paper helps you trace color regions across one board or several interlocked boards, while the Chart Reference legend is still better for similar colors.
Tablet or phone. Best when you want zoom, brightness, and fewer loose sheets. Pinch zoom works well for Chart Reference pages. Increase the device’s sleep timeout if the screen keeps turning off, and keep the PDF file available offline if you will build away from Wi-Fi.
Hybrid workflow. Many projects are easiest with both: Chart Reference for symbols and counts, exact-size pages for layout, and the editor open if you need to compare with the live pattern.

Do not build from a single page in isolation unless the project is truly one page. The cover, locator map, board labels, legend, and page numbers are there to keep the whole packet coherent.

When exact-size gets big

Large exact-size exports can mean many pages, many tape joints, and more chances for one seam to drift. When RetroBeads asks you to acknowledge the page and tape-joint count, treat that as real craft time, not just a software warning.

Choose Chart Reference instead when:

you mainly need symbols, colors, and bead counts;
your printer cannot hold 100% scale reliably;
you do not have a large flat place to assemble paper;
the exact-size layout needs so many tape joints that the paper will be more stressful than helpful;
you are building from the screen or from physical boards directly.

Choose Exact-Size Tracing when:

you need a full-scale paper guide for layout;
the project spans several boards and you want printed overlap marks;
you are comfortable cutting and joining pages before placing beads;
you can print in color and check the scale ruler before committing.

Final check before beads hit the board

Confirm every sheet belongs to the same export by checking the print ID, project name, and mode.
Confirm the page size matches what you printed: A4 or Letter.
For Chart Reference, make sure the legend is readable in your room light and that similar bead colors still have different symbols.
For Exact-Size Tracing, measure the ruler after printing and check at least one joined seam before placing beads over it.
Keep the color list, cover page, and board/page labels with the project until the piece is finished.

What to do next

If the PDF is ready, set up your bead colors, choose whether you are building from paper or screen, and place a small section first so the workflow feels right before the whole table is covered in beads.

When you are ready for heat, move to Ironing styles and troubleshooting for fusing, finishes, cooling, and general troubleshooting, and to Tape method for large fuse-bead projects for the lift-and-flip workflow on large or multi-board designs.