Tatscale
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iPad app for tattoo artists

Tattoo stencils at true scale.

One app to transform imagery to stencils*, edit* and adjust with ease, and tile correctly with overlap in A4 or US Letter pages to print directly from your iPad. One app for all your workflows.

Download on the App Store

First 3 exports free · No card

Tatscale on iPad: a design on an A2 canvas, 59.4 × 41.9 cm, split into nine A4 pages P1 to P9 with shaded 1.5 cm overlap bands.
A2 canvas · 59.4 × 41.9 cm → 9 × A4 landscape · 1.5 cm overlap

01 The problem

Stop moving your stencil from app to app in order to create, edit and print.

You can now easily print with a custom overlap between pages, an easily identifiable mark to align the pages, and soon both create and edit stencils directly in one app. The frustrations of printing tattoo stencil tiles correctly are over.

Tatscale keeps the canvas in real units while you work, splits it across sheets with the overlap you choose, and prints at 100%. Our aim is to save you hours of frustration every month by making an easy, cheap and seamless app for you to print, edit, and create your stencils in. See roadmap

02 Workflow

Import, scale, tile, print.

Files app

  • PNG
  • JPEG
  • PDFpage 1

Photo Library

  • any image
  • Import again to add another layer.
  • Nothing is uploaded. Files stay on the iPad.
Tatscale toolbar: paper preset A2, width 59.4, height 41.9, unit toggle set to cm. A design placed on an A2 canvas with centimetre rulers along the top and side.
Canvas 59.4 × 41.9 cm · rulers in cm
The same design split into pages P1 to P9, with shaded overlap bands and a 1.5 cm label on a seam.
9 pages · 3 × 3 · 1.5 cm overlap
Print and Tile panel: paper size A4, landscape, overlap 1.45 cm, 9 pages, with Export PDF, Print and Save tiles to Photos buttons.
Print & Tile
  • Export PDF One file, one tile per page — share it or print it anywhere.
  • Print AirPrint, with the paper set to the size you picked.
  • Save tiles to Photos One PNG per sheet.
Print at 100% / actual size

03 Features

Functionality.

  • on-device

    Your art stays yours

    Designs are never uploaded. Your account stores just your email, name and export count.

  • 0–8 cm

    Overlap you control

    Type a value or drag a seam. Mark it with a line or registration marks, in the colour you want.

  • P1 → Pn

    Automatic tiling

    Pieces bigger than a sheet split across as many pages as they need, previewed right on the canvas.

  • cm · in

    Real-unit canvas

    Type the width and height, or start from a paper preset. The rulers read in the same units.

  • pinch

    Size with your fingers

    Pinch to resize the design while the canvas stays at true scale, so what you see is the printed size.

  • PDF · PNG

    Three ways out

    Export a tiled PDF, save each tile to Photos as a PNG, or send it to an AirPrint printer.

  • guides

    Guides and grid

    Drag guides off the rulers. Set the grid spacing and put it behind or in front of the artwork.

  • layers

    More than one design

    Imports stack as layers you can select, move, resize and rotate in 90° steps.

  • 2 · 3 taps

    Undo with a tap

    Two-finger tap to undo, three-finger tap to redo. Canvas resizes are undoable too.

04 Roadmap

Coming soon.

Close-up of a male lion's face and mane. The same image as a violet line-work stencil.
Palette
  • #342315
  • #573C22
  • #785734
  • #9E754C
  • #C0966C
  • #DCBB98

Early previews from the Artist tier in development · Photos: Pixabay

In development · not available yet

Artist tier

A higher tier for everything that happens before the stencil.

  • photo → stencilReference to line work Turn a photo into a stencil you can edit and print in Tatscale.
  • paletteColour palettes Pull the colours straight out of a reference photo.
  • referencesEvery reference in one place Photos, palettes and stencils for a piece, kept together.

* Turning images into stencils and editing them are part of Tatscale Artist, which is in development and not available yet. Today, Tatscale sizes, tiles, exports and prints your stencils.

Join the waiting list

No release date yet. Follow @tatscaleapp for news.
For feature suggestions: [email protected]

05 FAQ

Questions.

Anything else: [email protected]

Do you store my designs?

No. Artwork never leaves your iPad. For your account we store your email, your name if you give one, an account ID and how many exports you've used. Privacy policy.

How much does it cost?

Tatscale is free to download and your first 3 exports are free on the Basic plan, with no card and no trial timer. Each PDF export, print or save to Photos counts as one.

After that, Tatscale Pro gives you unlimited exports and printing for $2.99/month or $9.99/year. Prices are US; they vary by country. Subscriptions are billed by Apple and you can cancel anytime in Settings.

Tatscale Artist (coming soon) will include everything from Basic and Pro, as well as the new features on the way. It is expected to be affordable for any artist.

Which iPads does it run on?

Any iPad running iPadOS 16 or later, in portrait or landscape. Tatscale is iPad-only; there's no iPhone or Mac version.

What files can I import?

PNG, JPEG and PDF from the Files app, or any image from your Photo Library. For a PDF, Tatscale imports the first page.

Which printers and paper sizes work?

Printing goes through AirPrint, so any printer your iPad can already print to will work. Tatscale asks the printer for the sheet size you picked.

Sheet sizes: A0–A6, US Letter, Legal, Tabloid and Executive, each in portrait or landscape.

Stencil printer doesn't do AirPrint? Export the tiled PDF or the PNG tiles and print them from whatever drives that printer. Either way, print at 100% / actual size.

Does it work offline?

Yes, once you're signed in. Importing, sizing, tiling and exporting all happen on the iPad. AirPrint needs the printer on the same local network, not the internet.

You need a connection to sign in, subscribe or restore a purchase.

Do I need an account?

You can explore the whole app as a guest. To export or print, sign in with Apple or with a one-time code sent to your email. You can delete your account from inside the app at any time.

Who are we?

We are Henrik Arnrød and Nicklas Wong Kold.

Nicklas is the artist (@tattoosbynicklaswong) and specialises in Neo Traditional, Neo Japanese and New School. He is both known and well liked in the industry and has worked all over the world. He is currently based in Melbourne, Australia.

Henrik and Nicklas grew up together in Denmark, and Henrik is the technical part of the app. With our combined love for art and tattoos, technical know-how and knowledge of the industry, our mission is to help artists around the world create more and be frustrated less.