Jigsaw Puzzle Maker

How to make a jigsaw puzzle from a photo

1. Add a photo and drag it until the faces sit where you want them; avoid putting a face right on the frame, where it gets cut into edge pieces. Pick the piece count and paper. New cut reshuffles every tab if you do not like where one falls.
2. Print the PDF at 100% (“Actual size”, not “Fit to page”). Photo paper or plain 100–120 g/m² paper both work. If your printer feeds card, print straight onto 250–300 g/m² matt card and skip the next step; most inkjets take card that heavy only through the rear or manual feed, and many lasers stop at about 200 g/m².
3. Glue the print to card. Grey board or the side of a cereal box (about 0.5 mm) gives pieces that feel like a real puzzle. Use spray adhesive or a glue stick taken right to the edges and corners, smooth it from the middle out, and leave it flat under heavy books overnight. Full-sheet A4 or Letter sticker paper is the tidiest shortcut: print on it, peel and press onto card.
4. Cut on a cutting mat with a sharp craft knife. Fit a fresh blade, cut the long wavy lines first so you get strips, then cut the strips into pieces. Make two or three light passes rather than one hard one, and turn the card instead of your wrist on the curves. Kitchen scissors manage 6 and 12 pieces; from 24 up a knife is far neater. Keep the knife for the adult: children can sort and assemble.

On A4 landscape the pieces come out about 91 mm across for 6 pieces, 46 mm for 24, 23 mm for 96 and 18 mm for 150. Cutting 150 pieces that small by hand takes a patient evening; choose A3 (pieces about 26 mm) or a cutting machine for that count.

Questions

Which piece count suits which age?

As a rough guide from boxed puzzles: 6 big pieces for ages 2 to 3, 12 for 3 to 4, 24 for 4 to 5, 48 for 5 to 6, 96 for about 7 and up, and 150 from about 9. A photo of the family is easier than a picture of grass or sky, because faces and clothes give strong clues; a busy, colourful photo makes any count easier. When in doubt, go one step easier: a finished puzzle is more fun than an abandoned one.

Is this the same as a bought jigsaw?

No, and it is fair to say so. A boxed puzzle is printed on thick board and stamped with a steel die in one press, so the pieces lock tightly and the edges are clean. A home print cut by hand on thinner card has softer edges, looser tabs and a knife line that wanders a little; the print can also peel if the glue misses a corner. It makes a charming handmade present and a good activity, but if you want the boxed feel, take the 300 dpi PNG to a print shop or an online photo puzzle service.

What is the blank template for?

The Blank template prints the cut lines alone on white. Children draw or paint their own picture on it (on card, felt-tips and crayons work better than wet paint, which curls paper), then an adult cuts it up and they get to solve their own drawing. It is also a stencil: lay it over any print and cut through both.

Can I cut it with a Cricut or a laser cutter?

Yes. The SVG button saves the cut in millimetres: the frame plus one closed outline per piece, at the size shown under the sheet. A4 and Letter puzzles fit a 12 × 12 inch Cricut mat; an A3 puzzle (about 396 mm wide) needs the 12 × 24 inch mat. Thin card cuts with the fine-point blade; grey board or chipboard needs a machine that takes the knife blade. The SVG holds the cut only, not the photo: print the picture with the PDF, glue it to the board, then line the board up on the mat, or use Print Then Cut with your photo, which has its own maximum size. On a laser cutter, note that every piece is its own outline, so each shared edge is drawn twice; most laser software can remove the overlapping lines before you cut.

Can I play it online?

Yes, on this page: press Play on screen and the same puzzle you would print (the same pieces, the same cut, your photo or the snowy village) is scattered around a board. Drag the pieces with a finger or the mouse. When you drop a piece within about a third of a piece of its true neighbour's matching side it clicks into place, and pieces joined that way move as one; a piece or a joined group dropped near its own spot on the board settles there for good. A timer runs and a counter shows how many pieces are still loose; Shuffle again starts over, and New cut gives every piece a new shape. On a phone, 48 pieces or fewer play best: at 96 and 150 the pieces are only a few millimetres across on a 390 px screen. There is no share link, and that is on purpose: the photo is never uploaded, and a photo cannot travel in a link. To let a grandparent play your photo, send them the photo and this page's address. Play needs a pointer: it does not work with the keyboard alone yet.

Is it free, and is my photo uploaded?

It is free, with no sign-up and no watermark. The photo is opened and drawn inside this page on your own device and is never sent anywhere; the PDF, PNG and SVG are made by your browser. The example snowy village is our own drawing.