Printing artboard border

[#1]

Hi 

How can I print the artboard border?

I am trying to print my clothing patterns as PDF I want the border line printed so I can see where to join the printouts easily.  I am trying to avoid drawing and placing my own rectangles I was hoping there is a more accurate way?

Thanks

[#2 · Accepted solution]

As you discovered, you will need to draw a rectangle. You can do that accurately. With the rectangle tool, click anywhere on the artboard to bring up the rectangle dialog box. Type in the height and width of the artboard. Double click the origin of the ruler in the upper left. That will set the 0/0 origin to the upper left of the artboard.

Open the Transform panel or the Properties panel. With the rectangle selected, click the upper left corner of the origin icon and type zero for X and Y.

[#3]

Perfect!  That's exactly what I want, thank you.

[#4]

You're welcome! So glad that worked for you.

[#5]

Alternatively, you could make your artboard larger than the final size that you need. Draw a rectangle the size you want for the final print. With the rectangle selected choose Effects > Trim Marks. With the rectangle still selected, choose Object > Expand Appearance. With the Direct Selection tool, delete the rectangle. You can use the trim marks to line up the prints. 

[#6]

Or, don't make your artboard larger than necessary. Just make a rectangle the size of the artboard. Choose Effects > Trim Marks. Save the Illustrator file as PDF, and turn on Trim Marks. Acrobat will automatically enlarge the page to include the trim marks.