Need Help Setting up tiles in Illustrator

use overlapping artboards and export -> export for screens

 

Or overlapping art boards and save as pdf. Each pdf will be the artboard.

 

or overlapping art boards and save as pdf. Each pdf will be the artboard. haha.

 

+1 for overlapping art boards.
What I've done in the past is this: Start new AI PDF Document. No art at this stage. Set up overlapping art boards as needed that are just about the width of the media by a little longer than than project. For example 48" x 150". Save this doc, as you can use it again for other similar situations. Then PLACE the AI file within, that has the art for the current project. Save as COPY as PDF. Now you have a multi-page PDF to RIP/Print. Depending on the art, you may have to crop certain panels in the rip to prevent waste. Be conscious of your overlaps if this is the case.

 

I butt my artboards together and add document bleed for my overlap. Makes it a lot faster if I need to change the overlap for whatever reason.

 

Clipping masks and pathfinder tools are the wrong way to do this. Artboards are the way to do it, as others have mentioned.

Just draw a series of rectangles, sized and arranged exactly how you want the tiles to be, then select them all and go Object > Artboards > Convert to Artboards. Put your artwork on the artboards and save to PDF, which will create a separate page for each tile. Done.

 

Just curious? Is there a reason you have to do this in illustrator? We would have the rip (Onyx) take care of tiling.