How to Print at Actual Size

To print a PDF at actual size, open the print dialog, find the page sizing or scale setting, and choose Actual size or 100% instead of Fit. Then print on the same paper size as the file: a US Letter file on Letter paper, an A4 file on A4.

That one setting explains most printables that come out slightly wrong. Below: why the difference matters, where to find the setting, and how to confirm the measurements afterward.

Why the size matters

Most print dialogs start on a setting that fits the page to the paper. For a coloring page, the difference usually goes unnoticed. For some printables it changes the result:

• Cards and bingo boards. Calling cards and game cards are laid out to cut apart along set lines, and a grid should come out square. Scaled down, cards shrink and the cutting lines lose their alignment.
• Fuse bead charts. Actual-size bead sheets are drawn so that one square matches one bead. In our cat fuse bead patterns, each square on those sheets is 5 mm. Print them smaller and the beads no longer match the squares, which defeats the purpose of an actual-size sheet.
• Sewing patterns. A pattern piece printed at 94% makes a smaller, tighter toy, and the seam allowances shrink with it. That’s why the plush bunny pattern puts a 1-inch test square on every pattern page.
• Tangram pieces. A cut-out tangram set is drawn to a stated size, and a card-size set is meant to lie right on top of the printed shapes. Our guide to tangram puzzles for beginners explains how to check your pieces with a ruler.

The setting, and what the choices mean

Adobe’s help pages describe the page sizing choices in Acrobat and Acrobat Reader like this:

• Fit reduces or enlarges each page to fit the printable area of the paper you’ve selected.
• Actual size prints without scaling. Anything that doesn’t fit on the paper is cropped.
• Shrink oversized pages shrinks large pages to fit but doesn’t enlarge small ones.
• Custom Scale resizes the page by a percentage you type in.

For printables, choose Actual size, or Custom Scale at 100.

Other programs use different words for the same thing. In a web browser or a built-in PDF viewer, look for a setting called Scale, Size or Page sizing, and set it to 100 or “Actual size”. If the only choices are “Fit to page” and “Default”, choose Default and check the result with the test below before printing the whole file.

Printing from Adobe Acrobat Reader

1. Open the PDF and choose Print.
2. Under Page Sizing & Handling, select Size.
3. Choose Actual size.
4. Check the paper size in the printer settings matches the file.
5. Print one page first.

On Windows you open Print from the menu button with three lines; on a Mac it’s under the File menu. The sizing options are the same on both.

Match the paper to the file

Actual size only works when the paper is the size the file was made for. If you print an A4 file on Letter paper at actual size, the top and bottom of the page can be cut off, because A4 is taller. If you print it with Fit instead, the whole page shrinks to about 94%, or a little less if the printer keeps a margin.

Most of our PDF printables come as two files, one in US Letter and one in A4, so you rarely need to choose between those two problems. Pick the file that matches your paper. US Letter or A4 explains how to tell which one you have.

Check the print before you print them all

Print a single page, then measure something on it:

• a test square, if the file has one
• a ruler line or a grid square with a stated size
• the width of a bingo board or card compared with another copy

If the measurement is off, go back to the print dialog. The usual culprits are Fit still being selected, a printer driver with its own “fit to page” option, or the wrong paper size in the printer settings.

Printing at a copy shop? Ask for “100%, no scaling” when you hand over the file. How to print at a copy shop covers what else to say at the counter.