Printing tips

How to print your booklet at home

A few print settings make the difference between a booklet that folds perfectly and one that comes out upside down or with a white border. Print one copy on plain paper first, check it, then print the rest.

1. Get the right PDF

In your booklet, open File and choose Export to print at home. It lays your pages out on US letter sheets: the first page of the PDF is the outside of the booklet (back cover and front cover), the second is the inside.

The inside page looks upside down in the PDF. That's on purpose: printers turn the back of each sheet over, so it comes out the right way up on paper.

2. The settings that matter

  • Paper: US Letter (8.5″ × 11″). Plain paper for a test copy; for the real thing, a heavier paper or light cardstock your printer accepts (often up to 80–110 lb).
  • Double-sided: on, with flip on long edge. That's the usual setting, so you rarely need to change it.
  • Scale: 100% (also called Actual size). Not "Fit", "Shrink to fit" or 98%: a smaller scale adds a white border and moves the fold off center.
  • Orientation: landscape. It's usually picked for you.
  • Borderless: most home printers can't print right to the edge of the paper and leave a thin white edge (about ⅛″). If yours offers borderless printing, choose it to print edge to edge. On many printers it only works with a photo or brochure paper type.

3. On a Mac (Preview)

  1. Open the PDF in Preview and choose File → Print.
  2. Set Double-sided to On. If you see a binding choice, pick Long Edge.
  3. Under Scale, type 100%.
  4. For edge to edge, open Paper Size and choose US Letter (Borderless) if it's listed; set a photo or brochure paper type under Media & Quality if your printer asks for one.
  5. Print.

4. On Windows (Adobe Reader or your browser)

  1. Open the PDF and choose Print.
  2. Choose Actual size (Adobe Reader) or Scale 100 (browser), not "Fit".
  3. Turn on Print on both sides and choose Flip on long edge.
  4. For edge to edge, open Printer Properties (or Preferences) and turn on Borderless if your printer has it.
  5. Print.

No automatic double-sided printing? Print page 1, put the printed sheet back in the tray the way your printer's manual describes for printing the second side, then print page 2. Mark the top edge of a test sheet with a pencil to get the direction right the first time.

5. Fold it

Fold the sheet in half across the middle, with both covers on the outside and the front cover facing up, and crease the fold with the edge of a ruler. With an 8-page booklet, fold both sheets and tuck the second inside the first.

6. If something looks wrong

  • The inside is upside down, or the pages are swapped: the printer flipped on the short edge. Print again with flip on long edge.
  • A white border all around: set Scale to 100%. A thin edge that's left is the printer's own margin; use borderless printing if you have it.
  • The fold isn't in the middle: the scale wasn't 100%.
  • Colors look different from the screen: that's normal for ink on paper. A photo or brochure paper type and a higher print quality help.
  • The cover's pattern is very faint: it's a soft background by design, and some printers show it lighter than the screen does.

Still stuck? Message us on Etsy from your order and we'll help.

7. Printing at a shop instead

For edge-to-edge printing without fuss, use File → Export PDF (the print-shop version: each 5.5″ × 8.5″ page with bleed, the extra margin a shop trims off). Take it to Staples, Office Depot, FedEx Office or your local printer and ask for a folded booklet on letter-size cardstock.