How to Print a PDF Correctly Every Time

Printing a PDF should be the simplest thing in the world, and yet — cut-off margins, a giant document squeezed onto one page, or twenty unwanted pages spooling out. A few checks before you hit print save paper, ink, and frustration.

Check these before you print

• Page scaling. "Fit to page" or "actual size" makes a real difference. Actual size preserves the true dimensions; fit-to-page rescales to avoid cut-off edges. Pick deliberately rather than accepting the default.
• The page range. Printing only the pages you need is the easiest way to avoid wasting a ream on a document where you wanted page seven.
• Orientation. Confirm portrait or landscape matches the document so wide tables are not chopped off.
• Single vs. double-sided to match your purpose and save paper.

Fix the document first, not the printer

Many printing headaches are easier to solve in the file than in the print dialog:

• A sideways page prints sideways — fix it first with the Rotate tool.
• Huge margins waste the page; trim them with Crop.
• Only need part of a big document? Extract the pages into a small file and print that.

For important print jobs

When a document really has to come out right — a contract, a portfolio, a formal report — print a single test page first. One test page is far cheaper than discovering a scaling problem forty pages in. A minute of checking saves a stack of reprints.