Printable coloring pages usually go wrong in one of four ways: the edges get cut off, the lines come out faint, the ink soaks through, or the picture prints tiny in the middle of the sheet. All four are print settings, not the file. Here’s how to fix them, whichever shop your coloring book came from.
The short version
- Open the PDF in a proper PDF reader, not a browser preview.
- Set the scale to 100% or Actual size.
- Print in grayscale or black ink only, with draft mode off.
- Match the file to your paper: the Letter file for Letter, the A4 file for A4.
- Use heavier paper if you’re coloring with markers.
1. Use the right file for your paper
Every Little Page Shop book comes as two PDFs:
…-us-letter.pdffor US Letter paper (8.5 × 11 in), the usual size in the US and Canada.…-a4.pdffor A4 paper (210 × 297 mm), the usual size almost everywhere else.
The two sheets aren’t the same shape, so printing the wrong file is the most common cause of cut-off edges. If you’re not sure what’s in your printer, check the paper packet.
2. Set the scale to 100%
This is the setting that matters most.
- Adobe Acrobat Reader: in the print dialog, under Page Sizing & Handling, choose Actual size. Not “Fit”, and not “Shrink oversized pages”.
- Mac Preview: choose Scale: 100%, not “Scale to Fit”.
- Chrome or Edge: open More settings and set Scale to Default, or Custom at 100. Turn off “Fit to printable area”.
- Windows Photos and other built-in viewers: avoid them, because they crop and scale unpredictably. Acrobat Reader is free.
A thin white border around the picture is normal. Home printers can’t print to the very edge of the sheet, which is why our designs keep a safe margin.
3. Print in grayscale, with draft mode off
Coloring pages are black and grey line art. If your printer mixes black from color ink you get a muddy brown line and use up your color cartridges. In the print dialog find Color and choose Grayscale, Black and white or Black ink only. It’s often under “Printer properties” or “Quality”.
Then turn draft, eco or toner-save mode off. Draft mode is the usual reason fine lines and soft grey detail come out faint or broken.
4. Choose the right paper
| Coloring with | Paper |
|---|---|
| Pencils, crayons | Plain copier paper (80 gsm / 20 lb) is fine |
| Gel pens, fineliners | 100–120 gsm (28–32 lb), which stops feathering |
| Markers, alcohol markers | 160 gsm (65 lb) or heavier, or cardstock; or put a scrap sheet underneath |
| Watercolor pencils | 200 gsm (90 lb) or heavier mixed-media paper |
Every design is on its own page, so if marker ink does soak through it only marks the sheet below, never another picture.
5. Print one test page first
Before you print a whole book, print one page. Check that the edges aren’t clipped and the lines are solid, adjust once, then print the rest. It saves more ink than any other tip here.
Printing at a print shop
For a whole book it’s usually cheaper than home ink. Ask for:
- Single-sided
- Black and white
- 100 gsm (28 lb) paper or heavier
- Actual size, no scaling (say so, because shops scale by default)
- Spiral or comb binding, if you want it to lie flat
You’re licensed to print your own copies, including at a shop.
Troubleshooting
The scale isn’t at 100%, or you’re printing the A4 file on Letter paper (or the other way round).
The printer is set to the wrong paper size. Set the paper size to match the file.
Draft mode is on, the ink is low, or it’s printing in color.
Each book is 60–100 MB because every page is a full-resolution image. Use Wi-Fi, and download only the paper size you need.
It shouldn’t. Email littlepageshop@leafyorb.com and we’ll sort it out.
Want to test your settings first? Print a page from the free sampler.