Printout is cut off or the wrong size
Edges are missing, text runs off the page or everything prints too small. Match Letter or A4, fix scaling and margins, and stop photo apps cropping your pictures.
Quick fix
Make sure the paper size in the document, in the print window and on the printer all match the paper in the tray, such as Letter or A4. Then set scaling to Fit or fit to page (the wording varies by app) rather than a fixed percentage, and print one page to check.
Didn’t work? Go to the full stepsYou might see
- The top, bottom or one side of the page is missing
- Everything prints smaller than it should, with wide margins
- Photos print with heads or edges cropped
- A PDF prints at a different size from the original
Usually caused by
- Document set to A4 with Letter paper loaded, or the reverse
- Scaling set to a fixed percentage or the wrong fit option
- Margins inside the area the printer cannot reach
- Photo shape not matching the paper shape
- Wrong paper size set on the printer or tray
Step-by-step fix
Work through the steps in order and check each one off. Most people are printing again before the last step.
Windows 11 / 10
0 of 7 steps tried
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Match the document paper size
Letter is 8.5 by 11 inches (216 by 279 mm), while A4 is 210 by 297 mm, so it's slightly narrower and noticeably taller. In Word, check Layout > Size; in Excel, Page Layout > Size. Set it to the paper you actually load.
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Set the paper size in the driver and printer
Go to Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners (Windows 10: Settings > Devices > Printers & scanners), select the printer, open Printing preferences and set the paper size to match the tray. If the printer asks for a paper size when you load the tray, set the same size there.
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Choose the right scaling
Look for a scale or fit setting in the print window. Fit resizes the page to the paper; actual size or 100% prints it unscaled and can cut off edges if the sizes don't match. A fixed percentage left over from an earlier job, such as 70%, makes everything small.
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Fix PDF sizing in Acrobat Reader
In Adobe Acrobat Reader's print window, under Page Sizing & Handling, click Size and choose Fit or Shrink oversized pages. If the printer picks the wrong tray or paper size, untick Choose paper source by PDF page size.
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Keep margins inside the printable area
Most printers can't print right to the edge, so anything within a few millimetres of it may be cut off. In Word, use margins of at least about 0.25 inch (6 mm) in Layout > Margins, and if Word warns that margins are outside the printable area, accept its suggested fix.
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Let Word adjust A4 and Letter
Word can resize A4 documents to fit Letter paper and the other way round. In File > Options > Advanced, scroll to the Print section and make sure the option to scale content for A4 or 8.5 x 11 paper sizes is ticked.
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Fit photos to the paper
Most phone photos are 4:3, while 4 x 6 inch paper is 3:2, so filling the paper means cropping part of the picture. In the Photos app's print window, choose a fit option rather than fill to keep the whole photo with thin white borders, or crop the photo yourself first.
macOS
0 of 4 steps tried
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Set the paper size
In the print window, check Paper Size and match it to the paper loaded, such as US Letter or A4. Many apps also have File > Page Setup, where the document's own paper size is set.
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Scale to fit the paper
Open the Paper Handling section of the print window, tick Scale to fit paper size and choose the paper you're using as the destination size. Leave Scale down only ticked if you only want to stop oversized pages being cut off.
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Check the Scale box
Some apps, including Preview and TextEdit, show a Scale percentage in the print window. Set it back to 100%, or use the fit options instead.
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Choose fit or fill for photos
In Preview's print window, choose Scale to Fit with Print Entire Image to keep the whole picture, or Fill Entire Paper to cover the page and crop the edges. The Photos app offers a similar choice.
Did this fix it?
Good. To confirm everything is healthy, print a test page. It takes a minute and shows any quality problems early.
Try these next
Still stuck? The troubleshooter asks a few questions and narrows it down. If your printer is under warranty, the manufacturer can repair or replace it at no cost. Find their official support site on our brand pages.
Common questions
How do I know if my printer is set to Letter or A4?
Check Printing preferences on Windows or Paper Size in the Mac print window, and the paper setting on the printer itself. North America mostly uses Letter; most other regions use A4.
Why can't my printer print to the edge of the page?
Most printers need a small margin to grip and move the paper. Only models with a borderless option can print edge to edge, and usually only on certain photo paper sizes.
What is the difference between fit and actual size?
Fit resizes the page to the paper, which keeps everything visible but changes the size slightly. Actual size prints at 100%, which matters for forms, tickets and patterns that must measure correctly.