So you’ve done your research, you bought your perfect planner pages, and now… you’re stuck. How do you print those beautifully designed and artfully crafted planner pages that you bought maybe here? Well I am about to show you. If you’re interested in seeing all the print tutorials, you can hop on over to this page. But in this post I’m going to show you how to print A6 size pages on Windows.
So before we hop in – A6 size pages measure at 4.13″ w x 5.83″ h (or 148mm h x 105mm w) and they fit into A6 size 6-ring organizers. A6 is not a very common size in the US but is used more internationally. If you want more information on paper sizes and what planners use what size hop on over to this blog post. If you’re looking for planner pages in this specific size you can see what I offer in my shop here.
what you’ll learn:
Below I go through 3 methods for printing your planner. Whether you have a fully complete planner (like a 2018 daily planner) or a DIY, piece-it-together planner, there will be a method for you. I talk about the basic steps that you’ll need to go through, and at the bottom I include a screenshot walk-through to give you a better visual. I’ve included a walk-through of my current Canon MG7720 printer (inkjet).
from start to finish, you will need the following items:
1 a computer with Adobe Reader
I always suggest having the latest Adobe Reader program. It’s free and it works the best with my pages (and most pages) because I design in Adobe.
2 printer and printer paper
3 a paper cutter of some sort
4 a hole punch
If you want more info on planner basics check out this blog post .
and now a disclaimer:
While I try to do my best to cover as much as I can when it comes to printing, I cannot know what every printer is like. I also cannot promise that my ways of printing will work for you or will turn out as well as they do for me. I do suggest that if you are having issues with your printer you google the problem first, as those familiar with your printer will likely be able to help you more than I can. If you can’t find your answer, feel free to leave a comment and I can try my best. I also suggest that you be aware of your printers capabilities before you purchase any planner pages.
Also everything is based on using US Letter size paper as the basic printer paper.
Download disclaimer – Please don’t share any files from Rourke Planners with others – instead share the website URL with your friends, enemies, or awkward acquaintances.
Any files, free or purchased, from Rourke Planners are copyrighted works and for personal use only. You may not sell, distribute, edit, or claim any version of this file as your own. Feel free to share your usage of these files on social media – you don’t have to tag me but it’s super appreciated. Tag me on instagram with @RourkePlanners or #myrourkeplanner.
THE ‘AS IS’ METHOD ON PRE-CUT PAGES
This is always my suggest method of printing your planner pages. It’s not only easy for a complete, dated planner; it’s the best way to print a piecemeal planner. When you’re dealing with putting things in order while keeping things double-sided, it gets complicated. The basis of this method is that you have pre-cut pages and you print ‘as is’ – meaning in that page size.
STEP 1 – OPEN YOUR PAGES IN ADOBE READER
STEP 2 – HIT PRINT
Under ‘Page Size + Handling’, be sure ‘Actual Size’ is selected.
You can also select ‘Print on Both Sides’ in this box.
STEP 3 – HIT PROPERTIES
This box is more customized to your printer. You’ll want to be sure you have 3 things right:
size
Be sure the paper size is correct. In this case, you’ll make sure it’s set to A6 or Custom>4.13″ w x 5.83″ h. Many printers will allow you to set a custom paper size if the desired one isn’t available.
quality
Select your desired print quality. I always suggest printing at a good quality so you have a good planner. This may mean simply ‘high’ quality, or you can select ‘photo’ quality, whichever is better. You can also manually adjust the color settings on some printers to get a more accurate match to the screen output.
double sided
This may be displayed as ‘double sided’ or ‘duplex’ printing. Be sure to select it if your printer can handle it. If you aren’t sure, I suggest you just test it out. If your printer can’t do double-sided automatically, maybe you can do a manual duplex printing (it prints one side of the whole stack, you put the stack back in and it prints the other). If it can’t do double-sided at all, this isn’t a deal breaker. I just print one page at a time. It’s a bit annoying, but it’s a good chance to put something entertaining on and do some squats while you’re alternating between computer and printer.
STEP 3 – PRINT
Now all you need to do is print! And punch holes in the pages.
walk through:
1 Print Box – select ‘actual size’ and then click ‘page setup’
2 Page Setup – select A6 or custom size
3 Custom Page Size – enter in the proper page size, then click OK and click ‘Printer’ at the bottom
4 Printer – under ‘Media & Quality’, select high quality
5 Printer – under ‘Layout’, select ‘long-edge binding’
Done!
THE ‘BOOKLET’ METHOD – FOR DATED PLANNERS
This method only really works with a multi-page PDF, such as a dated planner (like the 2018 daily planner or something similar – not a planner where you fill it in yourself). If you can’t print on pre-cut pages but have a DIY planner, check the next method.
This method is for anyone whose printer cannot print on small enough paper. It will print your pages on letter size paper at their proper size. Once the stack is printed out, you fold the stack in half and bam – all the pages are double sided and in the right order. You just need to cut out the pages AFTER you print them. The benefit to this method is that your printer will print in order (for double sided pages) and you can use letter size. The downside is that it’s a real pain to cut afterwards and then get the pages in order. And in my experience the pages aren’t quite as even as when you print one page at a time.
If you’re wondering how you’ll know where to cut, I created a simple cut lines printable available below. You can print it on the paper before or after you print your pages. I cannot promise it will line up perfectly, however – that’s really up to your printer. (You can see why I suggest the first method).
STEP 1 – OPEN YOUR PAGES IN ADOBE READER
STEP 2 – HIT PRINT
Under ‘Page Size + Handling’, select ‘booklet’. You’ll see your paper is now landscape and the cover page is on the right side.
STEP 3 – HIT PROPERTIES
This box is more customized to your printer. You’ll want to be sure you have 3 things right:
size
Because we’re printing in booklet, be sure your paper size is set to US letter (8.5″ x 11″). Otherwise everything will be super tiny.
quality
Select your desired print quality. I always suggest printing at a good quality so you have a good planner. This may mean simply ‘high’ quality, or you can select ‘photo’ quality, whichever is better. You can also manually adjust the color settings on some printers to get a more accurate match to the screen output.
double sided
So this is one that really depends on your printer. From my experience with multiple printers, you do not need to have ‘double sided’ selected as that is kind of the point of booklet printing. But I can’t know your printer. It doesn’t make a difference whether or not I click ‘double sided’ or duplex.
STEP 3 – PRINT
Now print! Once the pages are printed you may be like ‘hey they’re out of order!’, and they kind of are unless you fold that stack of paper like a playbill and everything is in order. So cut out your pages and get them in the right order, then you can punch them.
canon walk through:
1 Print Box – select ‘booklet’ and then go to ‘page setup’
2 Page Setup – make sure paper size is US Letter. Click OK and then go to ‘Printer’
3 Printer – under ‘Media & Quality’, select best
4 Printer – Most computers will take care of the double sided printing for you, but you may need to select double-sided printing.
5 Done!
THE CLICK + ADD METHOD FOR RANDOM PAGES
OK, so. You have a bunch of pages and you need to print them on letter paper because your printer can’t handle the smaller paper size. And it’s a conundrum. Enter, the click-and-add template. Patent Pending. Just kidding. I created a PDF that you can insert other PDFs into, so you can print your pages in order and double sided. Personally, I think it’s super cool.
A quick word about the click & add template – You can use any image file (namely jpeg or png) OR any unsecured PDF. This is pretty cool in my book, because you can easily make your own pages in any program that will allow you to save in either an image file or PDF, and you can make your own covers. You can add in specific pages of multi-page PDFs by simply selecting the PDF (see below) and then scrolling to the right page. The template will not resize pages, unfortunately. This is how I had to set it so that it didn’t shrink down my properly-sized PDF pages. If you have any other questions about the template please feel free to comment below.
STEP 1 – DECIDE ON YOUR PAGE ORDER
Because we’re getting all DIY here, you’ll need to figure out your page order. Now if you’re just looking to do double-sided, this is pretty easy. Box 1 + 2 are the first page (front and back), box 3 + 4 are the second page (front and back). Notice they aren’t ‘in order’ on the PDF. Just follow the number and all will be well.
If you’re creating a planner that has facing pages, such as a ‘week on 2 pages’ planner, be sure to include a cover and back page so that the proper pages will face each other.
As an example:
Box 1 – Cover Page
Box 2 – MTW
Box 3 – ThFSS
Box 4 – MTW
then continue with alterating sides (so the next piece of paper, Box 1 will be ThFSS) until you have enough weeks. Then at the end, instead of MTW as box 4, it will be the back cover/notes page/empty.
If you do it this way, then the back of page 1 is facing the front of page 2.
STEP 2 – HIT PRINT
Under ‘Page Size + Handling’, select ‘Actual Size’. You’re printing landscape on US Letter (8.5″ x 11″).
STEP 3 – HIT PROPERTIES
This box is more customized to your printer. You’ll want to be sure you have 3 things right:
size
Be sure your paper size is set to US letter (8.5″ x 11″).
quality
Select your desired print quality. I always suggest printing at a good quality so you have a good planner. This may mean simply ‘high’ quality, or you can select ‘photo’ quality, whichever is better. You can also manually adjust the color settings on some printers to get a more accurate match to the screen output.
double sided
You’ll want to be sure ‘Double Sided’ or ‘Duplex’ printing is selected. The significant difference for this method is that you need to change the ‘binding’ or ‘stapling’ side to short side. This makes sure the printer will print both front + back facing the same direction. Otherwise the back sides will be upside-down. Womp womp.
STEP 4 – PRINT
Print! And watch the magic happen.
STEP 5 – RINSE + REPEAT
Now just scratch those pages of your page order and do it again with the next 4 pages.
walk through:
1 Open the Click and Add Template, hover over the first box. You’ll see directions over each box. Click the area.
2 You’ll be prompted to select a file. You can choose either an image or PDF. Select your desired file and click OK.
3 Your desired file will pop up in the screen. Click OK.
4 Repeat, paying attention to what page it tells you to add.
5 You can use a multi-page PDF – just scroll down to your desired page. Finish filling in all the spaces.
6 Print Box – select ‘actual size’ and then go to ‘page setup’.
7 Page Setup – Be sure US letter is selected, click OK and go to ‘Printer’
8 Printer – under media & quality, select best.
9 Printer – under layout, select ‘short-edge binding’. This is important because it will be the back of the page will be right-side up.
10 Done!
Hope this helps you in your planner printing! If you have any questions feel free to comment below, or if you’ve found a solution to a problem you’ve been having please comment too – I’m sure others are having that same issue. Be sure to pin this tutorial for the future.
Happy Planning!
Amanda
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