How to print a PDF at actual size

To print a PDF at actual size, open it in PDF by Zaweba, press Ctrl+P and choose actual size in the scaling choices of the Print window. The preview then shows each sheet exactly as it will come out, so you can see before printing whether the page fits the paper. Nothing gets shrunk to fit unless you ask for it.

Actual size matters more than people expect. A floor plan drawn to scale, a sewing pattern, a label sheet or a form with boxes that must line up with pre-printed stationery all go wrong if the printer quietly scales the page down by a few percent. The measurements stop matching and the job has to be done again.

Before you press print

Only the PDF, the app and a printer that Windows can see. PDF by Zaweba works offline and needs no account, so the file never leaves your PC on its way to the printer. It also helps to know the paper you have loaded, because actual size only works when the paper is at least as big as the PDF page.

Setting up the Print window

Open the file and choose File > Print, or press Ctrl+P. Pick your printer from the list; its status is shown beside it, which saves a wasted walk to a printer that is offline. If you need something the app doesn't cover, the printer's own settings are one click away.

Next, decide which pages you want. You can print all of them, just the current page, or a list such as 1-3, 7, 10- (that last one means page ten to the end). Odd or even pages and reverse order are there too.

Now set the paper. Alongside the usual sizes there's Same size as the PDF page, which is handy for drawings that don't use a standard sheet, and you can make custom sizes and save them for next time. Set the orientation to match the page.

Then come to the scaling choices: fit, shrink large only, actual size, or a percentage from 5 to 1000. Pick actual size. Look at the preview, which shows each sheet along with how many pages, sheets and how much paper the job will use, and print when it looks right.

Avoiding shrunk pages

If part of the page is cut off in the preview, the page is bigger than the paper. Either load larger paper, or accept a small change by choosing shrink large only, which leaves pages that already fit at their true size and only scales down the ones that are too big. That is often the best setting to leave on for everyday printing.

For a scale drawing, print one test page first and measure a known dimension with a ruler. If it is right on paper, the rest of the set will be too. Keep the copies at one until you have checked it.

Watch the pages a sheet setting. Printing 2, 4, 6, 9 or 16 pages on one sheet is great for proofs and handouts, but it shrinks every page by its nature, so set it back to one page a sheet when size matters. The same goes for any percentage other than 100.

Comments and form fields can be switched on or off for printing. Turn comments off when a reviewed drawing has sticky notes over the details you need, and leave form fields on when you're printing a filled form to post.

Other settings that help

Two-sided printing, colour or black and white, and a choice of 150, 300 or 600 dpi are all in the same window. Black and white at 300 dpi is a sensible choice for text documents, while fine linework on a plan benefits from 600. Copies and collate behave as you'd expect when you need several sets.

Once you have a combination you like, the window remembers the paper sizes you've saved, so a regular job such as printing labels on an odd sheet size becomes a matter of a few clicks.

Printing at actual size is one small part of what the app does. PDF by Zaweba also views, edits text, fills forms and exports, all on your own machine. For printing, the rule is simple: preview first, choose actual size, and measure one page before you print the lot.