Calibrate your printer for exact sizes

Most printers print almost, but not exactly, at the size they are asked to. A printer that prints 1% too small turns a 148 mm page into 146.5 mm, and the front and back of a sheet can be shifted by a millimetre or two. For a lined notebook that is often fine. For a precise grid, a planner that must fit a ring binder, or a booklet whose inner margins must match, a quick calibration helps.

Calibration profiles are stored in your browser only. You can keep several, for example one per printer or paper type.

What you need

• A ruler or measuring tape with millimetres (a steel ruler is best).
• The paper you will print your notebook on.
• About five minutes.

1. Print the test sheet

In the Notebook Maker, open Download PDF, then Calibrate next to the printer profile. Choose the paper size, the double-sided setting and the orientation you use for booklets, and download the test sheet.

Print it double-sided at Actual size / 100%, exactly as you would print your notebook. Side A has rulers, a 50 mm square, edge ladders and target A. Side B has target B and a large “Side B” label.

2. Measure the lines

Measure the long horizontal ruler line and the vertical ruler line on side A, from the first to the last tick. Enter the measured lengths. If the horizontal line should be 100 mm and you measure 99.2 mm, the printer prints 0.8% too small in that direction, and Notebook Generator will enlarge booklets by exactly that amount.

Measurements more than 10% away from the expected length are rejected: that almost always means the sheet was printed with “Fit to page” turned on.

3. Read the unprintable margins

Near each edge of side A there is a ladder of short lines numbered 1 to 10 (millimetres from the edge of the paper). Find the smallest number whose line is printed completely. That is the unprintable margin on that edge. Many laser printers need about 4 mm; some inkjets print closer to the edge.

Notebook Generator uses these values to warn you when a page or a crop mark would fall into an area your printer cannot print.

4. Check front and back alignment

Hold the sheet against a window or a lamp with side A facing you. You will see target B through the paper. If target B sits exactly on target A, front and back are aligned. If not, estimate how far target B is from target A: to the right and down are positive numbers, left and up are negative.

Also check the large “Side B” label: when you turn the sheet over like the page of a book, it should be upright. If it is upside down, your duplex setting does not match the flip edge chosen in the print dialog.

5. Save and use the profile

Give the profile a name and choose Save and use. The profile is now selected for this notebook, and every booklet PDF you create with it is corrected for scale and back-side offset.

Recalibrate if you change printer, paper type or the print driver settings.