Ericas Ed-Ventures

Primary Education Ideas

Printing at a Reduced Scale & Printing Multiple Slides Per Page – Plus More Printing Tips

This post is a smorgasbord of printing pdf file tips.  I have included printing at a reduced size, getting pdf’s to print when they won’t, and adding text to editable pdf files (not really a printing tip though).  I sincerely hope this post helps you – that’s why I wrote it!
I don’t know if you know this or not, but you can print files at different sizes and even print two pages per printer page.  If you didn’t know, I hope this post will help you.  Did you know that your printer settings usually want to scale the pdf down?  Check your printer settings before you print.  On my PC I would have to print as borderless paper.  On my Mac, I have to click “scale” and then 100%. 

Now, on to printing at a reduced scale on purpose!  If you have not already noticed, I made my latest word wall headers and word wall cards packets LARGE!  The reason I did this was because many teachers told me they needed to display their word walls above closets and they really wanted them big.  Also, the large size allows the file to be printed at a reduced size, if “LARGE” does not work for you.  You can always reduce a file in size to print, but often you lose a bit of the image when you enlarge.  So to err on the side of caution, I made the files LARGE.

Here is a little picture tutorial on how to reduce the file size.  I opened my Bright Table Labels file in Preview, but it should be similar to opening a file with Adobe Reader.

Here are visual tutorials on how to print more than one slide on page.
Deedee and Abby taught me this cool trick! 

This “print” screen shot is from my friend, Deedee.  She has a PC and helped me out.  So, if you have a PC, it may look more like this if you want to change your print settings.

I also get asked all the time about printer recommendations.  I love my printer and the ink (though expensive) lasts for over 1,000 pages!  Click on the picture below to check out my printer on Amazon.com.  Also, you can sign up for HP Academy to receive discounts and coupon codes on ink!

What if you cannot get the PDF to Print?

I had to add to this post because a lot of people seem to be having trouble printing PDF files.

Here are some things that might help you:
1.  Try to print the file as an image.  Go to options and then print as image.  
2. If number one does not work, make sure everything is emptied out of your recyclable bin and delete as many extra files as possible.  Your computer might not have enough memory to send the information to your printer. 
3.  Print one page at a time by page selecting. 
4.  Delete the file from your computer and redownload it, then open it with the LATEST version of Adobe Reader (remember you have to restart your computer after you install it.)
5. If none of these ideas work for you, google for your specific printer and PDF printing problems.  Here are some generic tips from Adobe.
Embedded Fonts in Editable PDF Files

When a font is embedded in a PDF file, there is no need to download and install the font to your computer.  It is embedded in the PDF itself using Adobe Pro.  The issue that many people have is that they don’t open the file with the latest version of Adobe Reader.  When that happens, the font defaults to Helvetica or it shows up out of alignment.

I hope these tips helped you!!!  Happy printing.

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Comments

  6. I was just trying to figure out how to print more than one copy of the same page… but I think its different for a PC than a Mac. Any tips on how to do it with a PC? I don't have the "copies per page" option 🙁

    Kristin
    kristinbrehm@gmail.com

  7. I just asked a friend about this an hour ago because I wanted to purchase your word wall headers and thought I had seen info about how to print multiple pages on one sheet on your facebook page earlier this summer but couldn't find it. 🙂 Thanks so much for posting again!!