Printsize Lab.
Paper & PDF calculator

Print Scale Calculator: Fit Pages to Paper

Choose the original page and the paper you will print on. Reserve a margin for the area your printer cannot use.

Print scaleImage print size

The 5 mm default is an example. Use your printer’s actual margin. Zero does not enable borderless printing.

Maximum geometric fit

90.71%

Scaled page: 190.48 × 269.40 mm

Available area: 205.90 × 269.40 mm

Whole-percentage setting: 90%

Round down if your print dialog accepts only whole percentages. This changes the size of everything on the page.

A4 paper with 5 mm margins leaves a 200 by 287 mm usable area.
A4 paper with 5 mm margins leaves a 200 by 287 mm usable area.

How this calculator works

Scale = min(usable width ÷ original width, usable height ÷ original height) × 100

The usable dimensions subtract the selected margin twice. The calculator preserves proportions and uses the chosen orientation; it does not automatically try both rotations. It may recommend enlargement when the target is larger.

The result models the entire source page, including blank space. It does not read PDF content, compensate for an off-center print area or guarantee that the printer reproduces the requested percentage. Measure a test print before printing a batch.

Worked example: A4 on Letter

Letter is 215.9 × 279.4 mm. A 5 mm margin leaves 205.9 × 269.4 mm. Dividing those dimensions by A4’s 210 × 297 mm gives a limit of 90.707…%. The result displays two decimals; 90% is a conservative whole-number entry.

Read the A4-to-Letter walkthrough · Understand printable margins

A-series dimensions: Adobe paper size reference. Formulas and examples are calculated locally.

A4 to A3 percentage and other common print scales

The table fits the entire portrait source page inside the portrait target with zero reserved margins. Real printer margins reduce the available area. Values use the stated millimetre dimensions and are rounded to two decimals; round down when entering a maximum-fit value.

ConversionGeometric fit
A4 to A3141.41%
A3 to A470.71%
A4 to Letter94.07%
Letter to A497.27%
A5 to Half Letter94.39%

The familiar A-series enlargement of about 141% is a linear scale, not 200%: doubling both dimensions would quadruple the area. The ideal A-series factor is √2; rounded sheet dimensions cause the small difference in the calculated result. Select A4 as the original and A3 as the target above, then enter your printer’s margin for your actual setup.

For measured-size templates, read Fit versus Actual Size. If a print already comes out too small, the measured print correction calculator answers a different question: how to correct a consistent size error.