Letter vs A4: printing planners at the right size
Letter and A4 look almost the same, but the few millimetres between them are why downloaded planners so often print cropped or shrunken. See it below, then pick the right paper in any PlannerCraft template.
| Size | Inches | Millimetres | Where it’s standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| US Letter | 8.5 × 11 | 215.9 × 279.4 | USA, Canada, Mexico, Philippines, parts of Latin America |
| A4 | 8.27 × 11.69 | 210 × 297 | Most of the world (ISO 216) |
| Half Letter | 5.5 × 8.5 | 139.7 × 215.9 | US planners and discbound systems |
| A5 | 5.83 × 8.27 | 148 × 210 | Notebooks and planners worldwide |
What happens when the sizes don’t match
At 100%, the A4 page is 17.6 mm too tall but 5.9 mm narrower for the paper. With a 12 mm margin on the PDF, nothing important is usually cut off, but the page won’t sit centred. The fix is simple: make the PDF at the size of the paper you own.
Printing checklist
- Match the paper. Choose Letter, A4, A5 or Half Letter in the template to match what’s in the tray.
- Print at 100%. In the print dialog pick “Actual size” or “Scale: 100%”, not “Fit” or “Shrink oversized pages”.
- Check orientation. Landscape PDFs print correctly when the dialog is set to Auto or Landscape.
- Test one page. Print page one before a 53-page weekly planner.
The Print button in PlannerCraft sends a page with the exact CSS paper size (@page) to your browser. Chrome and Edge then pre-select the right paper; Safari and Firefox may still need you to choose it. The PDF download is the most reliable route, because the size is fixed in the file.
A4’s proportions aren’t arbitrary: each ISO sheet has sides in the ratio 1 : √2, so folding it in half gives the next size down (A4 → A5) with the same shape. Letter has no such trick, which is why Half Letter is a little squatter than A5.
Questions
Can I print an A4 planner on US Letter paper?
Yes, but A4 is 17.6 mm taller and 5.9 mm narrower than Letter, so at 100% the bottom edge is cut off, and with "Fit to page" everything shrinks to about 94%. Regenerate the PDF at Letter size instead.
Why does my printout have a white border?
Most home printers physically cannot print to the edge; they need roughly 3–6 mm of grip. PlannerCraft's margin setting keeps everything inside that zone. Use borderless mode and a 6 mm margin if your printer supports it.
What paper weight is best for planners?
Ordinary 75–80 gsm (20 lb) copy paper is fine for daily pages. For a wall calendar or anything you write on with markers, 100–120 gsm (24–32 lb) resists bleed-through and curling.
Which sizes fit binders and discbound planners?
A5 (148 × 210 mm) and Half Letter (5.5 × 8.5 in) are the common planner sizes. A4 and Letter go in standard ring binders; leave a margin of at least 15 mm on the hole-punch side.