Printer cutting off the bottom of the page? Check these first
- Look at print preview. If the footer is already missing there, inspect the document layout or page range before changing the printer.
- Match all three sizes. Check the document page size, the print dialog or driver paper size, and the paper actually loaded. See A4 vs Letter.
- Choose whether size or completeness matters. For ordinary documents, Acrobat’s Fit can bring content into the printable area. For a measured template, keep Actual size and adjust the layout or choose suitable paper instead of silently shrinking it.
- Compare another file. If only one file loses its bottom edge, check that file or app. If several files clip at the same edge, compare the paper and printable-area settings.
Brother’s cut-off document guidance recommends matching the paper size, adjusting the document layout and using fit-to-paper scaling where appropriate. Menu names vary by model and driver. Reducing a margin below the printer’s physical limit cannot make that area printable.
Check whether fitting the page changed its size
Print the alignment and margins sheet in the size that matches your paper. With Actual size selected, measure its 100 mm reference bar and note which frames are clipped. If you repeat with Fit, measure again: getting every edge onto the page may also change the scale. The scale check tool calculates scale from your measurement; it does not measure the printer automatically.
Why printers have a printable area
Microsoft explains that most printers cannot print to the edge of the paper, because of physical limits in how they move the paper. The part of the sheet the printer can reach is its printable area. The strip around it stays blank whatever the document says.
The size of that strip depends on the printer and its driver, so there is no single number that fits every printer. Microsoft’s Edge help says many printers need a minimum margin of around 0.25 in (6.35 mm) on all sides. Brother lists 4.23 mm (0.16 in) on each side for Letter and A4 on its HL-4570CDW laser printer, and notes that the figure can change with the paper size and driver. Canon describes a recommended printing area inside a slightly larger printable area on its PIXMA printers.
The Word warning and what Fix does
Word shows this message when you print a document whose margins are too small for the selected printer: “The margins of section 1 are set outside the printable area of the page. Do you want to continue?” The number tells you which section of the document has the problem.
If you open Page Setup for that section and click OK on the Margins tab, Word shows a second message: “One or more margins are set outside the printable area of the page.” That dialog has a Fix button. Microsoft says Fix raises each margin that is too small to the minimum the printer allows. If you know your printer’s minimum margins, you can type the values yourself instead. Repeat this for every section Word names.
If you continue printing without fixing it, expect text or images near the edges to be cut off.
Change margins in Word
- Windows and Mac: choose Layout, then Margins, then Custom Margins. Enter the top, bottom, left and right values and click OK.
- Word for the web: switch to Editing, then choose Page Layout, Margins, Custom Margins.
- Several sections: new margins apply only to the section the cursor is in, so check each section.
- Office mobile apps: only preset margins are available. Custom margins need the desktop or web app.
The paper size matters too. In Page Setup, the Paper tab sets the size Word lays the page out on. If it does not match the paper in the tray, see A4 vs Letter.
Excel and PowerPoint
- Excel: choose Page Layout, then Margins, and pick Normal, Wide or Narrow, or choose Custom Margins. In File, Print, turn on Show Margins to drag them in the preview. Margins are saved for each worksheet. Excel for the web cannot set page margins.
- Excel, fit to one page: in the Page Setup dialog, under Scaling, choose Fit to 1 page wide by 1 tall. Microsoft notes this shrinks the data and can make it hard to read.
- PowerPoint: in File, Options, Advanced, the Scale to fit paper option scales slides, handouts and notes to the paper you print on.
Google Docs and Sheets
In Google Docs, choose File, then Page setup, make sure Pages is selected at the top, and set the margins and paper size. Pageless documents have no margins or paper size, so switch to Pages first. In Google Sheets, choose File, then Print, and under Margins pick a preset or Custom numbers.
Web browsers
In Microsoft Edge, press Ctrl+P and open More settings. Margins can be Default (1 in on all sides), None, Minimum or Custom. Scale can be Fit to printable area, Actual size or Custom. If the page edges are clipped, choose Fit to printable area or a larger margin.
Google’s Chrome help does not list Chrome’s margin options. If your Chrome print window shows a margins setting under More settings, the same idea applies: a margin of None leaves content where the printer may not reach.
PDFs in Adobe Acrobat and Reader
In the Print dialog, under Page Sizing & Handling, choose Size:
- Fit reduces or enlarges each page to the printable area of the selected paper.
- Actual size prints without scaling. Adobe notes that anything that does not fit on the paper is cropped.
- Shrink oversized pages shrinks large pages to fit and leaves small pages as they are.
- Custom Scale resizes by a percentage you type.
Use Actual size only when exact measurements matter, and keep important content away from the edges.
Mac print dialog
- Scale to the paper: in the print dialog, open Paper Handling and choose Scale to fit paper size, then pick the paper under Destination Paper Size. Scale Down Only leaves smaller documents at their size.
- Custom paper sizes: open the Paper Size menu and choose Manage Custom Sizes. For a custom size, the Margins menu (called Non-Printable Area on older macOS versions) sets the edges. Apple suggests choosing User Defined and entering 0 if a custom size prints with the wrong margins or clipped text.
Not every printer or app shows every option.
Windows printer settings
The printer driver can override the app. In Windows 11, open Settings, Bluetooth & devices, Printers & scanners, select the printer and open Printing preferences, then check that the paper size and paper type match what is loaded. Epson’s advice for wrong margins is the same: the paper size must match in the app and in the printer software, and the paper should sit against the edge guides.
Borderless printing is different
Some printers can print to the edge, but only in a borderless mode with supported paper sizes and types. Canon and Epson both describe the image being enlarged slightly past the paper edge, so a little of the edge is lost. Plain paper is not supported on several models. If borderless output still has white edges, see borderless printing not working.
Check your printer’s margins
To see where your printer actually stops, print the alignment and margins test page at actual size and look at which frames are cut off. If prints come out smaller than expected or with wide borders, see prints too small.
Sources checked: Microsoft margins outside the printable area in Word, custom margins, Excel margins and print in Edge; Google Docs page setup; Adobe page size for printing; Apple custom paper sizes and advanced print settings; Brother, Canon and Epson printable area pages.