1/10/25, 5:09 PM Basic PDF printing tasks, Acrobat, Reader

Basic ☰ Search Adobe Support

PDF
printin
Last updated on Nov 20, 2024 | Also applies to Adobe Acrobat 2017, A…

g tasks

Before you begin

We're rolling out a new, more intuitive product experience. If the screen shown here doesn’t match
your product interface, select help for your current experience.

In the new experience, the tools appear on the left side of the screen.

Note: If you are facing issues printing single-side or double-side on Mac, see Unable to
print double-side or single-side in Acrobat on Mac

Common printing tasks

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/basic-pdf-printing-tasks.html 1/17
1/10/25, 5:09 PM Basic PDF printing tasks, Acrobat, Reader

Basic
Print
PDF a PDF
printin
1
Open a file in Acrobat. Select Print this file from the upper right.

g tasks
2From the Print dialog box, select the appropriate printer and set other settings as desired.

3 Select Print.

Print on both sides of the paper

You can print double-sided if your printer

supports double-sided (duplex printing)
feature.

Note: Double-sided printing is also called

duplex, back-to-back, front-and-back, or two-
sided printing. The printer driver controls the
options, not Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader.
Check your printer documentation to see what
features your printer supports.

Press Ctrl + P (Windows) or command

+ P (macOS) to open the Print dialog box.
In the Print dialog box, select Print on both
sides of paper, and choose an edge to Flip.

Note: There could be a scenario

when a printer actually supports duplex
and this option does not appear on Print
dialog. In such cases, you may click on
printer properties to directly access this
option from printer preferences.

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/basic-pdf-printing-tasks.html 2/17
1/10/25, 5:09 PM Basic PDF printing tasks, Acrobat, Reader

Basic
Print in black and white
PDF You can print a color PDF in shades of gray

printin (also known as grayscale or composite gray).

g tasks 1 Press Ctrl + P (Windows) or command +

P (macOS) to open the Print dialog box.

2 In the Print dialog box, select Print In

Grayscale (Black And White).

3 Select Print.

Print at a different size

You can scale the page to shrink or enlarge

pages when you print. You can automatically
scale to fit the paper or manually scale by
percentages

Press Ctrl + P (Windows) or command +

P (macOS) to open the Print dialog box.
In the Print dialog box, click Size and then
specify the scaling options.

Fit Reduces or enlarges each page to fit the

printable area of the currently selected paper
size. For PostScript® printers, the PPD
determines the printable area of the paper.

Actual Size Prints the pages without scaling.

Pages or selections that don’t fit on the paper
are cropped. You can set this option as the
https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/basic-pdf-printing-tasks.html 3/17
1/10/25, 5:09 PM Basic PDF printing tasks, Acrobat, Reader

default using the None print preset. See Create

Basic print presets.

PDF Shrink Oversize Pages Shrinks large pages to

fit the currently selected paper size but doesn’t
printin enlarge small pages. If an area is selected and is
larger than the printable area of the currently
g tasks selected paper, it’s scaled to fit the printable
area. This option is always active during N-up
printing. You can set this option as the default
using the Default print preset. See Create print
presets.

Custom Scale Resizes the page by the

percentage you specify.

Choose Paper Source By PDF Page Size

(Windows) Uses the PDF page size to
determine the output tray rather than the page
setup option. This option is useful for printing
PDFs that contain multiple page sizes on
printers that have different-sized output trays.

Print posters and banners

You can print a large format document, such as

a poster or banner, by splitting the page across
multiple sheets of paper (called "tiling"). The
Poster option calculates how many sheets of
paper are needed. You can adjust the size of
the original to best fit the paper and specify
how much each "tile" overlaps. You can then
piece together the tiles.

Press Ctrl + P (Windows) or command +

P (macOS) to open the Print dialog box.
In the Print dialog box, click Poster and
then specify the tiling options.

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/basic-pdf-printing-tasks.html 4/17
1/10/25, 5:09 PM Basic PDF printing tasks, Acrobat, Reader

Tile Scale Scales the pages by the amount you

Basic specify.

PDF Overlap Determines the amount each tile

overlaps adjacent tiles.
printin Cut Marks Adds guide marks to each page to
g tasks help you trim the overlap.

Labels Adds the filename and page number on

each "tile."

Tile Only Large Pages Applies tiling to pages

that are larger than the selected paper size at
the specified scale. These pages are mapped to
Print multiple pages on a sheet multiple sheets of paper.

You can print more than one page of a PDF

onto a single sheet of paper. Printing multiple
pages per sheet is also called n-up printing
(such as 2-up or 6-up). You can specify how the
pages are ordered, either horizontally across
the page or in vertical columns.

Pages Per Sheet Prints a predefined number

of pages, or a custom number (up to 99),
horizontally and vertically. If you select a
predefined number from the menu, Acrobat
automatically selects the best paper
orientation.

Page Order Defines how the pages are

ordered on paper. Horizontal places pages from
left to right, top to bottom. Horizontal
Reversed places pages from right to left, top to
bottom. Vertical places pages top to bottom,
left to right. Vertical Reversed places pages top
to bottom, right to left. Both reversed options
are suitable for Asian-language documents.

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/basic-pdf-printing-tasks.html 5/17
1/10/25, 5:09 PM Basic PDF printing tasks, Acrobat, Reader

Print Page Border Prints the crop box (the

Basic page boundary of PDF pages).

PDF Note: Printing multiple pages per sheet in

Acrobat is independent of the N-up printing
printin features of printer drivers. The Acrobat print
settings don’t reflect the N-up settings of the
g tasks printer drivers. Select the multple pages
options either in Acrobat or in the printer
driver, but not both.
Print booklets

You can print a multipage document as a

booklet. The pages are laid out two per sheet.
When you collate, fold, and staple the double-
sided sheets, the result is a single book with the
correct page order.

Press Ctrl + P (Windows) or command +

P (macOS) to open the Print dialog box.
In the Print dialog box, click Booklet and
then specify the booklet options.

For more information, see Print Booklets and

PDF Portfolios.

Print comments

You can print comments either in a summary

list or in place (like sticky notes on a page).

Do one of the following:

Summary — In the Comments and Forms

area, click Summarize Comments.

Drawing Markups — In the Comments and

Forms area, choose Document And Markups.

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/basic-pdf-printing-tasks.html 6/17
1/10/25, 5:09 PM Basic PDF printing tasks, Acrobat, Reader

Basic
PDF
printin Comments on the page - Follow these steps:

g tasks 1. Open the Preferences dialog box, click

Comments category on the left, and select
Print Notes And Pop-Ups.
2. Deselect Hide Comment Pop-ups When
Comment List Is Open.
3. Open the pop-up comments that you want
to print.
4. Adjust their placement on the page so that
they don't overlap or spill off the page.

5. Click the Print tool icon .

6. In the Comments and Forms area, choose
Document And Markups.
Print a portion of a page

You can print a portion of a page in a PDF. Use

the Snapshot Tool to select just the area you
want to print. The area can be text, graphics, or
both. You can print the selected area full size or
resize it to fit the paper.

1 For Windows: Select the hamburger

menu , then go to Undo, Redo &
more > Take a snapshot.

For macOS: Select Edit > Undo, Redo &

more > Take a snapshot.

2 Draw a rectangle to select a portion of a

page.

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/basic-pdf-printing-tasks.html 7/17
1/10/25, 5:09 PM Basic PDF printing tasks, Acrobat, Reader

3 Select the hamburger menu and then

Basic select print (Windows), or
select File > Print (macOS). Alternatively,
PDF you can also press Ctrl+P (Windows)

printin or command + P (macOS) to open the

print dialog box.
g tasks
4 In the Print dialog box, select Selected
Print to file graphic under Pages to Print.

You can create a device-dependent PostScript file of a document. The

resulting file contains code for enabling and controlling specific device
features, making it less compatible with devices other than the target
device. For better results when creating PostScript files, use Save As
Other > More Options > PostScript.

Select Print this file (Ctrl + P) from the upper right.

Select the Advanced button, select Print To File, then click OK.

Options in the Print dialog box

Most options in the Acrobat Print dialog box are the same as other applications. However, some
options vary depending on the printer and what you've selected to print.

Comments & Forms

The Comments & Forms options control which visible content prints.

Document Prints the document contents and form fields.

Document And Markups Prints document contents, form fields, and comments.

Document And Stamps Prints the document, form fields, and stamps, but no other markups,
such as note comments and pencil lines.

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/basic-pdf-printing-tasks.html 8/17
1/10/25, 5:09 PM Basic PDF printing tasks, Acrobat, Reader

Form Fields Only Prints interactive form fields but doesn’t print document contents.
Basic
PDF
Summarize Comments Creates a separate, printable PDF of the comments in a document. This
option is unavailable when you print from a web browser or print multiple documents in PDF

printin
Portfolios.

gPages
tasks to Print

The Pages To Print options specify the pages or range of pages to print.

Current Page Prints the page that is visible in the current view.

Pages Specifies the range of pages to print. Use a hyphen to separate numbers in a range. Use a
comma to separate individual pages or ranges (for example, 6, 10-31, 42). How you specify
the numbers depends on the Page Display preference. If Use Logical Page Numbers is selected,
you enter numbers that match the numbering on the pages. For example, if the first page of a
document is numbered iii, you enter iii to print that page.

Note: To print from a specific page to the end of the document, enter the page with a
hyphen. For example, “11-” prints page 11 to the last page of the document.

More Options Displays additional options to control which pages print.

Current View/Selected Graphic (Click More Options under Pages To Print.) Prints the area
currently visible, the selected pages, or the text and graphics copied with the Snapshot tool. The
option name changes depending on if you have selected pages or used the Snapshot tool.

Odd Or Even Pages Choose which pages to print: All Pages In Range, Odd Pages Only, or Even
Pages Only. For example, if you set the range to 2, 7–10 and choose Even Pages Only, only
pages 2, 8, and 10 print.

Reverse Pages Prints pages in reverse order. If page ranges are entered, the pages print opposite
of the order in which they were entered. For example, if the Pages box shows 3–5, 7–10, selecting
Reverse Pages prints pages 10–7, and then 5–3.

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/basic-pdf-printing-tasks.html 9/17
1/10/25, 5:09 PM Basic PDF printing tasks, Acrobat, Reader

Basic
Orientation
PDF
Auto Portrait/Landscape Automatically selects the page orientation that best matches the

printin
content and paper. For example, a spreadsheet could print horizontally, while a newsletter could
print vertically. The Auto-Portait/Landscape option overrides the orientation selected in Page
g tasks
Setup.

Additional resources

For more information on printing, see the forums on printing and prepress.

Print Layers
Normally, when you print a PDF that contains layers, just the content that is visible onscreen is
printed. However, the creator of a layered PDF can control what prints, regardless of its visibility
onscreen. The PDF creator can require that watermarks print or prevent the printing of confidential
information. If the document is designed to print differently from how it currently appears
onscreen, a message may appear in the Print dialog box. The Preview image in the Print dialog
box always shows the page as it will print.

Note: To work with layers in Acrobat, convert the source document to PDF using a
preset that preserves layers, such as Acrobat 6 (PDF 1.5) or later.

View how layers print

1
Select the Layers icon in the Navigation panel. If the Layers icon isn't visible, do the
following:

(Windows) Select the hamburger menu and then select View > Show/Hide > Navigation
Panes > Layers.

(macOS) Select View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Layers.

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/basic-pdf-printing-tasks.html 10/17
1/10/25, 5:09 PM Basic PDF printing tasks, Acrobat, Reader

Basic
PDF
printin
g tasks

2 Choose Apply Print Overrides from the Options menu.

Note: Depending on the visibility settings specified when the PDF was created,
Apply Print Overrides may be unavailable in the Options menu.

Change print settings for a layer

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/basic-pdf-printing-tasks.html 11/17
1/10/25, 5:09 PM Basic PDF printing tasks, Acrobat, Reader

Basic
1
Select the Layers icon
following:
in the Navigation panel. If the Layers icon isn't visible, do the

PDF(Windows) Select the hamburger menu and then select View > Show/Hide > Navigation

printin
Panes > Layers.

g tasks
(macOS) Select View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Layers.

2 Expand the Layers area, select a layer, and then select Layer Properties from the Options
menu .

3 In the Layer Properties dialog box, choose one of the following from the Print pop-up
menu:

Always Prints Forces the layer to print.

Never Prints Forces the layer not to print.

Prints When Visible Matches printed output to onscreen visibility.

Note: In Reader, you can open the Layer Properties dialog box, but you cannot
change the settings.

Create print presets

A PDF can contain a set of print presets, a group of document-specific values that is used to set
basic print options. By creating a print preset for a document, you can avoid manually setting
certain options in the Print dialog box each time you print the document. It’s best to define print
settings for a PDF at the time that you create it. However, print presets provide a means to add
basic print settings to a PDF at any time.

1 (Windows) From the upper left, select the hamburger menu > select Document Properties,
and then select the Advanced tab.

(macOS) Select File > Document Properties > Advanced.

2 In the Print Dialog Presets section, set options and click OK.

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/basic-pdf-printing-tasks.html 12/17
1/10/25, 5:09 PM Basic PDF printing tasks, Acrobat, Reader

The next time you open the Print dialog box, the values will be set to the print preset values. These
Basic
settings are also used when you print individual PDFs in a PDF Portfolio.

PDF
printin
Note: To retain a print preset for a PDF, save the PDF after creating the print preset.

g tasks
Print Dialog Presets

Page Scaling Prepopulates the Page Scaling menu in the Print dialog box with the option you
choose:

Default Uses the application default setting, which is Shrink To Printable Area.

None Prevents automatic scaling to fit the printable area. Use this setting to preserve the scale in
engineering documents or the point size required for legal reasons.

Note: The Page Scaling menu in the Print dialog box shows additional options, but you
cannot prepopulate the dialog box with any of those options. Choose one of those options
when you print.

DuplexMode For best results, the selected printer should support duplex printing if you select a
duplex option.

Simplex Prints on one side of the paper.

Duplex Flip Long Edge Prints on both sides of the paper; the paper flips along the long edge.

Duplex Flip Short Edge Prints on both sides of the paper; the paper flips along the short edge.

Paper Source By Page Size Selects the option by the same name in the Print dialog box. Uses
the PDF page size to determine the output tray rather than the page setup option. This option is
useful for printing PDFs that contain multiple page sizes on printers that have different-sized
output trays.

Print Page Range Prepopulates the Pages box in the Print Range section of the Print dialog box
with the page ranges you enter here. This setting is useful in a workflow where documents include
both instruction pages and legal pages. For example, if pages 1–2 represent instructions for filling
out a form, you can set up your print job to print only the form.

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/basic-pdf-printing-tasks.html 13/17
1/10/25, 5:09 PM Basic PDF printing tasks, Acrobat, Reader

Number Of Copies Prepopulates the Copies box in the Print dialog box. Choose a number from
Basic
2 to 5, or choose Default to use the application default, which is one copy. This limitation prevents

PDF
multiple unwanted copies from being printed.

printin
g tasks
Why can’t I print my document?
Start with these troubleshooting tips

Printing problems can have various causes. To identify the issue, start with this helpful TechNote:
Troubleshoot PDF printing | Acrobat, Reader.

The PDF is password protected, and printing is not allowed

If you receive a password-protected PDF, enter the designated password to print the document.
Some protected documents have restrictions that prevent you from printing, editing, or copying
content in the document. If a document has restrictions on printing, contact the PDF author.

(Windows only) Protected Mode is interfering

The default Protected Mode greatly enhances the security of Reader. To determine if Protected
Mode is interfering with printing, temporarily disable it: Right-click the document, and choose
Page Display Preferences. Then click General on the left, and deselect Enable Protected Mode At
Startup. Close Reader, restart it, and try to print the document again.

Note: To ensure maximum security, when you finish printing, reselect Enable Protected
Mode At Startup.

What should I do if Acrobat Reader is asking to

save a file when a document is printed?
If Adobe Reader is prompting you to save a file when you click Print, then click Advanced in the
Print dialog and deselect the Print to File option.

Note:

Make sure have selected a physical printer to print to and not Adobe PDFXPS/Send note or
any other virtual printer.

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/basic-pdf-printing-tasks.html 14/17
1/10/25, 5:09 PM Basic PDF printing tasks, Acrobat, Reader

The Print to File option was available on the Print dialog itself until Acrobat 10.X versions.
Basic
PDF
What should I do to print comments available on
printin
the PDF document?
gTheretasks
are certain annotations (example: pop-up notes) which are available on the PDF document
and the annotations do not print by default unless you want them to be printed.

This has been intentionally designed so that such annotations do not hinder the view of the
content available behind them.

However, there may be cases when you do want them to be printed. To print the pop-up notes and
other annotations:

1. Go to Edit > Preferences.

2. Click Commenting.
3. Enable the option "Print notes and pop-ups."

Acrobat Reader crashes on printing / Acrobat

Reader does not Print after clicking Print button
This could happen due to an Adobe Acrobat installation file corruption. In order to resolve this
issue, ensure you are using the latest version of Adobe Reader/ Acrobat application.

If you are seeing this issue with the latest version:

1. Uninstall the Acrobat Reader using the Acrobat cleaner utility.

2. Re-install Adobe Reader.
Ismail Ben Ajiba
Manage account

Creative Cloud Free Membership

Your free membership includes app trials, tutorials, and more

More like this
Start your free trial

Printing
When booklets
you're ready toand PDF Portfolios
upgrade, find the path that's right for you
Choose
Printinga plan
PDFs in custom sizes
Printing complex PDFs
Legal Noticescolor
Printing | PDFs
Online PrivacyPro)
(Acrobat Policy

Advanced PDF print settings

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/basic-pdf-printing-tasks.html 15/17
1/10/25, 5:09 PM Basic PDF printing tasks, Acrobat, Reader

Troubleshoot PDF printing | Acrobat, Reader

Basic Share this page
PDF
printin
g tasks
Was this page helpful? Yes, thanks Not really

Contact Us ^ Back to top

Ask the Real help from real

Community people.

Post questions and

get answers from
experts.

Ask now Start now

Shop for

For business

For education

For nonprofits

For mobile

Experience Cloud

Support

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/basic-pdf-printing-tasks.html 16/17
1/10/25, 5:09 PM Basic PDF printing tasks, Acrobat, Reader

Basic
Resources

PDF
Adobe Account
Adobe
printin
g tasks
Featured products Adobe Acrobat Reader Adobe Express Photoshop Illustrator

Ad Ad Ad Ad
ob ob ob ob
e e e e
Change region ∨ on on on on
Fac Tw Lin Ins
eb itte ke tag
oo r dIn ra
k m

Copyright © 2025 Adobe. All rights reserved. /

Privacy / Terms of Use / Cookie preferences / Do not sell or share my personal information / AdChoices

https://helpx.adobe.com/acrobat/using/basic-pdf-printing-tasks.html 17/17