Skip to content
Graph Papers

Printer calibration test

Print one sheet, measure one line, and you’ll know your graph paper comes out true to size.

  1. 1

    Download or print the sheet

    Pick A4 or US Letter to match the paper in your printer.

  2. 2

    Choose “Actual size”

    In the print dialog select “Actual size”, “100%” or “No scaling”. Turn off “Fit to page”.

  3. 3

    Measure

    Put a ruler on the 10 cm line or the 4 inch line. A bank card should exactly cover the dashed box.

  4. 4

    Keep those settings

    If it measures correctly, print graph paper with the same settings. If not, see the tips below.

Tip:Print at “Actual size”, not “Fit to page”. Fit to page usually shrinks the sheet to about 94–97%.

Preview of the A4 calibration sheet

Troubleshooting

My 10 cm line measures 9.4 cm. What happened?

The printer shrank the page, almost always because “Fit to page” or “Shrink oversized pages” was on. Choose “Actual size” or 100% and print again. A sheet that comes out about 94–97% is the classic fit-to-page symptom.

The line is 10 cm but one direction is slightly off.

Some printers feed paper with a small error of about 0.5%. For most uses it does not matter. For precise work, print a test sheet, measure both directions, and keep that printer’s settings.

Does it matter which PDF viewer I use?

Yes. Browser PDF viewers and Adobe Acrobat both have scaling options, but they are named differently. Look for “Actual size”, “100%”, “None” or “No scaling”.

Want to check your screen too? Use the calibrated online ruler. Need the full walkthrough? Read how to print graph paper at the correct size.

More free tools