Digital planners are all the rage these days. And for good reason – they offer tons of flexibility that old-school paper planners simply can’t match. But one question I see pop up again and again is:
Can you print out pages from a digital planner?
The short answer is yes. You absolutely can print pages from a digital planner.
In fact, printing select pages from your digital planner opens up a ton of cool possibilities.
For example, you can:
- Print out certain weeks or months to share plans with family, friends or co-workers
- Create physical archives of meaningful times in your life
- Have the flexibility of digital planning with the portability of a paper planner
And much more.
But how exactly do go about printing from a digital planner?
In this comprehensive guide, as a professional planner manufacturer, I’ll walk you through everything you need to know, including:
How to Print From Different Digital Planners
The first thing to know is that the process of printing a digital planner can vary a bit depending on which planner app or program you use.
Here’s a quick look at how to print from some of the most popular digital planners.
GoodNotes
GoodNotes is one of my favorite iPad apps for digital planning and note-taking.
Printing is no problem with GoodNotes – just follow these steps:
- Tap the “wrench” icon in the top right to access the menu
- Choose “Send a Copy”
- Select “Print”
From there, you can preview your page and choose exactly what you want to print.
OneNote
Microsoft OneNote is another excellent (and free!) option for digital planning.
And printing in OneNote is just as easy as GoodNotes:
On Desktop:
- Go to File > Print
- Choose what you want to print in the print preview
- Hit print
On iPad:
- Tap the “Share” button
- Choose “Send a Copy”
- Select “Print”
PDF Planners
PDF digital planners are essentially printable planners that you can fill out on your device.
And of course, PDFs can be printed directly form Adobe Acrobat Reader or any PDF editor.
For example, to print from Acrobat Reader:
- Open your PDF planner
- Go to File > Print
- Select your preferences in the print dialog box
Some digital planners (like Passion Planner) make printing super simple by including an index page.
So you can easily jump between sections by clicking links – no scrolling or searching required.
Paper Size, Quality and Printer Settings
Now that you know how to print digital planner pages, let’s talk about some key settings that can take your printed planners from good to great.
Match Paper Size
Ideally, you’ll want to print digital planner pages on paper that’s the same size as the planner itself.
For example, if you have an A5 digital planner (5.83″ x 8.27″) use A5 paper.
Matching paper sizes means:
- No ugly borders from printing a larger page on a smaller sheet
- All planner elements fit perfectly
- No wasting expensive printer ink on printing extra white space
Some digital planners, like the one from Fuse Life Planners, are designed to print flawlessly whether you use US letter or A4.
But when possible, sticking to the exact dimensions just looks cleaner.
Image Quality
Laser paper printed in full color is my #1 pick for vibrant, professional prints.
For home use, choose a bright white laser paper 28 lb or heavier. This helps colors pop while preventing ink from bleeding through to the other side.
And don’t skimp by printing in black and white only! Having your vibrant digital planner print in grayscale would be like ordering a beautifully decorated cake and asking them to leave off all the pretty colors and decorations.
Printer Settings
Most importantly, be sure to choose the “borderless” or “full bleed” printing option in your printer settings.
This makes your image expand edge-to-edge instead of having a white margin arounf the borders.
To find this setting:
- Go to File > Print
- Click “Properties” or “Preferences”
- Select “Borderless”
If your printer doesn’t have borderless printing, choose the scaling option closest to 100% to fit as much content as possible.
Edit Before You Print
Another pro digital planner printing tip is to make any desired edits before you print.
For example, if you only want to print a certain month or week from your planner, delete any extra pages first.
This saves printer ink and effort compared to having to manually sort through a stack of printed pages.
Get High Quality Prints from a Shop
As amazing as home printers are these days, nothing quite beats professional printing house quality.
So if you want magazine-worthy planner prints, consider ordering from a local print shop.
My top picks for print shops are Staples, UPS Stores and Vistaprint.
Prices start around $0.69 per page for high quality color prints. And you can often get same-day pickup.
Just make sure your shop can print borderless. Then provide your shop with your planner PDF and print preferences for stellar results.
In Conclusion
The great thing about digital planners is that you get the organize-anytime flexibility of digital notes and templates combined with the ability to print out select pages on demand.
So if you’ve been wondering “can I print my digital planner?” – the answer is a definitive yes.
Whether you want to print out certain meaningful weeks, make archived physical copies or carry around printed planner pages – printing opens up all kinds of possibilities.
Just follow my tips above for making the printing process easy, smooth and high quality!