Planner pages are a great way to organize your life. Having a physical planner that you can write in, cross things off, and refer back to makes staying on top of your schedule much easier.
But when it comes time to print those pages – especially double sided – things can get tricky. In this guide, as a professional custom planner printing manufacturer, I’ll walk you through my best tips for flawlessly printing double sided planner pages from PDFs every time.
Why Print Double Sided Planner Pages?
Before jumping into the nitty gritty details, you may be wondering – why go through the trouble of printing double sided anyway? Why not just print single sided pages?
There are a few key reasons:
- Save paper. By printing on both sides of each sheet, you use half the paper. This saves on cost and is better for the environment.
- Mimic a store-bought planner. Most planners you buy in stores have printing on both sides of the page. Doing the same gives a polished, professional look.
- Fit more on each page. With a front and back to work with, planner designers can pack in more sections like notes, calendars, schedules etc.
- Lay flat when open. Double sided pages let your planner lay open flat without curling, which leads to a better writing experience.
Clearly, double sided printing brings some major benefits. But it does make the printing process more complicated. The good news is, with the right method it’s easy to get flawless results.
How to Print Double Sided Planner Pages
Step 1: Open Your PDF in Adobe Acrobat
The first step is to open up the planner PDF file you want to print in Adobe Acrobat Reader.
You likely already have Acrobat Reader installed on your computer. If not, you can download it for free here.
Acrobat Reader allows you more printing customization than other PDF viewers. For flawless double sided printing, it’s by far the best choice.
Once open in Acrobat, navigate to the print dialog box by clicking File > Print or using the keyboard shortcut CTRL/CMD + P.
Step 2: Select Double Sided Printing
In the main print dialog, click on the “Page Sizing & Handling” section to expand the menu.
Make sure the option for double sided printing is checked. Depending on your print driver, this setting may also be called “two-sided” or “duplex”.
Step 3: Print Only the First Side Pages
Next, under the “Pages to Print” section click “More options” to bring up a secondary menu.
Here, select the option to only print odd pages. This ensures that you’ll only print the first side pages for now.
Step 4: Reload Printed Pages to Print Back Side
With the first side pages printed, take those same sheets of paper and reload them into your printer tray.
Be sure to place them so what was printed on the first side is now facing down, and the blank back side of each page is facing up ready to print.
Step 5: Print Only the Second Side Pages
Just as before, under “Pages to Print” choose the custom option to now only print even pages. This prints the back sides of your double sided planner pages.
And that’s it! With those 5 simple steps your planner PDF should print flawlessly on both sides of the page.
Keep reading for more details on troubleshooting issues, fixing page alignment problems between sides, and customizing for different binding styles.
Troubleshooting Double Sided Printing Problems
Printing double sided seems easy in theory – but in practice printer models, settings, paper types etc can cause no end of issues.
Here are some of the most common problems and how to fix them:
Problem: Printed planner pages are out of order
Solution: When reloading to print back sides, make sure pages are face down in the exact same order as originally printed.
Problem: Alignment is off between front and back pages
Solution: In print settings, look for options called Booklet Printing, Book Binding, or Duplex Alignment – and play with settings.
Problem: Back sides cut off or print over page edge
Solution: Disable “fit to page”, check page orientation, scale down to 90-95% size if needed.
Still having issues? Try allowing wider margins in the planner PDF, or borderless printing settings in printer options.
Problem: Can’t get double sided option to work at all
Solution: Make sure printer supports duplexing/double sided printing for the paper size you are using. You may need to print one page at a time and reload.
Customize Binding Edge and Page Order
When reloading pages to print the back sides, you’ll notice there are options to control the binding edge, page order, and page rotation.
What does this mean and how should you set them?
Binding Edge controls whether pages will bind along the left edge, right edge, or top edge once printed.
For planners that open left-to-right, set to left edge binding. For top-bound planners that open top-to-bottom, choose top edge binding.
Page Order is used when printing multiple pages per sheet (for example 4 pages on one sheet). Choose left-to-right or right-to-left ordering.
Page Rotation determines if the back side pages print rotated 180 degrees or not. Leave unchecked for normal operation.
Paper Considerations When Printing Double Sided
While the above steps work for most paper types, you’ll get optimum results with heavier weight paper designed specifically for double sided printing.
Look for 28lb paper or higher, with a smooth matte finish. Paper that’s too thin may wrinkle, while heavy glossy paper can peel off in the printer.
Using printer and paper combos designed for duplex printing also helps avoid issues with ink soak through onto flip sides making text blurry.
And there you have it – with those paper recommendations and printing steps, you’re all set to flawlessly print double sided planner pages from PDFs. Never waste paper on botched prints again!
Now grab your perfectly printed planner, and let’s start organizing. What steps or tasks do you plan to track first? Let me know in the comments!