Ask any planner fanatic and they’ll tell you – having a planner that perfectly suits your needs makes staying organized a breeze. But finding ready-made planners in that elusive perfect size? Not so easy.
That’s where learning how to print half size planner pages comes in super handy. By printing your own custom pages, you can create a planner that’s just right for your organizing style. Whether you want to downsize from a full letter page or upscale a pocket planner, understanding how to reformat printables is a total game-changer.
And I’ve discovered a few tricks that make printing half letter pages simple. Today, as a professional custom planner printing manufacturer, I’ll give you my best tips for flawlessly formatting and printing custom planner pages at home so you can build your dream organizational system.
Why Print Half Size Planner Pages?
You’re probably wondering – what’s the benefit of half size planner pages versus full size or even pocket-sized pages?
Great question! Half letter pages (5.5 x 8.5 inch) deliver the sweet spot between portability and functional space for writing. Here are a few of the advantages half letter planners have over other sizes:
Increased Portability
Half letter pages trim standard letter size pages nearly in half. That shrinks things down for easy transport without limiting writing space like tiny pocket planners do.
Half letter planners are a great on-the-go option. They slip nicely into purses, bags, and even some pockets for travel planning, student schedules, and more situations where portability matters.
Versatile Functionality
Despite the smaller size, half letter delivers ample space for daily planning needs. The slightly truncated width still allows for vertical day columns plus additional columns for schedules, to-do lists, meal plans etc.
You’ll also have room for decorative touches like stickers, washi tape, and small embellishments.
More Affordable Refill Pages
Once you learn how to print your own half size planner pages, keeping your planner stocked with sheets is very budget friendly.
DIY refills allow customization which suits changing organizational needs month-to-month or year-to-year. No more wasting pre-printed pages that don’t fit your current planning routine!
Printed half letter refills run as little as five to ten cents per sheet. And you can print them from home in small batches which is very convenient.
How To Format Half Size Planner Pages for Printing
Printing half size pages is a piece of cake once you know how to set up your print preferences correctly.
I’ll walk you through how to format both PDF printables and Word documents to seamlessly print custom planner pages in half letter size.
Option 1: Format a PDF in Adobe Reader
The first method for converting full size printables to half letter size uses the page scaling option in Adobe Acrobat Reader. Nearly all computers already have this free software installed.
Here are the simple steps for resizing PDF pages to 8.5 x 5.5 inch half letter size:
- Open your PDF printable in Adobe Reader.
- Navigate to File > Print. Select your printer and orientation options.
- Click the Page Handling menu.
- Choose the Page Scaling option.
- Enter 82% into the Custom Scale field. This automatically resizes letter pages to half size.
- Enable duplex/double-sided printing.
- Print your resized half letter pages!
Most print menus default with similar layouts. So once you get familiar with the scaling tool in Adobe Reader it’s easy to reformat all kinds of printable PDFs.
Option 2: Format Word Docs For Half Size Printing
Microsoft Word also makes reformatting full letter pages to half size a total breeze.
Follow these steps when working with Word document printables:
- Set page size to letter (8.5×11 inches) in Layout tab.
- Still in Layout, enable Mirror Margins and set all margins to .5 inches.
- Switch to the Page Setup menu. Change document orientation to Landscape.
- In Page Setup select Columns then set to “2 columns with .6 inch spacing”.
- Double check that no page elements get cutoff with the new column formatting.
- Print using duplex option to get half letter pages!
Once you get those print settings dialed in, they’ll save within that Word document. Super handy for batch printing half letter sheets!
Printing Tip
Whichever method you use to reformat pages, print a test sheet before running whole stacks of paper.
Check alignment, trim lines, page numbers – make sure everything prints perfectly positioned. Nothing wastes paper and patience like realizing 20 printed pages are slightly off center!
How To Print High Quality Half Size Planner Pages
Printing top notch pages for your custom half letter planner ensures it will stand the test of time with crisp pages that are a joy to use.
Here are my pro tips for flawless prints:
Choose the Best Paper for Planners
Premium paper makes any planner feel amazing to write in. And because our DIY planners are built to last all year, go the extra mile with paper upgrades like:
- 28lb brightness photo paper – resists ink bleed even with markers/pens
- Inkjet printable cardstock (80-100lb) – superb durability
- Laser/Copier cardstock 32lb+ – vibrant ink adherence
Using paper optimized for either laser or inkjet printers prevents issues like bleed-through and ghosting.
Print From a Laser Printer
Ink saturation is vastly improved with laser printers over inkjet. This helps colors stay bold, lines crisp, and prevent fading over time.
Business printing centers offer very affordable laser printing. For at-home use, invest in a basic color laser all-in-one printer. Prices are quite reasonable these days, even for small “personal” laser printer models.
Laminate For Maximum Durability
Once printed, encase pages in laminate pouches suitable for your printer type. Self-adhesive laminate sheets work wonderfully too.
Lamination protects paper from spills, smudges, tearing etc. so pages withstand heavy planning use.
For a more eco-friendly seal, brush pages lightly with milk before allowing to dry. The casein protein gives paper a protective sheath almost like plastic lamination!
Ready To Design Your Own Half Size Planner?
As you can see, learning how to properly format and print in half letter size opens a whole new world of custom planner possibilities!
I hope my tips gave you the confidence to start creating tailored organizers perfect for your needs using easy-to-print 5.5×8.5 inch pages.
Already printing your own half letter planner pages? I’d love to see your customized creations! Share photos of your planners over on the comments. Let’s get organized together!