How to print a calendar at home or at a copy shop

The one setting that matters is the scale: print at 100%, which most print dialogs call “Actual size”. “Fit to page” or “Shrink oversized pages” makes the printer shrink the calendar a little, so the margins and the boxes change size and a hole punched where you expect the margin may land in the grid. Everything else, from paper to quality, is about how good the result looks.

Printing at home, step by step

1. Download the PDF from the maker rather than printing the web page. Open it in your computer’s PDF reader (Preview, Adobe Acrobat Reader, or the reader built into your system); browsers sometimes override the paper size.
2. Check the paper size in the print dialog matches the paper in the tray and the size you chose in the maker. A Letter calendar on A4 paper is cut at the bottom; an A4 calendar on Letter is cut at the sides.
3. Set the scale to 100% (“Actual size”). Leave the orientation on automatic; the PDF already says portrait or landscape.
4. Print one page first. Check the margins are even and nothing is cut off before printing all twelve or thirteen pages.
5. Choose single-sided for a wall calendar, so that each month hangs on its own sheet. For a binder or a desk flip calendar, double-sided printing halves the paper; choose “flip on long edge” for portrait pages and “flip on short edge” for landscape pages so that the backs are the right way up.
6. Use the quality setting for the paper. For a calendar with photos, choose photo or best quality and the paper type you loaded, such as matte photo paper or card stock, so that the printer lays down the right amount of ink.

Black-and-white printers print the colors as grays. The holiday color and the weekday header stay distinct from each other, but for clearer contrast choose the Black or Navy color scheme in the maker.

Why the calendar has margins

Most home printers cannot print right to the edge of the paper; they leave a strip of about 3 to 6 mm (an eighth to a quarter of an inch) on each side. The maker keeps 10.6 mm (0.42 inches) clear on every side, so nothing is lost on any printer, and so there is room to punch holes for binding. Borderless printing is not needed.

Printing at a copy shop

Copy shops and pharmacies sell personalised photo calendars, but those are made in each shop’s own online designer. A calendar from this site is printed as an ordinary document instead: you send or bring the PDF and choose the paper, sides and binding. Ask for:

• the PDF printed at 100%, in color, single-sided;
• card stock or heavy cover paper (65 to 80 lb cover, about 176 to 216 g/m²) for a wall calendar;
• coil (spiral) binding along the top edge, and a hanging hook or hole if they offer one;
• for Tabloid (11 × 17 inches) or A3, which most home printers cannot print, the same settings on the larger paper.

What the big US chains offer for calendars (checked October 11, 2026)

Shop	Personalised calendars
Staples	Made in its online designer, coil bound, with a choice of starting month; a same-day “Express” tier and a full-bleed tier delivered later.
FedEx Office	An 11 × 8.5 inch wall calendar from its own templates, 26 pages, double-sided, spiral bound.
Walgreens	Wall calendars from 8.5 × 11 to 12 × 12 inches and small desk calendars, with same-day pickup, from photos you upload.
Costco	No longer offered: Costco closed its photo centers in January 2023 and sends members to Shutterfly.

Shops change their products and prices often, so check the shop’s own page before you order. For a calendar with your own layout, holidays and dates, the document route with coil binding gives you exactly what you designed.

If the print does not look right

Common printing problems

Problem	Fix
The calendar is smaller than the paper	Set the scale to 100% or “Actual size”.
The bottom or the sides are cut off	The paper in the tray is not the size chosen in the maker. Change one to match.
Photos look dull or banded	Choose the photo or best quality setting and the paper type you loaded.
The backs are upside down	Switch between “flip on long edge” and “flip on short edge”.
Card stock jams	Use the rear or manual feed and one sheet at a time; check the heaviest paper your printer accepts.