How to Print Coloring Pages at Home

Printing a coloring page sounds like the easiest job in the house: open it, click Print, done. Then the lines come out pale gray, the edges get cut off, or a marker soaks straight through to the table. A few small choices about paper and printer settings fix nearly all of it. Here is what to check before you press the button.

Start with the right paper

Paper weight

Paper packs list a weight, and the numbers can be confusing. In the US, weight is given in pounds, but the pound figure depends on the grade of paper. The University of Wisconsin-Platteville's print shop explains (opens in a new tab) that text paper and cover stock are weighed using different sheet sizes, which is why 80 lb text paper is about 104 grams per square meter (gsm) while 80 lb cover stock is about 218 gsm. Grams per square meter is the easier number to compare.

Here are some common weights, using the conversion chart from Kennesaw State University's print shop (opens in a new tab):

• 20 lb bond: about 75 gsm. Thin and light. Fine for crayons and colored pencils on one side.
• 24 lb bond: about 90 gsm. A little sturdier, and a good everyday upgrade for coloring.
• 28 lb bond: about 105 gsm. Feels noticeably thicker in the hand.
• 65 lb cover: about 177 gsm. Light cardstock, nice for pages you plan to display or give as cards.
• 80 lb cover: about 218 gsm. Heavier cardstock.

Before you load cardstock, check your printer's manual for the heaviest paper it accepts and which tray to use. Some printers take card only through a rear or manual feed slot, one sheet at a time.

Paper finish

Kennesaw's guide describes gloss paper as smooth and shiny, a finish that makes printed color look richer, and matte paper as flat with little or no shine. For coloring, plain uncoated or matte paper is the safe choice. Glossy photo paper is meant to show off printed images, and pencils and crayons may slide on its slick surface. If you are unsure, buy a small pack and test one sheet with the tools you actually use.

Letter or A4?

The US uses Letter paper (8.5 x 11 inches), while most of the world uses A4 (210 x 297 mm). The University of Cambridge guide to international paper sizes (opens in a new tab) notes that A4 is 6 mm narrower but 18 mm taller than Letter. It also explains that an A4 page has to be printed at about 94% to fit on Letter paper, and a Letter page at about 97% to fit on A4.

That small mismatch is why a page made for one size can lose its edges on the other. The simplest fix is to print the version made for your paper. Every free page in our coloring library has a print link for Letter and a second one for A4, beside the online coloring tool, and each one prints with a small white margin so home printers don't clip the art.

Printer settings that matter

Open the print dialog (Ctrl+P on Windows, Cmd+P on a Mac) and look for these settings. Names vary a little between printers, but the ideas are the same.

1. Paper size. Match it to the paper in the tray. The Cambridge guide points out that a paper size mismatch between the document and the printer can cause extra white space, or the printer may refuse the job.
2. Scale. If the PDF matches your paper, choose "Actual size" or 100% so the lines print at their intended thickness. If the edges are clipped, choose "Fit" or "Fit to printable area," which shrinks the page slightly so it sits inside the printer's margins.
3. Borders. Leave borderless printing off. Coloring pages already include a white margin, and a normal bordered print keeps the whole design on the sheet.
4. Color or grayscale. A blank coloring page is black lines on white paper, so a black-and-white or grayscale setting is all it needs. Switch to color only when you print a picture you have already colored on screen.
5. Quality. Draft mode is fine for a shopping list, but it is a poor choice for line art. One printer maker's own troubleshooting guide says plainly that printing becomes lighter when toner save or draft mode is used (opens in a new tab). Choose Normal or Best (sometimes called Standard, High or Fine) for coloring pages.
6. Paper type. If the dialog asks, tell the printer what you loaded: plain paper, heavy paper or cardstock, matte and so on. A printer maker's faded printing checklist (opens in a new tab) lists an incorrect paper type setting as one cause of faded output.

Why some pages print light, and how to fix it

If your lines look gray or broken, work through this list in order:

• Draft, economy or toner-save mode is on. Switch to normal or best quality and check the advanced settings for a toner-save switch.
• The page was shrunk. Scaling a page down makes every line thinner too. Print the PDF that matches your paper at actual size.
• You printed the screen preview. The pictures you see on screen are smaller images made for quick loading. The print PDF is built from a larger file meant for paper, so always use the print link.
• The paper type setting is wrong. Match it to the paper you loaded.
• Ink or toner is running out. The same faded printing checklist names cartridges that have reached the end of their life as a cause. If a test page from the printer's own menu also looks pale, it is time for a new cartridge.

Printing two-sided without ruining a page

Double-sided printing saves paper, but it needs a little planning if markers are involved.

• Test your markers first. Color a small patch in the margin with each marker you plan to use, wait a minute, then turn the sheet over. If you can see the color from the back, use single-sided pages for that set.
• Save two-sided pages for dry media. Pages printed on both sides work well for colored pencils and crayons.
• Use a guard sheet. Slip a scrap sheet or a piece of thin card under the page you are coloring to protect the table and the next page in a stack.
• Let ink dry before you flip. Give marker and gel pen work a few minutes before you turn the page or stack it.
• Go a little heavier. If your printer handles 24 lb or 28 lb paper, the extra thickness gives you more room for error than lighter copy paper.
• Learn your printer's flip. If your printer does not print both sides on its own, print the odd pages, reload the stack and print the even pages. Try it with one marked sheet first so you know which way up the paper goes back in.

Try it

• Browse the free coloring library, pick a page and use the Letter or A4 print link.
• Print a whole set at once: each book's page in the library, such as ABC Adventure, has a button to download all of its free pages as one PDF, in Letter or A4.
• Want a ready-made bundle in your inbox? Sign up for the free bonus coloring pack.
• Not sure what to color with once it is printed? Read Pencils, Markers, Gel Pens or Crayons?