THE WHITE PAGE BORDER

The standard settings in desktop printing allow for a white border around the outside of the pages.  Which is desirable for text based documents so they have white space framing the words on the page.  However, for a brochure or flyer style document with edge-to-edge colour or images, having a white border can look unprofessional.

So how can you remove the border?

Check if your printer allows borderless printing (many do!).

In PDF

In your PDF document, go to the print menu.

Firstly, make sure your paper size is set to 100% and not scaling.

Then select your printer from the printer options and open the properties menu.

Look for borderless printing (select), no bleed (set at 100%), or scale (set at 100%).  Each printer brand will have different menu options, so you need to see what is available for yours.

I have an HP OfficeJet and I found my settings under: Print>Properties>Printing Shortcut > Photo Printing Borderless.  Ensure that you set the paper type as plain paper (not photo paper).

Word/ Docs

In your Word Document, choose Page Layout > Margins> Custom Margins and set these all to 0.  The same applies in Google Docs.

As above, check your printer settings.

So what can you do if your printer doesn’t have these features?

• Adjust your design.  Keep the pages white so that the white border is not noticeable.  You can bring in colour with your text and photos on the page.
• Trim the white borders of your documents after they are printed.  Using a guillotine or paper cutter rather than scissors gives a smoother edge.

PAPER SIZE

Ensure that the paper source is the correct size.  Many printers default to Letter while the standard paper size in Australia is A4.  Make sure to check that your document is sized correctly for the paper you are printing onto also.

PAPER ALIGNMENT

You can run a test on your printer to ensure the paper is aligning correctly. Make sure the tray isn’t overly full, and the guides are in the proper positions.

If all else fails, go to your local printer or officeworks – some professional printers will allow you to print off just a few copies of your documents and achieve a much better result than the standard desktop.

Need some help creating designs for your business?  I design custom templates that you can use again and again, and save the hassle of creating from scratch each time you want to share content.  Let’s set you up with a whole suite of custom designs with my Designer for a Day rates.

Danielle x

Header image: Photo by Joshua Fuller on Unsplash