How to Change a Word Document to Print Different Paper Size

Resize Word documents for printing, no matter what page size they started in

By
James Marshall
James Marshall
Writer
James Marshall is a pro journalist who covers technology and computer troubleshooting. He is also skilled with Microsoft Word, Apple Pages, and other word processors.
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Updated on January 16, 2022
Reviewed by
Jon Fisher
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Reviewed by Jon Fisher
  • Wichita Technical Institute
Jonathan Fisher is a CompTIA certified technologist with more than 6 years' experience writing for publications like TechNorms and Help Desk Geek.
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What to Know

  • Go to File > Print > Paper size drop-down arrow > select paper size. The preview resizes to match.
  • Select Print.

Here's how to change the paper size of a document you want to print in Microsoft 365, Word 2019, Word 2016, Word 2013, and Word for Mac.

How to Resize Word Documents for Printing

Follow these steps to select a specific paper size when printing a document.

  1. Open the Word document you want to print and select the File tab.

  2. Select Print. By default, the paper size of the document defaults to the paper size of the printed output.

    File screen in Word with the Print section highlighted

  3. Select the Paper size drop-down arrow and choose the output you prefer.

    Print window in Word with the Paper Size menu highlighted

  4. To print a letter-sized document on A5-sized paper, select Letter then choose A5. The thumbnail of the first page of the printed output resizes to match.

    You cannot rescale the document to fit the paper. If the document is larger than the paper, then the document will tile on several sheets.

    Print screen in Word with the paper sizes highlighted

  5. Select Print to print the document when you're satisfied with the output settings.

    Print screen in Word with the Print button highlighted

Print Scaled Documents

To print a document to a different-sized paper while maintaining the original dimensions and ensuring it fits on one sheet, print the document to PDF. Once you have created a PDF from the Word document, print a hardcopy using the printer.

The PDF printer driver supports more resizing and restructuring output options than any word processing application does.

If you do not need a document printed in entirety but do require a section of it in print format, Word enables you to print only part of a document.

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