Printfit / the scaling method

Fit the page.
Keep the proportions.

A design and a sheet rarely have exactly the same proportions. Printfit calculates one uniform scaling percentage, then makes the resulting blank space or cropping visible.

Start with two rectangles

The original design has a width and height at its current physical size. The paper has its own width and height. Original and paper measurements may use different supported units; the calculator converts them before comparing lengths.

Margins define a smaller usable rectangle on the paper. Left and right use the same horizontal margin; top and bottom use the same vertical margin. No hidden printer margin, bleed or image border is added.

Usable width = paper width − 2 × side margin
Usable height = paper height − 2 × top/bottom margin

If either usable dimension is zero or negative, there is no rectangle left for the design and the calculation is rejected. A zero margin is allowed, but it does not establish that your printer can print to an edge.

Fit keeps the complete design

Fit compares the available-to-original width ratio with the available-to-original height ratio, and uses the smaller one. That makes both scaled dimensions fit within the usable rectangle. Remaining space is shared equally at opposite edges.

Fit factor = smaller of (usable width ÷ original width) and (usable height ÷ original height)
Percentage = factor × 100

Example 1: a wide design on square paper

Take a 200 × 100 mm original, a 300 × 300 mm sheet and 10 mm margins on every edge. The usable area is 280 × 280 mm. The width ratio is 280 ÷ 200 = 1.4; the height ratio is 280 ÷ 100 = 2.8. Fit chooses 140%, producing a 280 × 140 mm design.

The usable area has 140 mm of spare height, so there is 70 mm extra blank space at both top and bottom. Adding the chosen 10 mm paper margin makes the total blank distance from each outside top/bottom paper edge 80 mm. Left and right retain only the chosen 10 mm margins.

Fill covers the usable rectangle

Fill uses the larger ratio. The scaled design covers the entire usable rectangle, and any overflow is cropped equally at opposite edges. The calculator preserves the shape; it does not stretch the width and height independently.

For the same example, Fill chooses 280%. The design becomes 560 × 280 mm. The usable width is only 280 mm, so 140 mm is cropped from each side of the scaled design. This corresponds to 50 mm from each side measured back on the original before enlargement.

These crop values are per side, not the combined crop across both sides. The chosen paper margins remain outside the usable clipping rectangle.

Optional rotation

Allowing rotation tests the design both in its entered orientation and turned 90°. Fit chooses whichever orientation can be printed larger while keeping the complete design. Fill chooses whichever covers the usable rectangle at the smaller percentage, reducing the total cropped area. If the factors tie, the original orientation is kept.

A 200 × 300 mm design on a 400 × 250 mm usable sheet fits at about 83.333333% without rotation. Turned 90°, it fits at 125%, producing 375 × 250 mm. The result clearly records when the design has been rotated; it does not assume the original width is still the horizontal dimension.

Mixed-unit example

An 8 × 10 inch original is 203.2 × 254 mm. With 190 × 277 mm of usable paper, Fit chooses about 93.503937% and produces 190 × 237.5 mm. There is 19.75 mm extra blank space at the top and bottom inside the usable rectangle.

Rounding and the actual print

Lengths accept six decimal places. Decimal values and unit conversions are stored as exact integer fractions; displayed percentages and lengths round to six decimals. Your print application may accept fewer percentage decimals, so verify a known dimension on the actual output.

The diagram is a proportional explanation, not a full-size template. Browser printing, automatic fit settings, page orientation and a printer driver may apply further scaling. Use the intended application's percentage control and check the physical result. Printfit does not inspect image resolution, pixel dimensions, printer capability or output quality.

Copy or print the plan to keep the method, margins, orientation and cropping together. Your measurements remain in this browser tab. Find your scaling percentage →