Printing coloring pages
Coloring page sizes and paper, worked out
Most printing problems with coloring pages come from two mismatches: a page made for one paper size printed on another, and paper too thin for the pens. Both are easy to avoid once you see the numbers.
The three sizes that matter
| Size | Millimetres | Where it is used |
|---|---|---|
| A4 | 210 × 297 | Printer paper almost everywhere outside North America |
| US Letter, 8.5 × 11 in | 215.9 × 279.4 | Printer paper in the US and Canada; the most common KDP coloring book trim |
| 8 × 10 in | 203.2 × 254 | Photo frames; a smaller KDP trim |
Inch sizes and their metric equivalents as listed by KDP, which also lists A4 as 8.27 × 11.69 in (21 × 29.7 cm); read 29 October 2026.
Letter is 5.9 mm wider than A4 and 17.6 mm shorter. That small difference is behind most “my page got cut off” complaints.
Printing A4 on Letter, and the other way round
| Page made for | Printed on | At “Fit to page” | At “Actual size” |
|---|---|---|---|
| A4 | Letter | Shrunk to 94% (279.4 ÷ 297) | 17.6 mm too tall: 8.8 mm lost at top and bottom |
| Letter | A4 | Shrunk to 97% (210 ÷ 215.9) | 5.9 mm too wide: about 3 mm lost each side |
| 8 × 10 in | Letter | Fits at 100% | 6.4 mm spare each side, 12.7 mm top and bottom |
Whether the loss matters depends on the margin. Huepad’s pages keep the drawing about 12 mm in from every edge (12.25 mm on A4, 12.6 mm on Letter), so even an A4 page printed at actual size on Letter loses only white paper. Pages with a border drawn close to the edge are the ones that get clipped. The simplest fix is to choose your own paper size before you download: huepad redraws the page for A4, Letter or 8 × 10 in rather than scaling one size to fit another.
Line weight is a printing setting too
A thin line looks elegant on screen and disappears under a crayon. Huepad’s pattern pages offer three weights. On an A4 page they print at these widths (the drawing unit is 1/1200 of the page width, 0.175 mm on A4):
| Setting | Line width on A4 | Good for |
|---|---|---|
| Fine | 0.26 mm | Fine-liners, colored pencils, adults |
| Medium | 0.37 mm | Colored pencils and felt tips |
| Bold | 0.59 mm | Crayons, young children, low-quality printers |
Working: 2.1 units × 0.7, 1 or 1.6 × 0.175 mm. On Letter the unit is 0.18 mm, so lines are about 3% wider.
Paper weight: lb and gsm
US paper is sold by basis weight in pounds, measured on a different sheet size for each grade, so “20 lb” bond and “65 lb” cover are not comparable by the number alone. Grams per square metre (gsm) are:
| US label | gsm | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| 20 lb bond | 75 | Ordinary copy paper |
| 24 lb bond | 90 | Heavier copy paper |
| 28 lb bond | 105 | Premium printer paper |
| 32 lb bond | 120 | Heaviest common printer paper |
| 65 lb cover | 176 | Light card |
| 110 lb index | 199 | Card stock |
| 80 lb cover | 216 | Heavier card |
Source: Neenah Paper, basis weight chart, read 29 October 2026. Basis sheets: bond 17 × 22 in, cover 20 × 26 in, index 25½ × 30½ in.
Which paper for which coloring
- Crayons and colored pencils: copy paper (75–90 gsm) works.
- Felt tips and markers: they soak through thin paper. Print one-sided, and put a scrap sheet underneath while coloring. Heavier bond (105–120 gsm) helps.
- Watercolor or paint markers: card (176 gsm and up), and check your printer’s maximum paper weight before you load it.
- Covers for a homemade book: 65 lb cover or 110 lb index.
- Cards: 65 lb cover takes a fold well. The Christmas coloring pages list the scale that fits a folded Letter card.
Printer settings checklist
- Paper size in the print dialog = the size you chose in huepad.
- Scale: 100% or “Actual size”. The PDF is already the right size.
- Quality: normal. Draft mode saves ink by printing lighter, which thin lines cannot spare.
- One-sided, unless you made a book with blank backs and want to print duplex.
Sources
- Set Trim Size, Bleed, and Margins · KDP Help · read 29 October 2026
- Paper Basis Weight & Thickness Chart · Neenah Paper · read 29 October 2026
Read next
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