the printed page

How to print your book

The book is laid out at the exact size of the paper, so once the print dialog matches that size there is nothing to adjust. Five settings are all that matter.

1. Make the book first

On the Make a book page, enter your username and choose your settings. Note the page size you picked — you will select the same one in the print dialog.

2. Open the print dialog

Press the Print button, or use Ctrl+P (Cmd+P on a Mac). Chrome or Edge are recommended: they handle exact page sizes and background graphics most reliably.

3. Set five options

  1. 01Paper size — the size you chose (A4 or A5).
  2. 02Margins — set to None.
  3. 03Scale — leave at 100% (or Default); do not use “Fit to page”.
  4. 04Background graphics — on. This prints the cover art and the dark chessboard squares.
  5. 05Headers and footers — off, so no date or URL is added.

4. Save as a PDF

Choose Save as PDF as the destination to get a file you can keep or send to a printer, or pick your printer to print it directly. If you are printing a physical copy, print double-sided (flip on the long edge); the book is padded to an even number of pages so the sheets line up.

5. To have it bound

For a proper book, send the PDF to a bindery such as Mixam. A5 is a good pocket size; A4 is easier to read. The PDF is already the right size and needs no bleed.