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Convert US Letter to A4 with scaling percentages for perfect printing
Best fit: 97% scale (slight margins)
Full bleed: 107% scale (crops content)
No scaling: Content may be cut off
Auto: Let printer decide
Width Difference:
A4 is 6 mm (0.23 in) narrower
Height Difference:
A4 is 18 mm (0.69 in) taller
Area Difference:
A4 is 3.5% larger
Cropping:
Sides fit, top/bottom may clip
When printing a US Letter document on A4 paper, you need to account for the fact that A4 is narrower (210mm vs 216mm) but taller (297mm vs 279mm). Without proper scaling, content designed for Letter size will be cut off at the bottom when printed on A4.
The safest approach is to scale down to 97% (or 97.2% for precision). This ensures all content fits within the A4 dimensions while maintaining readability. You'll have small margins at the top and bottom, but no content will be lost.
In your print dialog, look for options like "Fit to Page," "Scale to Fit," or "Shrink to Printable Area." These will automatically calculate the correct scaling. Avoid "Actual Size" or "100%" as these will crop your document.
The bottom 18mm (0.69 inches) of your document will be cut off because A4 is taller but narrower. The width will fit fine, but height is the issue. Always use scaling to avoid losing content.
97% or 97.2% is ideal. This scales the document to fit the narrower A4 width, which automatically ensures the height fits as well. You'll have small margins, but all content remains visible and readable.
Not recommended for documents with important content. For photos or images where slight cropping is acceptable, you could print at 100%, but for text documents, contracts, or forms, always use scaling to preserve all information.
Design with larger margins (at least 25mm or 1 inch on all sides) and keep important content in the center. This creates a "safe area" that works for both paper sizes. Use the smallest common dimensions: 8.27 inches wide by 11 inches tall.
Scaling to 97% has minimal impact on quality. The change is barely noticeable to the human eye, and text remains crisp. Modern printers handle this scaling automatically with no degradation in quality.
PDFs scale beautifully because they're vector-based. Embedded fonts will remain sharp at any scaling percentage. Just ensure your PDF reader's print settings are set to "Fit to Page" rather than "Actual Size."