How Do I Print The Printable Planner?
You found a printable planner that you love and clicked buy instantly. Now what?
Instant Download
It's a digital file so after checkout you will receive a link to download the pdf file. Please download right away before the link expires. You may need to download Adobe Reader before you can view the file (it's free).
Do I Need A Special Printer?
No way! You can easily print the file on any home printer, work printer, or print shop machine. If you choose to take the file to a print shop, just save the document to a USB drive and drive it over to your local Office Depot, Staples, FedEx Kinkos, etc. Some stores even allow you to upload the file online and order the print job so the printed planner is ready when you walk in the store.
Print Settings
If you choose the print the file at home or work, you will need to decide if you want to print duplex (just a fancy term for front to back, or printing on both sides of the paper). If your printer allows it, I highly recommend doing it as most pages are formatted to work best this way, and you will save space in your planner, and save paper. When you click print, a dialog box should pop up. Click the settings, or Advance, and look for a Duplex option. Select Front to Back.
If you don't have a duplex option, don't fret, the results will still be fabulous. Another way to print front to back is to print only the odd pages first, then flip the pages over and print only the even pages. Just take a sec to rearrange the pages when you flip them over so that the pages print in your desired order.
Some printers also have to option to hole punch for you. This is a great feature if you purchased a Letter size planner set. The smaller pages will probably not have the holes punched in the correct place, so you will have better results punching the pages yourself.
Make sure your printer is set to print in color or CMYK. You can print planner pages in black and white, but what would be the fun in that?
Paper
You can use any type of paper that you have on hand. My favorite is the HP Premium 32lb white paper. A 500 page ream is less than $11 on Amazon. I really like this kind because it is slightly thicker than the average copy paper, so you won't see the back page while writing on the current page, and ink is less likely to bleed through. Don't let that intimidate you, though. Like I said, any old copy paper will produce great results.
Getting the Right Size
Printable planners designed to fit in anything smaller than a 8.5" x 11" binder will have crop marks printed on the page. You can use these as a guide to see where to cut to make each page the exact right size. You can use scissors to get an even cut, or I really like to use a paper trimmer like the Fiskars Paper Trimmer.
Punching Holes
After everything is printed and trimmed, just punch a few holes and you are ready to load the planner into a 3 ring binder. The Swingline is affordable and adjustable so it can be used for a variety of sizes. I use the Franklin Covey a lot too with great results.
That's It!
You're now ready to plan your budget, blog, meals, life, kids life, whatever. Have fun!