Fix Acrobat Pro XI Printing PDFs from the Wrong Printer Tray
Question details
The user needs to stop Adobe Acrobat Pro XI from printing PDF documents from an incorrect printer tray when using an auto-select function.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat Pro XI
- Device & OS
- Windows 10
- Scenario
- Printing PDF files to a multi-tray printer (e.g., HP OfficeJet Pro 8740) where standard applications correctly auto-select the paper tray.
- Observed behavior
- Acrobat automatically chooses the wrong printer tray (e.g., Tray 1 instead of Tray 2) based on page size, despite other programs working perfectly.
Verify that your printer drivers are up to date and that the correct paper sizes are physically loaded and registered in your multi-tray printer settings.
Disable PDF Page Size Paper Source Selection in Acrobat
This is the most direct fix. Disabling the automatic paper source matching prevents Acrobat from overriding your standard printer tray defaults.
Adobe Acrobat includes a feature that attempts to match the digital PDF page size with the physical paper tray. While useful for specialized prints, this often causes standard documents to be routed to the wrong tray (like a photo tray) instead of the main document tray.
Launch Adobe Acrobat Pro XI, open your PDF document, and click on 'File' > 'Print' (or press Ctrl+P).
In the Print dialog box, find the section labeled 'Page Sizing & Handling'.
Uncheck the box that says 'Choose paper source by PDF page size'.
Click 'Print' to send the document to the printer. Acrobat will now rely on the default tray configured in your Windows printer settings.
Manually Assign the Default Tray in Windows Printer Properties
If unchecking the PDF page size option doesn't resolve the issue, you can force the printer driver to always draw from a specific tray.
Print PDFs Effortlessly with WPS Office
If you are tired of complex print dialogs and recurring tray selection errors in Adobe Acrobat, try WPS Office. It features a built-in, highly intuitive PDF reader and editor that flawlessly respects your system's default printer settings, ensuring your documents always print from the correct tray.
- 1. Download and Install: Download WPS Office for free from the official website and install it on your PC.
- 2. Open Your PDF: Right-click your PDF file, choose 'Open with', and select WPS PDF.
- 3. Print the Document: Click the 'Print' icon on the top toolbar or press Ctrl+P. Verify your printer is selected and click 'Print'—WPS will automatically use your default tray without conflict.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Acrobat override my default printer tray settings?
By default, Acrobat tries to match the physical paper to the document's digital page size to prevent cutoff or scaling issues on specialized prints. If enabled, this bypasses the standard 'Auto Select' logic of your printer.
Will disabling 'Choose paper source by PDF page size' affect document quality?
No. Disabling this simply forces the document to print on whatever paper is in your default tray. As long as your default tray contains standard paper (like Letter or A4) and matches your document size, the quality will remain identical.
Does this tray selection issue only happen with HP printers?
No, this is a software-level behavior in Adobe Acrobat. It can happen with any multi-tray printer brand, including Brother, Epson, and Canon, when printing on Windows or macOS.
