How to Fix A4 Paper Size and Duplex Printing Issues in Acrobat on Linux
Question details
The user needs to resolve an issue where A4 size PDF pages are incorrectly treated as Letter size during duplex printing.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat 9.5.5
- Device & OS
- Linux
- Scenario
- Attempting to print an A4-sized PDF document using duplex (two-sided) printing settings.
- Observed behavior
- While the first page may print correctly as A4 when selecting 'Choose paper source by PDF page size', subsequent pages revert and are sent to the printer as Letter size.
Ensure your printer is powered on, properly connected to your Linux machine, and loaded with standard A4 paper before modifying your printing configurations.
Configure PDF Page Boxes and System Printer Settings
Manually ensure that the PDF properties, Acrobat settings, and Linux default printer configurations are all explicitly set to A4.
Conflicts between application-level print settings and system-level printer defaults often cause scaling issues. By aligning both to A4, you can prevent the printer driver from reverting to Letter size.
Open your document in Acrobat, press Ctrl+D to access Document Properties, and confirm under the Description tab that the Page Size is exactly A4 (210 x 297 mm).
Go to File > Print. Check the option 'Choose paper source by PDF page size' to instruct the application to use the document's native dimensions.
Click the 'Properties' or 'Printer Setup' button within the Print dialog. Explicitly set the Paper Size to A4 and enable duplex printing (two-sided).
Open your Linux system's printer utility or access CUPS via your web browser (usually http://localhost:631). Navigate to your printer's default options and ensure the default media size is set to A4.
Update or Replace the Printer Driver
Change the active printer driver in your Linux configuration to resolve communication failures with obsolete software.
Seamless PDF Printing on Linux with WPS Office
Adobe Acrobat 9.5.5 for Linux is discontinued and prone to driver miscommunications. Switch to WPS Office for a modern, lightweight, and highly compatible PDF reading and printing experience on Linux, ensuring your A4 documents always print perfectly in duplex.
- 1. Download WPS Office: Visit the official WPS Office website and download the appropriate Linux installation package (DEB or RPM) for your distribution.
- 2. Install the package: Install the downloaded file using your distribution's package manager or terminal commands.
- 3. Print your PDF flawlessly: Open your PDF file with WPS Office, click 'Print', verify your A4 and Duplex settings, and print without dimension errors.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my Linux printer default to Letter instead of A4?
Many Linux distributions or printer drivers default to US Letter size based on the system's locale settings. You can change this system-wide by configuring the /etc/papersize file or modifying default settings in the CUPS administration panel.
Is Adobe Acrobat still supported on Linux?
No, Adobe discontinued native support for Acrobat on Linux after version 9.5.5. Because of this, users frequently experience compatibility, scaling, and printing bugs on modern Linux systems.
Does 'Choose paper source by PDF page size' work for all printers?
This feature relies on the printer driver correctly interpreting the PDF metadata sent by the application. With obsolete software or certain generic drivers, the handoff may fail, requiring manual paper size selection.
How do I force duplex printing to use A4 for the entire document?
Ensure that both your application's print settings and the Linux system's default printer settings (via CUPS) are strictly set to A4. Any conflict between the two can cause the driver to revert to its default Letter size on subsequent pages.
