How to Fix Acrobat XI Printing Only Half of 11x17 PDF Pages
Question details
Users experience an issue where Acrobat XI Pro prints the first 11x17-inch PDF page correctly, but subsequent pages print reduced, rotated, or occupy only half the page, especially in documents with mixed page sizes.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat XI Pro
- Device & OS
- not provided
- Scenario
- Printing multipage PDFs containing mixed 8.5x11-inch and 11x17-inch pages.
- Observed behavior
- The first 11x17-inch page prints normally, but subsequent 11x17-inch pages print reduced, rotated, or squished into the lower-right corner of the paper instead of filling the full 11x17 sheet.
Ensure your printer has sufficient 11x17 paper loaded in the correct tray and check your printer manufacturer's website to see if a PostScript driver is available for your specific printer model.
Use a PostScript Printer Driver and Update Acrobat
Switching to a PostScript driver and applying the latest Acrobat XI patches often resolves layout scaling bugs in mixed-size PDF prints.
Acrobat XI can sometimes struggle to communicate page sequence and sizing changes to non-PostScript drivers. Testing the print job with a PostScript driver acts as a direct fix for many scaling and rotation anomalies.
Visit your printer manufacturer's official support website, locate your printer model, and download the latest PostScript (PS) driver.
Install the downloaded driver. Open your PDF in Acrobat XI, go to File > Print, and select the newly installed PostScript printer from the Printer drop-down menu.
In the print dialog, ensure that the 'Choose paper source by PDF page size' checkbox is ticked.
Go to the Help menu in Acrobat XI and select 'Check for Updates' to install the latest software patches, which may contain bug fixes for this specific issue.
Print Mixed-Size Pages Individually
If driver updates fail, printing pages one by one bypasses the sequence bug that causes subsequent pages to shrink.
Revert to an Earlier Acrobat Version
Using Acrobat X or Acrobat IX has been confirmed by users to process mixed-size 11x17 prints correctly without layout errors.
Print Mixed-Size PDFs Smoothly with WPS Office
Avoid Acrobat XI printing glitches by using WPS Office's built-in PDF reader. WPS easily processes mixed-size documents, ensuring 11x17 pages print at the correct scale and orientation without layout errors.
- 1. Open PDF in WPS: Launch WPS Office and open your mixed-size PDF document.
- 2. Access Print Settings: Press Ctrl+P or go to Menu and click Print to open the print dialog.
- 3. Adjust Page Sizing: Under 'Page Sizing & Handling', select 'Actual Size' or 'Fit for printing margins'.
- 4. Enable Smart Paper Selection: Check the box for 'Choose paper source by PDF page size' to ensure paper is pulled from the right trays.
- 5. Print the Document: Click the Print button to produce your mixed-size pages flawlessly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does only the first 11x17 page print correctly in Acrobat XI?
Acrobat XI has a known sequence bug where it fails to properly re-initialize page size parameters after processing an 8.5x11 page. This causes subsequent 11x17 pages to print using the scaling data from the previous smaller pages.
Does this printing error happen on all printers?
Yes, users have widely reported this specific error across multiple enterprise printer brands, including Canon and Sharp. Because it spans different hardware, it is recognized as a software or driver-communication issue within Acrobat XI Pro rather than a specific printer fault.
How can I ensure mixed-size PDFs print from the correct paper trays automatically?
In your PDF software's print dialog settings, ensure that the option 'Choose paper source by PDF page size' is checked. This forces the printer to detect the dimensions of each digital page and pull 8.5x11 and 11x17 paper from their respective physical trays.
