How to Fix Offset Printing for Legal and Letter Pages in Acrobat on Mac
Question details
The user is experiencing shifted or offset printed pages when printing a PDF containing both legal and letter-sized pages using the 'Choose Paper Source by PDF Page Size' option.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat Pro and Reader
- Device & OS
- macOS
- Scenario
- Printing mixed-size PDFs (legal and letter) using a dual-tray printer on a Mac.
- Observed behavior
- Pages are printed with an offset alignment instead of being centered or properly scaled, despite having up-to-date software, drivers, and firmware.
Ensure your Mac is connected to the dual-tray printer, and gather the make and model of your printer to check for any manufacturer-specific printer settings.
Update Software and Adjust Print Settings
Since this is a known Acrobat issue on macOS, updating all components and manually bypassing the auto-tray selection can serve as a temporary workaround.
This behavior is a recognized bug isolated to Adobe Acrobat running on macOS when interacting with dual-tray printers. Because it is an application-level communication issue with macOS print services, standard automatic paper selection fails.
Verify that your macOS, Adobe Acrobat (Pro or Reader), printer drivers, and printer firmware are fully updated to the latest versions.
Open your mixed-size PDF document in Acrobat and navigate to 'File' > 'Print'.
Under the 'Page Sizing & Handling' section, uncheck the 'Choose paper source by PDF page size' option.
Click on 'Page Setup' in the bottom left corner and explicitly define the paper size for the current tray instead of relying on Acrobat's auto-selection.
Print Using an Alternative PDF Reader
Because the offset issue is specifically tied to Adobe Acrobat for Mac, using an alternative PDF reader circumvents the bug entirely.
Print PDFs Seamlessly with WPS Office for Mac
Avoid macOS-specific printing bugs found in other software by using WPS Office. It provides a lightweight, highly compatible, and completely free alternative for viewing, editing, and printing PDFs with mixed page sizes accurately.
- 1. Install WPS Office: Download and install WPS Office for Mac from the official website.
- 2. Open your PDF: Launch WPS Office and open your PDF containing mixed legal and letter pages.
- 3. Print without offset: Click 'Print', configure your dual-tray settings, and print with perfect alignment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does Acrobat shift pages when printing on Mac?
This is a known compatibility issue between Adobe Acrobat and macOS print services, particularly when using dual-tray printers and enabling the 'Choose Paper Source by PDF Page Size' option with mixed legal and letter pages.
Does this offset printing issue happen on Windows PCs?
No, this specific page offset bug is isolated to macOS. When the exact same PDF is printed using Acrobat on a Windows PC, the auto-selection feature scales and aligns the pages correctly.
Can updating my printer drivers fix the Acrobat offset issue?
While ensuring you have the latest printer drivers and firmware is a recommended first troubleshooting step, it may not completely resolve the issue since the root cause is tied to how Acrobat processes page sizing on Mac.
How do I turn off automatic paper source selection in Acrobat?
Open your document in Adobe Acrobat, go to File > Print, look for the 'Page Sizing & Handling' section, and uncheck the box labeled 'Choose paper source by PDF page size'.
