How to Print a PDF with Mixed Letter and Legal Paper Sizes
Question details
The user needs to successfully print a PDF document containing both letter and legal-sized pages without the printer incorrectly defaulting to the multipurpose tray.
- Product
- Adobe Acrobat, Brother Printers
- Device & OS
- macOS
- Scenario
- Printing a mixed-size PDF document using a printer equipped with multiple physical paper trays.
- Observed behavior
- The printer incorrectly requests paper from the multipurpose tray instead of automatically switching between the physical trays containing the letter and legal-sized paper.
Before proceeding, ensure your printer has multiple physical trays loaded with both letter and legal paper, and locate the printer's IP address from its network configuration page.
Reinstall the Printer Using IP and a PostScript Driver
Reinstalling the printer over an IP connection with a Generic PostScript or Brother BR-Script driver helps macOS accurately map mixed paper size requests to the correct physical trays.
Sometimes the default printer driver handles macOS printing requests incorrectly, breaking the automatic tray selection. Using an IP connection with a PostScript driver overrides these faulty default behaviors.
Open macOS System Settings (or System Preferences), navigate to 'Printers & Scanners', select your current Brother printer, and remove it by clicking 'Delete Printer' or the minus (-) button.
Click 'Add Printer, Scanner, or Fax' (or the plus button). In the window that appears, click the 'IP' tab at the top. Enter your printer's IP address and select 'IPP (Internet Printing Protocol)' as the Protocol.
At the bottom of the window in the 'Use' dropdown menu, choose 'Generic PostScript Printer'. Alternatively, if you downloaded the specific Brother BR-Script driver from the manufacturer's website, select 'Select Software' and pick the Brother BR-Script driver.
On the physical control panel of the printer (or via its web management interface), navigate to the tray settings. Assign the exact paper size loaded into each tray (Letter for T1, Legal for T2) and set the tray priority order (e.g., T1 > T2 > MP).
Configure Adobe Acrobat Print Settings
Adjusting the print sizing and paper source settings directly in the Adobe Acrobat print dialog ensures the software requests the appropriate tray for each specific page size.
Print Mixed-Size PDFs Flawlessly with WPS Office
WPS Office provides an intuitive, professional-grade PDF reader with advanced printing capabilities. It seamlessly adapts to mixed paper sizes, eliminating the need for complex driver configurations while offering a lightweight and highly compatible experience.
- 1. Install and Open: Download and install WPS Office, then open your mixed-size PDF document using the WPS PDF reader.
- 2. Access Print Settings: Click the 'Print' icon in the top toolbar or use the shortcut Cmd+P (Mac) / Ctrl+P (Windows).
- 3. Configure Sizing: In the Print dialog, navigate to the 'Page Sizing & Handling' section.
- 4. Enable Page Size Matching: Check the option to 'Use PDF page size to select paper source' to ensure dynamic tray selection.
- 5. Print Document: Click 'Print' and let WPS Office communicate the correct paper dimensions directly to your printer.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my printer keep asking for paper in the multipurpose tray?
This usually happens when the printer driver fails to correctly map the specific page dimensions requested by the PDF software to the physical trays. Setting up the printer with a Generic PostScript driver via IP often resolves this communication error.
Can I print mixed page sizes on Windows as well?
Yes. If your printer has multiple trays configured correctly, you can check the 'Choose paper source by PDF page size' option in your PDF reader's print dialog on Windows to achieve the same result.
What does the 'Choose paper source by PDF page size' option actually do?
It commands the printing software to read the native dimensions of each page in your PDF document and tells the printer to dynamically pull paper from whichever tray matches those dimensions, rather than forcing the entire document onto a single default paper size.
