How to Print a PDF on Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android (Plus Fixes When It Won't Print)

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Published September 28, 2026. Written by William Elward, founder of Castle Ink.

Quick answer

Open the PDF, press Ctrl+P (Windows) or Cmd+P (Mac), pick your printer, and click Print. On a phone, open the PDF, tap Share (iPhone) or the ⋮ menu (Android), and choose Print. If the PDF won't print, try printing it from a different app (for example Chrome or Edge instead of Acrobat), use Acrobat's Print as image option, or check whether the file is password-protected against printing.

How to print a PDF on Windows

  1. Double-click the PDF. It opens in your default PDF app, usually Microsoft Edge or Adobe Acrobat Reader.
  2. Press Ctrl+P or click the printer icon.
  3. Choose your printer.
  4. Pick the pages (All, a range like 1-3, or the current page), copies, and Color or Black & White.
  5. Set scaling (see the next section), then click Print.

How to print a PDF on a Mac

  1. Double-click the PDF to open it in Preview.
  2. Press Cmd+P.
  3. Choose the printer, pages and copies. Click Show Details if you only see a short dialog.
  4. Under Scale, choose Scale to Fit or 100%.
  5. Click Print.

Printer not showing up? See How to add a printer to a Mac.

How to print a PDF on iPhone or iPad

  1. Open the PDF in Files, Mail or Safari.
  2. Tap the Share icon (square with an arrow), then Print.
  3. Select an AirPrint printer, set the range and copies, and tap Print.

If no printer appears, see AirPrint not working.

How to print a PDF on Android

  1. Open the PDF in Google Drive, Files or your PDF viewer.
  2. Tap the ⋮ menu, then Print (in Drive, it may be under Share & export).
  3. Choose your printer at the top, adjust settings, and tap the print button.

More phone printing help: How to print from your phone.

How to print a PDF from Chrome or email

Click a PDF link or attachment and it opens in the browser's PDF viewer. Press Ctrl+P / Cmd+P or click the printer icon at the top right of the viewer. This is also a quick workaround when Acrobat refuses to print a file.

Which scaling setting should I use?

Setting Use it for
Actual size / 100% Forms, tax documents, shipping labels, patterns and anything where exact size matters
Fit / Fit to printable area Documents whose edges get cut off. It shrinks the page slightly to fit inside the printer's margins
Shrink oversized pages Mixed documents with some large pages
Multiple / Pages per sheet Handouts or saving paper (2 or 4 pages on one sheet)
Poster / Tile Printing one page large across several sheets. See How to print a poster on multiple pages
Booklet Folded booklets. See How to print a booklet

Edges still cut off? See Printer cutting off edges.

PDF won't print? 8 fixes

  1. Try another PDF app. If Acrobat fails, open the file in Edge, Chrome or Preview and print from there. This solves most one-off problems.
  2. Print as image. In Acrobat Reader, click Advanced in the Print dialog and check Print As Image. It helps with PDFs that have unusual fonts or complex graphics.
  3. Check print permissions. Some PDFs are locked against printing. In Acrobat, open File > Properties > Security. If printing says "Not Allowed," you need an unlocked copy from whoever sent it.
  4. Update Acrobat Reader. Help > Check for updates. Old versions have known print bugs.
  5. Re-save the file. Print the PDF to Microsoft Print to PDF (or Save as PDF on Mac), then print the new copy. That rebuilds a damaged file. See Microsoft Print to PDF.
  6. Print fewer pages at once. Very large PDFs with photos can overwhelm printer memory. Print 10 to 20 pages at a time.
  7. Check the printer itself. If nothing prints from any app, the problem is the printer, not the PDF. See Printer not printing at all and How to restart the print spooler.
  8. Update or reinstall the printer driver. See How to uninstall a printer driver for a clean reinstall.

Common questions

Why does my PDF print blank pages?

Usually a font or graphics problem in the file. Try Print As Image or a different viewer. If other files also print blank, see Printer printing blank pages.

How do I print a PDF in black and white?

In Acrobat, check Print in grayscale (black and white). In other apps, set Color to Black & White. It saves color ink. The reverse problem is covered in How to print in color.

How do I print a PDF double-sided?

Look for Print on both sides of paper (Acrobat) or Two-Sided (Mac). See How to print double-sided.

Why does my PDF print smaller than it should?

"Fit" scaling shrinks the page. Switch to Actual size or 100%.

Keep your printer ready

Running low? Find the right cartridges at Find ink by printer, or shop ink cartridges and toner cartridges.

Related guides

About the author: William Elward is the founder of Castle Ink and has written about printers, ink cartridges, and printing technology for more than 20 years.

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Written and reviewed by — Founder of Castle Ink, 20+ years in the printer & imaging supplies industry.

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