What Are the Standard Margin Settings for Printers?

Default page margins define the perimeter whitespace in a document.

Your computer, its peripherals and all the software you install comes with factory or developer default settings. Among these are default settings – also called factory settings – for margins. With a physical printer, default margin settings depend on the limitations of the equipment, while default margin settings in a software program usually relate to standard paper sizes. Because the two most often differ, knowing the default margin settings for your printer can prevent a host of problems and make printing documents easier.

The Facts

Margins define the printable area of a page and set whitespace along the left and right side of a page, as well as on its top and bottom. However, while the definition of a margin is something on which printer manufacturers and software developers may agree, their perspective is different. The default margins on a physical printer are the largest possible area you can use for printing and are most often, not adjustable. In contrast, easy to customize default print margins in software programs correspond to page orientation and standard margin settings for standard sizes of paper.

Identification

The most common default printer margin is a one-inch margin around the perimeter of the page. If you want to confirm this and your user manual does not specify the default margin settings, an alternative is to print a test page in both portrait and landscape orientation, just as you do after changing an ink or toner cartridge. The pages will print using the default margin settings, requiring only that you measure the margins to confirm the settings your printer uses. The default printer settings for a software program are often in a Page Layout tab, but specific instructions depends on the program. With Microsoft Office software, for example, the Page Layout tab on the Ribbon has a margins dropdown that shows you how many default margin options are available as well as their setting.

Recommendation

Printer manufacturers intentionally set default margins to accommodate a variety of paper sizes and default software printing margin settings. Because of this, sticking with the default settings for both your printer and software program is a good way to prevent printing problems and their resulting error messages. For example, “The margins of your page or section are set outside the printable area of the page” is a common error that occurs when you adjust the default margin in a software program to accommodate a custom page and your new margins go beyond the printable area your printer will permit.

Considerations

If you must adjust default printer margin settings, check your software program to see if it has a View page Margins feature that allows you to ensure the new margins lay within the default boundaries your printer allows. For example, the Page Layout tab in Microsoft Word has a Margins option in the Page Setup Group. Selecting Margins:Mirroring shows you how the margins in your document fit in the default margins of the printer you are using.

References

• TechTerms.com: Default
• Microsoft Office: Change or Set Page Margins
• PrintCountry.com: How Can I Adjust the Margin on My Printer?
• Microsoft Support: You Receive a Margin Placement Error Message When You Print a Document In Word