How to print coloring pages so the lines come out clean
Paper size, scale, ink and paper weight: four settings that decide whether a coloring page prints crisp or gray, plus when to pick the PDF or the PNG.
Coloring pages are simple to print, but a few settings make the difference between crisp black lines and a gray page with the edges cut off.
Match the paper size
Download the page in the size of the paper in your printer: A4 in most of the world, US Letter in the US, Canada and Mexico. Coloring Parade picks a size from your browser language, and you can change it on any page or set a default in your account.
Print at 100% scale
In the print dialog, choose Actual size or 100% instead of Fit to page. Fit to page shrinks the drawing slightly and can leave uneven margins.
Use black ink only
Set the printer to Grayscale or Black and white. Line art has no color, so this saves your color cartridges and keeps the lines pure black.
Choose the paper for the tool
- Plain 80 g/m² (20 lb) paper for crayons and colored pencils
- 120 g/m² (32 lb) paper for markers, so ink doesn’t bleed through
- Card stock for pages you will cut out or hang on the wall
PDF or PNG?
Use the PDF when you print, because it keeps the page at the exact paper size. Use the PNG when you want to put the picture into a worksheet, a slide or a party invitation.
