How to print a papercraft template at true scale.
One setting decides whether your helmet fits your head. Here it is, plus how to prove it before you cut anything.
Short answer
- Print scale
- 100% or Actual size, never fit-to-page
- Paper
- Match the tray to the sheet size you chose
- Check
- Measure the ruler printed on every sheet
- Resize
- Change the target size in the studio, not in the printer
Five steps to a 1:1 print
- 1
Set the finished size before you export
In the studio, type the real height, width or depth you want the finished model to be, in millimeters or inches. Everything downstream follows this number.
- 2
Export the PDF rather than an image
PDF carries the page size and the true dimensions of every piece. Screenshots and images do not.
- 3
Turn off fit-to-page in the print dialog
Choose 100%, Actual size, or Custom scale 100%. Fit-to-page and shrink-to-fit both shrink the sheet by a few percent and every piece with it.
- 4
Match the paper size
The sheet size in the studio, US Letter, A4, A3, Tabloid or custom, has to match the paper in the tray. Printing an A4 layout on Letter forces rescaling.
- 5
Print one page and measure the ruler
Every sheet carries a ruler in millimeters, centimeters and inches. Measure it with a real ruler. If 100 mm reads 100 mm, print the rest.
Why did my papercraft print come out too small?
Almost always fit-to-page or shrink-to-fit in the print dialog, which scales a sheet down by roughly 3 to 6 percent. Set the scale to 100% or Actual size and reprint.
How do I check a template printed at the right scale?
Measure the ruler printed on the sheet with a real ruler. If 100 mm on the page measures 100 mm, the whole template is 1:1.
Can I print a template at half size?
Yes, but change the target size in the studio rather than the printer scale, so the ruler and the piece labels stay truthful.
Does paper thickness change the size?
Slightly. Thick card adds a fraction of a millimeter at every fold, which is invisible on a small model and worth a test piece on a large wearable one.
Try it with your own model
Nothing to install. Drop in a model and see your first template in seconds.
Open the studio