Click the Layers icon 
in the Navigation panel. If the Layers icon is not visible, do one of the following:
- Choose View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Layers.
- Right-click in the left pane, and choose Layers.
Last updated on
Nov 23, 2023
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Also applies to Adobe Acrobat, Adobe Acrobat 2017
Note:
If you are facing issues printing single-side or double-side on Mac, see Unable to print double-side or single-side in Acrobat on Mac
Common printing tasks
Print on both sides of the paper
You can print double-sided if your printer supports double-sided (duplex printing) feature.
Note: Double-sided printing is also called duplex, back to back, front and back, or two-sided printing.
The printer driver controls the options, not Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader. Check your printer documentation to see what features your printer supports.
- In the Print dialog box, enable Print on both sides of paper, and choose an edge to Flip.
Note:
There could be a scenario when a printer actually supports duplex and this option does not appear on Print dialog. In such cases, you may click on printer properties to directly access this option from printer preferences.
Print in black and white
You can print a color PDF in shades of gray (also known as grayscale or composite gray).
- In the Print dialog box, enable Print In Grayscale (Black And White).
Print at a different size
You can scale the page to shrink or enlarge pages when you print. You can automatically scale to fit the paper or manually scale by percentages
- In the Print dialog box, click Size and then specify the scaling options.
Fit Reduces or enlarges each page to fit the printable area of the currently selected paper size. For PostScript® printers, the PPD determines the printable area of the paper.
Actual Size Prints the pages without scaling. Pages or selections that don’t fit on the paper are cropped. You can set this option as the default using the None print preset. See Create print presets.
Shrink Oversize Pages Shrinks large pages to fit the currently selected paper size but doesn’t enlarge small pages. If an area is selected and is larger than the printable area of the currently selected paper, it’s scaled to fit the printable area. This option is always active during N-up printing. You can set this option as the default using the Default print preset. See Create print presets.
Custom Scale Resizes the page by the percentage you specify.
Choose Paper Source By PDF Page Size (Windows) Uses the PDF page size to determine the output tray rather than the page setup option. This option is useful for printing PDFs that contain multiple page sizes on printers that have different-sized output trays.
Print posters and banners
You can print a large format document, such as a poster or banner, by splitting the page across multiple sheets of paper (called "tiling"). The Poster option calculates how many sheets of paper are needed. You can adjust the size of the original to best fit the paper and specify how much each "tile" overlaps. You can then piece together the tiles.
- In the Print dialog box, click Poster and then specify the tiling options.
Tile Scale Scales the pages by the amount you specify.
Overlap Determines the amount each tile overlaps adjacent tiles.
Cut Marks Adds guide marks to each page to help you trim the overlap.
Labels Adds the filename and page number on each "tile."
Tile Only Large Pages Applies tiling to pages that are larger than the selected paper size at the specified scale. These pages are mapped to multiple sheets of paper.
Print multiple pages on a sheet
You can print more than one page of a PDF onto a single sheet of paper. Printing multiple pages per sheet is also called n-up printing (such as 2-up or 6-up). You can specify how the pages are ordered, either horizontally across the page or in vertical columns.
Pages Per Sheet Prints a predefined number of pages, or a custom number (up to 99), horizontally and vertically. If you select a predefined number from the menu, Acrobat automatically selects the best paper orientation.
Page Order Defines how the pages are ordered on paper. Horizontal places pages from left to right, top to bottom. Horizontal Reversed places pages from right to left, top to bottom. Vertical places pages top to bottom, left to right. Vertical Reversed places pages top to bottom, right to left. Both reversed options are suitable for Asian-language documents.
Print Page Border Prints the crop box (the page boundary of PDF pages).
Note: Printing multiple pages per sheet in Acrobat is independent of the N-up printing features of printer drivers. The Acrobat print settings don’t reflect the N-up settings of the printer drivers. Select the multple pages options either in Acrobat or in the printer driver, but not both.
Print booklets
You can print a multipage document as a booklet. The pages are laid out two per sheet. When you collate, fold, and staple the double-sided sheets, the result is a single book with the correct page order.
- In the Print dialog box, click Booklet and then specify the booklet options.
For more information, see Print Booklets and PDF Portfolios.
Print comments
You can print comments either in a summary list or in place (like sticky notes on a page).
Do one of the following:
Summary — In the Comments and Forms area, click Summarize Comments.
Drawing Markups — In the Comments and Forms area, choose Document And Markups.
Comments on the page - Follow these steps:
- Open the Preferences dialog box, click Comments category on the left, and select Print Notes And Pop-Ups.
- Deselect Hide Comment Pop-ups When Comment List Is Open.
- Open the pop-up comments that you want to print.
- Adjust their placement on the page so that they don't overlap or spill off the page.
- Click the Print tool icon
. - In the Comments and Forms area, choose Document And Markups.
Print a portion of a page
You can print a portion of a page in a PDF. Use the Snapshot Tool (Edit > Take a Snapshot) to select just the area you want to print. The area can be text, graphics, or both. You can print the selected area full size or resize it to fit the paper.
- Choose Edit > Take a Snapshot
- Draw a rectangle to select a portion of a page
- Choose File > Print
- In the Print dialog box, click Selected graphic.
Print to file
You can create a device-dependent PostScript file of a document. The resulting file contains code for enabling and controlling specific device features, making it less compatible with devices other than the target device. For better results when creating PostScript files, use Save As Other > More Options > PostScript.
- Click the Advanced button, select Print To File, then click OK.
Options in the Print dialog box
Most options in the Acrobat Print dialog box are the same as other applications. However, some options vary depending on the printer and what you've selected to print.
Comments & Forms
The Comments & Forms options control which visible content prints.
Document
Prints the document contents and form fields.
Document And Markups
Prints document contents, form fields, and comments.
Document And Stamps
Prints the document, form fields, and stamps, but no other markups, such as note comments and pencil lines.
Form Fields Only
Prints interactive form fields but doesn’t print document contents.
Summarize Comments
Creates a separate, printable PDF of the comments in a document. This option is unavailable when you print from a web browser or print multiple documents in PDF Portfolios.
Pages to Print
The Pages To Print options specify the pages or range of pages to print.
Current Page
Prints the page that is visible in the current view.
Pages
Specifies the range of pages to print. Use a hyphen to separate numbers in a range. Use a comma to separate individual pages or ranges (for example, 6, 10-31, 42). How you specify the numbers depends on the Page Display preference. If Use Logical Page Numbers is selected, you enter numbers that match the numbering on the pages. For example, if the first page of a document is numbered iii, you enter iii to print that page.
Note:
To print from a specific page to the end of the document, enter the page with a hyphen. For example, “11-” prints page 11 to the last page of the document.
More Options
Displays additional options to control which pages print.
Current View/Selected Graphic
(Click More Options under Pages To Print.) Prints the area currently visible, the selected pages, or the text and graphics copied with the Snapshot tool. The option name changes depending on if you have selected pages or used the Snapshot tool.
Odd Or Even Pages
Choose which pages to print: All Pages In Range, Odd Pages Only, or Even Pages Only. For example, if you set the range to 2, 7–10 and choose Even Pages Only, only pages 2, 8, and 10 print.
Reverse Pages
Prints pages in reverse order. If page ranges are entered, the pages print opposite of the order in which they were entered. For example, if the Pages box shows 3–5, 7–10, selecting Reverse Pages prints pages 10–7, and then 5–3.
Orientation
Auto Portrait/Landscape
Automatically selects the page orientation that best matches the content and paper. For example, a spreadsheet could print horizontally, while a newsletter could print vertically. The Auto-Portait/Landscape option overrides the orientation selected in Page Setup.
Additional resources
For more information on printing, see the forums on printing and prepress.
Print Layers
Normally, when you print a PDF that contains layers, just the content that is visible onscreen is printed. However, the creator of a layered PDF can control what prints, regardless of its visibility onscreen. The PDF creator can require that watermarks print or prevent the printing of confidential information. If the document is designed to print differently from how it currently appears onscreen, a message may appear in the Print dialog box. The Preview image in the Print dialog box always shows the page as it will print.
Note:
To work with layers in Acrobat, convert the source document to PDF using a preset that preserves layers, such as Acrobat 6 (PDF 1.5) or later.
View how layers print
-
-
Choose Apply Print Overrides from the Options menu.
Note:Depending on the visibility settings specified when the PDF was created, Apply Print Overrides may be unavailable in the Options menu.
Change print settings for a layer
-
Click the Layers icon
in the navigation panel. (If the Layers icon is not visible, choose View > Show/Hide > Navigation Panes > Layers.) -
Expand the Layers area, select a layer, and then select Layer Properties from the Options menu
. -
In the Layer Properties dialog box, choose one of the following from the Print pop-up menu:
Always Prints
Forces the layer to print.
Never Prints
Forces the layer not to print.
Prints When Visible
Matches printed output to onscreen visibility.
Note:In Reader, you can open the Layer Properties dialog box, but you cannot change the settings.
A PDF can contain a set of print presets, a group of document-specific values that is used to set basic print options. By creating a print preset for a document, you can avoid manually setting certain options in the Print dialog box each time you print the document. It’s best to define print settings for a PDF at the time that you create it. However, print presets provide a means to add basic print settings to a PDF at any time.
-
Choose File > Properties, and click the Advanced tab.
-
In the Print Dialog Presets section, set options and click OK.
The next time you open the Print dialog box, the values will be set to the print preset values. These settings are also used when you print individual PDFs in a PDF Portfolio.
Note:
To retain a print preset for a PDF, save the PDF after creating the print preset.
Print Dialog Presets
Page Scaling
Prepopulates the Page Scaling menu in the Print dialog box with the option you choose:
Default
Uses the application default setting, which is Shrink To Printable Area.
None
Prevents automatic scaling to fit the printable area. Use this setting to preserve the scale in engineering documents or the point size required for legal reasons.
Note:
The Page Scaling menu in the Print dialog box shows additional options, but you cannot prepopulate the dialog box with any of those options. Choose one of those options when you print.
DuplexMode
For best results, the selected printer should support duplex printing if you select a duplex option.
Simplex
Prints on one side of the paper.
Duplex Flip Long Edge
Prints on both sides of the paper; the paper flips along the long edge.
Duplex Flip Short Edge
Prints on both sides of the paper; the paper flips along the short edge.
Paper Source By Page Size
Selects the option by the same name in the Print dialog box. Uses the PDF page size to determine the output tray rather than the page setup option. This option is useful for printing PDFs that contain multiple page sizes on printers that have different-sized output trays.
Print Page Range
Prepopulates the Pages box in the Print Range section of the Print dialog box with the page ranges you enter here. This setting is useful in a workflow where documents include both instruction pages and legal pages. For example, if pages 1–2 represent instructions for filling out a form, you can set up your print job to print only the form.
Number Of Copies
Prepopulates the Copies box in the Print dialog box. Choose a number from 2 to 5, or choose Default to use the application default, which is one copy. This limitation prevents multiple unwanted copies from being printed.
Why can’t I print my document?
Start with these troubleshooting tips
Printing problems can have various causes. To identify the issue, start with this helpful TechNote: Troubleshoot PDF printing | Acrobat, Reader.
The PDF is password protected, and printing is not allowed
If you receive a password-protected PDF, enter the designated password to print the document. Some protected documents have restrictions that prevent you from printing, editing, or copying content in the document. If a document has restrictions on printing, contact the PDF author.
(Windows only) Protected Mode is interfering
The default Protected Mode greatly enhances the security of Reader. To determine if Protected Mode is interfering with printing, temporarily disable it: Right-click the document, and choose Page Display Preferences. Then click General on the left, and deselect Enable Protected Mode At Startup. Close Reader, restart it, and try to print the document again.
Note:
To ensure maximum security, when you finish printing, reselect Enable Protected Mode At Startup.
What should I do if Acrobat Reader is asking to save a file when a document is printed?
If Adobe Reader is prompting you to save a file when you click Print, then click Advanced in the Print dialog and deselect the Print to File option.
Note:
- Make sure have selected a physical printer to print to and not Adobe PDFXPS/Send note or any other virtual printer.
- The Print to File option was available on the Print dialog itself until Acrobat 10.X versions.
What should I do to print comments available on the PDF document?
There are certain annotations (example: pop-up notes) which are available on the PDF document and the annotations do not print by default unless you want them to be printed.
This has been intentionally designed so that such annotations do not hinder the view of the content available behind them.
However, there may be cases when you do want them to be printed. To print the pop-up notes and other annotations:
- Go to Edit > Preferences.
- Click Commenting.
- Enable the option "Print notes and pop-ups."
Acrobat Reader crashes on printing / Acrobat Reader does not Print after clicking Print button
This could happen due to an Adobe Acrobat installation file corruption. In order to resolve this issue, ensure you are using the latest version of Adobe Reader/ Acrobat application.
If you are seeing this issue with the latest version:
- Uninstall the Acrobat Reader using the Acrobat cleaner utility.
- Re-install Adobe Reader.
