How to Print Word Documents on Custom Paper Sizes Without Driver Changes

Printing a Word document on a custom paper size like a 4×6 index card, a 5×7 envelope, or a 9×12 booklet often forces you to edit printer driver settings. That approach is slow and can reset after each print job. The problem is that Word and the printer driver do not always agree on available paper sizes. This article explains how to use Word’s built-in Page Setup and printer properties to print any custom size without permanently altering your driver.

How Word and Printer Drivers Handle Paper Sizes

Word stores paper size information inside the document itself. When you open a document, Word reads the paper size from the page layout settings. It then sends that size to the printer driver along with the print job. The printer driver must support the requested size, or the job fails or gets scaled to a default size.

Most consumer printers support only a fixed list of sizes such as Letter, Legal, A4, and a few envelopes. Custom sizes like 4×6 or 6×9 are often missing from the driver’s drop-down menu. Changing the driver permanently adds a custom size entry that stays even after you close Word. That can cause problems when other applications try to print with a different default size.

The solution is to define the custom size in Word’s Page Setup dialog and then temporarily create a matching size in the driver’s advanced properties. The driver change applies only to the current print job, not to every future print. This method works on Windows 10 and Windows 11 with any printer that supports custom sizes.

Steps to Define a Custom Paper Size in Word and Print Without Permanent Driver Changes

Follow these steps to set up a custom paper size in Word and print it without modifying your printer’s default driver configuration. Perform steps 1 through 4 in Word, then steps 5 through 10 in the Print dialog.

1. Open the document and go to Layout
   With your document open, click the Layout tab on the ribbon. This tab contains all page setup options including margins, orientation, and paper size.
2. Click Size then More Paper Sizes
   In the Page Setup group, click Size. A drop-down list of common paper sizes appears. At the bottom of that list, click More Paper Sizes. The Page Setup dialog opens with the Paper tab selected.
3. Type your custom width and height
   In the Paper size section, find the Width and Height boxes. Clear the existing values and type your desired dimensions. For example, for a 4×6 index card type 4 in Width and 6 in Height. Make sure the unit matches your region (inches or millimeters).
4. Click OK to save the custom size in the document
   After typing the dimensions, click OK. Word now stores this paper size inside the document. You can close the Page Setup dialog. The document will display with the new dimensions on screen.
5. Open the Print dialog with Ctrl+P
   Press Ctrl+P to open the Print dialog. Alternatively, click File then Print. The Print dialog shows a preview of your document and a list of print settings.
6. Click Printer Properties
   Below the printer name, click Printer Properties. This opens a separate dialog owned by your printer driver. The exact name and layout vary by printer manufacturer, but the options are similar.
7. Find the Paper/Quality tab or Advanced button
   In the printer properties dialog, look for a tab labeled Paper/Quality or a button labeled Advanced. Click that tab or button. You will see a list of paper sizes and a paper source drop-down.
8. Create a custom paper size in the driver
   Look for a button named Custom, New Size, or Add Custom Size. On HP printers it is often under Advanced > Paper Size > Custom. On Brother printers it is under Basic Options > Paper Size > User Defined. Click that button. Type the exact width and height you used in Word. Give the custom size a name like “MyCustom4x6”. Click OK to save it.
9. Select the custom size and close printer properties
   In the paper size list, scroll to find the custom size you just created. Select it. Click OK to close the printer properties dialog. The Print dialog now shows your custom size in the preview.
10. Click Print
    Review the preview to ensure the document fits correctly. Click the Print button. Word sends the job with the custom size instruction. The printer uses the custom size for this job only. The next time you print, the driver reverts to its default size list.

If Word Still Prints on the Wrong Paper Size or Crops Content

Word scales the content to fit a default size instead of using your custom size

This happens when the printer driver does not accept the custom size you created. Some drivers require the custom size to be defined in a specific unit such as millimeters. Reopen the printer properties and check the unit setting. If you typed inches but the driver expects millimeters, convert the values. For example, 4 inches equals 101.6 millimeters. Also ensure the custom size is saved in the driver’s Advanced section, not just in the Page Setup dialog.

The printer ignores the custom size and pulls paper from the wrong tray

Many printers have multiple trays and each tray supports a specific range of paper sizes. If the custom size you defined does not match any tray’s supported range, the printer defaults to a tray with Letter or A4. To fix this, open the printer properties and go to the Paper/Quality tab. Under Paper Source, select the tray that physically holds your custom paper. Then create the custom size as described in step 8. This tells the driver exactly which tray to use.

The custom size disappears from the driver after you close the print dialog

This is expected behavior. The method described in this article creates a temporary custom size that exists only for the current print job. That is how you avoid permanent driver changes. If you need the same custom size repeatedly, you can save it in the driver permanently, but that is not required for occasional use. For repeated use, create a Word document template with the custom size already set in Page Setup. Then each time you print from that template, you only need to add the temporary driver size in the Print dialog.

Word Custom Paper Size Methods: Document vs Driver Temporary vs Driver Permanent

Item	Document Page Setup	Temporary Driver Custom Size	Permanent Driver Custom Size
Where defined	Layout > Size > More Paper Sizes	Printer Properties > Advanced > Custom Size	Printer Properties > Preferences > Custom Size
Persistence	Saved in the document	Exists only for the current print job	Remains in driver until manually deleted
Effect on other apps	None	None	Changes default size for all apps
Steps required per print	Set once in document	Create custom size each time	Select from list each time
Best for	Documents that always use the same custom size	Occasional one-off custom sizes	Frequent same-size jobs on shared printers

Now you can print Word documents on custom paper sizes without permanently changing your printer driver. Start by setting the size in Page Setup in your document. Then create a matching temporary size in the printer properties dialog during the print job. This approach keeps your driver clean and avoids conflicts with other applications. For repeated use of the same custom size, consider saving the document as a template so you only need to add the temporary driver size once per print session.