📏Add Margins to PDF

About this tool

Choose a PDF, pick a preset or enter the top, bottom, left and right margins in millimetres, and choose whether to add space around each page or shrink the content to fit inside the existing page size. Tick mirror to swap the left and right margins on even pages for double-sided binding, then download the new PDF.

Why and how to add margins to a PDF

Documents prepared for screens often have narrow margins, which causes problems when they're printed and bound: text disappears into the spine of a ring binder, hole punches cut through words, and there's no room for handwritten notes or marking. Adding a margin fixes that without going back to the original file. There are two approaches. Adding space keeps the content exactly the same size and makes each page larger, which is ideal when you'll view or print it scaled to fit, or when exact size matters, for example in an architectural drawing. Shrinking the content keeps the paper size the same, so an A4 page stays A4, and scales the page down slightly so it fits inside the new margins; a 10 mm border on A4 reduces the content to about 90% of its original size. For double-sided printing the binding margin needs to be on the left of odd pages and the right of even pages, which is what the mirror option does. Typical choices are 15–20 mm on the inside for ring binding or hole punching and 40–50 mm on the outside for notes. Honest limits: adding space only enlarges each page's boundaries, so text, links and bookmarks are untouched, while shrinking rescales the page content, so check links and form fields in complex files afterwards; enlarged pages need scaling to print on standard paper. Processed on your device. The PDF crop tool removes margins, the fit to page tool standardises paper sizes and the booklet maker prepares documents for folding.

Frequently asked questions