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I want to print a PDF file with all pages scaled down equally (to, say, 70 %). The scaled-down pages should then be left-aligned on the printing paper.

This doesn't seem to be possible with lpr alone. With pdfjam I can scale the pages (--scale 0.7) but I don't know/see any option to align the scaled pages. A negative offset (like --offset '-3cm 0cm') doesn't work.

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  • Negative pdfjam offset works for me. There may be something special about your PDF file or you did something wrong. Commented Jul 27, 2014 at 17:37
  • very strange, --offset "-5cm 0cm" does nothing, -9.5m 0cm does nothing either, but -10cm 0cm —— BANG 10 cm offset. what the hell? also: the content is then off-page. I think I need to change the paper size or something like that? Commented Jul 27, 2014 at 17:51
  • What page size is the file? Providing a example file may also help. Commented Jul 27, 2014 at 18:14
  • The original page size is A4 (din a4) and I also want to print it on A4. So for testing purposes any A4 pdf file will work, really. Or actually any standard-sized pdf, given I want to print pdf with $pagesize out with $pagesize, just transformed like described: scaled down, and aligned to the left. Commented Jul 27, 2014 at 18:21

2 Answers 2

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Ok, got it. The key to success is to explicitly specify paper size.

For example, if the original PDF has DIN A4 page size, then

pdfjam --a4paper --scale 0.5 --offset "-7cm 0cm" -- inputfiles

does the trick. I'm not sure why -x with x<10 didn't work before.

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  • I believe the offsets not working might have been due to automatic margin-trimming being enabled in my PDF reader (e.g. in Okular View->Trim View->[x] Trim Margins). Commented Jul 4, 2018 at 20:12
  • Where did you find documentation on this? I can't find this answer by searching for scaling pdf on linux command line. Commented Jun 3, 2020 at 2:23
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Do not try to scale.

E.g. Firefox' Print menu will scale to fit width even though you gave explicit scaling instructions. This is also true for other tools.

Set custom margins instead.

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    As it’s currently written, your answer is unclear. Please edit to add additional details that will help others understand how this addresses the question asked. You can find more information on how to write good answers in the help center. Commented Oct 19 at 20:37

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