How do I print my design at actual size on paper to use as a template?

Why File > Print gives the wrong size

The built-in Print command is not a scale printer. The official documentation states that the printed view is always scaled to exactly fit the selected page size, including margins. Drawings are therefore not printed at actual size and are not spread across multiple pages. Print and Print Preview are meant for a picture of the 2D or 3D view, not for a pattern.

The fix: export a PDF and print that

1. If the part fits on one sheet of paper, make the job (or a spare sheet) the size of your paper. One educator creates a new job at 8.5 x 11 inches, copies only the parts he needs into it, and exports that.
2. Choose File > Export and pick PDF.
3. In the PDF Export form choose Export All or Export Selected Only.
4. Tick the sheets and layers you want. Each sheet becomes its own page in the PDF.
5. Optionally tick Export Job Bounds to add a vector showing the edge of the job. It gives you a known dimension to measure on the printout.
6. Click Export, then open the PDF and print it at full scale. Switch off any fit-to-page or shrink option in your PDF viewer.
7. Measure one known dimension on the paper before trusting it.

What the paper template is good for

• Checking that a design suits a blank before cutting.
• Assembly: the same educator lays small cut letters face up on the printed template, tapes across their faces, flips the whole group, glues and presses it onto the backer, then peels the tape.

Pro tips

• Only vectors are exported. Bitmaps and 3D components do not go into the PDF.
• When you print the 3D view, the shaded background is controlled by Print 3D View Shaded Background under Edit > Options.
• See the entry on views and output for the other export file types.