How to print your own planner

To print your own planner, set up one PDF of single pages in order, print it double-sided and bind it with a coil. One copy is easy to make at home. For 10 or more identical planners, a print shop is faster and the pages come out cleaner.

1. Choose a size

The size decides how much you can write and where the planner will live.

Most short-run planners are 5.5 x 8.5. Teachers and elementary schools usually prefer 8.5 x 11.

2. Plan the pages

A year of weekly spreads takes about 106 pages on its own: 53 weeks at 2 pages each. Add the rest, and a full planner lands around 136 pages.

A monthly-only planner needs far fewer: a title page, a year at a glance, 24 monthly pages and a few notes pages come to 32.

Dated or undated?

• Dated pages have every date printed. They are easier to use but start on a fixed month.
• Undated pages have blank month and week lines. They can start any time and never go out of date.
• Academic planners run August to July, with weeks starting on Monday.

Leave room for your own pages

Plan a few pages for what you look up most: contacts, a schedule, goals or a reading plan. In our planners, up to 4 of your pages replace notes pages.

3. Pick the paper and binding

• Interior paper: 70 lb text is a sturdy writing paper, about as heavy as 28 lb bond. Everyday copy paper is lighter, and ink can show through.
• Covers: 80 lb cover stock, plus a clear plastic sheet on the front if the planner will travel.
• Binding: a plastic coil lets the planner open flat and fold back. That matters when you write in it every day. Staples work for short planners of about 32 pages or fewer.

4. Set up the PDF

Set up the interior as one PDF and the cover as another.

1. Single pages, in reading order. Page 1 is the title page. Do not lay out spreads or printer's pairs.
2. The right page size. Use 5.5 x 8.5 in or 8.5 x 11 in. Add 0.125 in of bleed on every side only if something runs to the edge.
3. An even page count. Every sheet has a front and a back, so add a blank or notes page if you need one.
4. A 0.5 in coil margin. Keep text out of the 0.5 in band on the binding edge. That is the left side of right-hand pages and the right side of left-hand pages.
5. Black-and-white art. Planner interiors usually print in black and white, so check that shading and colored text still read in gray.
6. A separate cover. Make the front cover one page at the trim size plus 0.125 in of bleed on each side.

Export a PDF with fonts embedded, then page through it once from start to finish before you print or upload.

5. Start from free pages

Our free interiors are the same files we print, so you can print one at home or check them before ordering:

• 2027 weekly planner interior, 5.5 x 8.5 in (136 pages) (PDF)
• Undated weekly planner interior, 5.5 x 8.5 in (136 pages) (PDF)
• 2027 weekly planner interior, 8.5 x 11 in (PDF)
• 2027-28 teacher lesson planner interior, 8.5 x 11 in (PDF)
• 2027 monthly planner interior, 5.5 x 8.5 in (32 pages) (PDF)

The cover guides mark the bleed, safe area and coil zone: Planner cover guide, 5.5 x 8.5 in (PDF) and Planner cover guide, 8.5 x 11 in (PDF).

6. Print at home or order from a print shop

At home: fine for one copy

1. Print a test sheet double-sided to check that the backs line up.
2. Print the whole interior double-sided. For a 5.5 x 8.5 planner, use half-letter paper if your printer takes it, or print each page centered on letter paper and trim.
3. Print the cover on cardstock.
4. Punch and coil-bind it, or take the stack to a print shop to bind.

A 136-page planner is 68 sheets, so a home printer will take a while and use a lot of toner. For one personal planner, that is a fair trade.

From us: 10 or more copies

We print the interior, the full-color cover and a clear plastic front, then bind it with a coil.

Choose our interior and add your cover and pages. Or upload your own planner PDF; if it has a different page count from ours, request a quote. For a lined journal instead of a planner, see the coil journal.

You get a digital proof the same business day we receive a complete file, and nothing prints until you approve it.

Questions

Printed and shipped by Charlotte Print in Charlotte, North Carolina.