Word telling me "Paper size is different to the Printer page size..!

Question

Word telling me "Paper size is different to the Printer page size..!

Jen Jen 25

New printer setup but now every time I go to Quick Print a docx in Letter size, it tells me

"The paper size of section 1 is different to the printer page size. The paper size options on the Page Layout tab and the Printers dialogue box (in the Control Panel) must match."

Never had that before. If I click on Print Preview & Print, and click print without doing anything, it prints ok with no message and then I can use Quick Print without the stupid popup.

Please tell me how to stop that popup?

I searched google and apparently you can over-ride it in printer preferences but nothing is clear on where this is. I've looked in all my printer settings and as far as I can see, everything says A4.

Thanks for any help!

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4 answers

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Answer 1

Charles Kenyon 166.7K Volunteer Moderator

Do you have A4 or Letter-size in your printer (physically)?

If you want your printer set to Letter size, modify the settings in Windows.

For instance, using my HP printer, this setting is found under Properties for the driver.

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Jen Jen 25 Reputation points

2026-03-17T15:55:04.28+00:00

Yep it already says A4 on Form to Tray Assignment, it also says it on Printer auto Select and Manual Feed, Tray 1 and Tray 2
Charles Kenyon 166.7K Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2026-03-18T18:52:03.2733333+00:00

every time I go to Quick Print a docx in Letter size, it tells me "The paper size of section 1 is different to the printer page size. The paper size options on the Page Layout tab and the Printers dialogue box (in the Control Panel) must match."

Yep it already says A4 on Form to Tray Assignment

You say you want letter size in your question. You need your printer driver also set to letter size.

Answer 2

Jen Jen 25

Thanks for all your help, yes my printer setting and Word is set on A4.

I have never had that message before when I've gone to print a 'Letter' layout that I've received by email. We are talking for years.

And having to go and change the layout just to print, defeats the whole purpose of the Quick Print option surely??

There must be a setting somewhere to ignore the fact that the doc is 'Letter' and print it anyway?

Suzanne S Barnhill 277.1K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator

2026-03-18T01:02:45.28+00:00

Does it help to enable "Scale content for A4 or 8.5 x 11" paper sizes" at File | Options | Advanced: Print? Often this setting creates problems, but it might solve yours.
Nam-D 3,695 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-18T09:05:40.58+00:00
Hello @Jen Jen

Based on the insights shared by Charles Kenyon and Suzanne S. Barnhill, I would like to add a few points that may help clarify the issue:

This behavior is typically caused by a mismatch between the document’s page size and the printer’s paper size. In Word, paper size is stored at the section level, so even if the document appears to be set correctly, one or more sections may still be configured differently.

You can try the following:

Open the document in Word.

Go to Layout > Size and confirm the paper size (e.g., A4).

Press Ctrl + A to select the entire document.

Reapply the correct paper size to ensure it is consistent across all sections.

Additionally, you may also try the following setting:

Go to File > Options > Advanced > Print

Enable “Scale content for A4 or 8.5 x 11” paper sizes

This option allows Word to automatically adjust between A4 and Letter sizes. While it can sometimes cause layout inconsistencies, it may help in cases where the warning is triggered due to paper size differences.

Also note that if the document was originally created on another system (for example, using a different regional default such as Letter size), this mismatch can persist and trigger the warning when using Quick Print.

Since Quick Print uses the default printer settings without prompting, any mismatch between the document and printer configuration may result in this message.
Nam-D 3,695 Reputation points Microsoft External Staff Moderator

2026-03-19T06:20:16.4666667+00:00

Hello @Jen Jen

Please let me know how it goes after trying these steps. Feel free to share more details so we can look into it further.

Answer 3

Good day @Jen Jen

This message usually appears when the paper size configured in the Word document does not match the paper size set in the printer driver. Even if the printer is set to A4, the document itself may still be configured as Letter, which triggers the warning when using Quick Print.

Please try the steps below:

1. Check the paper size in the Word document

Open the document in Word.
Go to the Layout tab.
Select Size.
Make sure the paper size is set to A4 (or the same size your printer is using).

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2. Verify the printer’s default paper size

Close Word.
Open Control Panel > Devices and Printers.
Right-click your printer > Printing preferences.
Look for Paper Size / Document Size.
Confirm it is set to A4.

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3. Save the document after correcting the paper size

After changing the paper size in Word, save the document and try Quick Print again.

If the issue continues, please let us know:

The Word version you are using
The printer model
Whether the issue happens with all documents or only one specific file

This will help narrow down whether the behavior is related to the printer driver or the document settings.

Answer 4

The message appears because Word’s page size for the document section does not match the paper size defined by the printer/driver. Word re‑reads paper settings from the printer driver, and if they differ (for example, document set to Letter but printer default set to A4), it warns about the mismatch.

To stop the popup, the document’s page size and the printer’s paper size must match:

In Word, open the document and go to the Page Layout/Page Setup options.
Set the page size to the same size the printer is using (for example, A4 if the printer is configured for A4).
In Windows, open the printer’s properties from Control Panel → Devices and Printers, and confirm the default paper size matches what is set in Word.
If a specific paper size is not available, add a custom form in Windows and then select that form in Word’s Page Setup dialog.

Because Word reacquires paper settings from the printer driver whenever the printer or driver changes, this behavior is by design and can only be avoided by keeping the document’s page setup and the printer’s paper settings in sync.

References:

The paper source settings or tray settings change when you select a different printer in Word

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Word telling me "Paper size is different to the Printer page size..!

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