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

Question

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!

Answer 1

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.

Answer 2

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?

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

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

2. Verify the printer’s default paper size

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

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:

1. In Word, open the document and go to the Page Layout/Page Setup options.
2. Set the page size to the same size the printer is using (for example, A4 if the printer is configured for A4).
3. 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.
4. 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.

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References:

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