Printing tips
Everything here applies to every pack in the store. None of it is complicated — but a couple of these settings are the difference between a chart that fits your binder and one that comes out 6% too small with the edges clipped.
The short version
- Print from the PDF, not from a browser preview.
- Set scaling to 100% or Actual Size — never "Fit to Page" or "Shrink to Fit".
- Paper size: US Letter (8.5 × 11 in).
- Test-print one page before you print the set.
1. Scale and paper size
Print at 100% or Actual Size on US Letter paper. Every page is laid out for Letter with margins that clear a three-hole punch.
"Fit to Page" and "Shrink to Fit" are usually on by default, and they scale the page down slightly to match your printer's unprintable edge. The result looks fine on its own, but write-in boxes end up narrower than the pen you're holding, and pages printed on different days don't line up in the same binder. Turn it off once and your printer will remember.
If your printer is loaded with A4 — common outside North America — choose "Fit to printable area" for that print run only, and accept that the result is a few millimetres smaller. Don't mix Letter and A4 prints in the same binder.
Print from the PDF in a PDF reader. Printing from a browser's built-in preview, or from a phone's share sheet, can re-scale the page or add its own headers and footers.
2. Colour, black and white, and ink
For full-colour printing, use the included printable PDF as-is.
For black-and-white printing, select Grayscale, Black & White, or Monochrome in your printer or PDF print dialog. You don't need a separate colourless file — the pages are designed to stay readable without colour, and the shaded rows still separate cleanly in grey.
If you're printing a full set on an inkjet, "Draft" or "Economy" quality is usually enough for pages you'll write on, and roughly halves the ink. Keep standard quality for the cover and anything you'll hand to a substitute.
3. Test-print first
Print a single page before committing to the whole set. You're checking four things:
- Margins — nothing clipped at the edges, and the left margin clears your hole punch.
- Contrast — shaded rows and rule lines are visible, not washed out or filled in.
- Line visibility — the write-in lines are dark enough to follow at 5:40 in the morning.
- Scale — measure the page border against a ruler if you're unsure; at 100% it should be identical on every reprint.
Cheap printers vary more than cheap paper does. It's worth doing this once per printer, not once per pack.
4. Paper choices
Ordinary 20 lb / 75 gsm copy paper is fine for pages you'll replace often — daily logs, route notes, weekly reviews.
Use heavier paper or cardstock for the cover and for reference pages you handle constantly: the binder cover and contents, the substitute quick guide, the emergency information page, the rider safety poster. Those live at the front of the binder and take the most wear.
Check your printer's manual before feeding cardstock — most home printers top out around 65 lb / 176 gsm, and many need it fed from the rear or manual tray rather than the main cassette.
5. Binders, sheet protectors and dry-erase
Seating charts and route pages work best in a sheet protector: fill them in with dry-erase marker and wipe them clean when the roster changes, instead of reprinting. Cardstock behind the sheet gives you something firm to write against on a moving bus.
A one-inch three-ring binder holds the full 31-page package comfortably with room for a term's worth of logs. Tabbed dividers between sections — route, riders, substitute, logs — make it usable one-handed.
Double-sided printing saves paper, but print single-sided anything you'll swap out on its own, like the daily log pages. Pages you replace individually shouldn't share a sheet with pages you keep.
Lamination works well for the safety poster and the emergency information page. Don't laminate anything you write on with pen, and don't laminate anything holding student information — you can't shred it properly afterwards.
6. Editing before you print
Every pack includes an editable PowerPoint (.pptx) source alongside the PDF, so you can add your district's name, your bus number, or a stop that isn't on the standard sheet. The binder package also includes a short guide to importing the file into Canva if you'd rather edit there.
Two things to watch when you edit: if a font isn't installed on your machine, your editor will substitute one and the spacing will shift — check the page before printing. And export back to PDF before printing rather than printing from the editor directly, which is where most scaling surprises come from.
7. Pages with student information on them
Once you fill in a seating chart or a roster, that sheet holds student names, stops, and sometimes medical or behavioural notes. Treat printed copies the way your district treats any student record.
- Keep completed pages in a secure section of the binder, or stored separately, according to your employer's policy.
- Don't leave filled-in charts on the bus overnight or visible through a window.
- Shred rather than recycle when a page is replaced or the year ends.
- Print only as many copies as you actually need — every extra copy is another one to account for.
These pages are a planning aid, not an official record. Your employer's forms, systems and retention rules come first. See the product license for the full terms.
Something not printing right?
If a page comes out clipped, blurry, or the wrong size after you've checked the scale setting, email support@routesandburrows.ca and say which pack and which page. Your download link doesn't expire, so you can always re-download the original files from the email we sent you.