A practical guide to printing, trimming, punching, and assembling your own planner pages.
There is something satisfying about building a planner that feels entirely your own. Printing your own inserts gives you flexibility over paper, layout, and how you organize your year. Here's how to get started.
1. Choose your planner size
A5 measures 148 × 210 mm (approximately 5.83 × 8.27 inches). Check whether your files are A5-ready or laid out for US Letter printing and trimming. These are different workflows: always follow the instructions supplied with your specific printable.
2. Select your paper
Ordinary printer paper is fine for testing. For finished inserts, choose paper compatible with your printer and preferred pens. Test for bleed-through, show-through, and ink drying before printing a full year.
3. Check the print settings
For A5-ready pages, use actual size (100%) unless the product instructions specify otherwise. Avoid automatic “Fit to page” scaling when exact dimensions matter.
For double-sided printing, test the duplex orientation and flip setting on a small sample. The correct setting depends on the file's page layout and your printer.
4. Print a complete test spread
Check margins, scale, page orientation, front/back alignment, facing-page order, and space for ring holes. A short test prevents wasting a full stack of paper.
5. Trim your pages
If your printable is designed for trimming, a paper cutter can make cleaner and more consistent edges. Follow the file's cutting instructions: not every US Letter planner uses the same imposition or assembly method.
6. Punch and assemble
Use a hole punch matched to your binder's ring count and spacing. Punch one test page first, confirm it turns freely without covering content, and then assemble pages in their intended order.
7. Make it yours
Add dividers, bookmarks, or tabs that make your system comfortable to use. A useful planner is one you want to return to—not one that has to look perfect.
A planner for planning and remembering
The Familiar Daybook 2027 combines annual, quarterly, monthly, weekly, and daily planning with room for reflection and memory keeping. Explore the printable system and choose the format that suits your home-printing setup.
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