How to print colouring pages

Every picture on this site is drawn as lines, not as a photograph, so it prints sharply at any size and uses very little ink. These steps give a clean page first time.

From a computer

Open the picture you want and press Print the blank page. The print window of your browser opens.
Choose your printer, paper size A4 and layout Portrait (upright).
Open "More settings". Set Scale to Default or Fit to page, and untick Headers and footers, so that the date and web address are not printed in the corners.
Print one copy and look at it before printing a set for a class.

Only the picture, a line for the child's name and a small site address at the bottom are printed. Menus, buttons and text are left out automatically.

From a phone or tablet

If your printer is on the same Wi-Fi network, the steps are the same: press the print button on the picture page and choose the printer. On Android this uses the phone's print service; on an iPhone or iPad it uses AirPrint. If the phone does not find the printer, choose Save as PDF instead, and send the PDF to a computer or a print shop by WhatsApp or email.

Without a printer at home

Print shop or cyber cafe. Save the page as a PDF, or use the Download button to save the picture file, and carry it on your phone. A black-and-white A4 print is the cheapest kind of print there is.
Colour on the screen. Tap a colour, then a part of the picture. No paper needed.
Trace it. Open the picture on a tablet at full brightness, lay thin paper over the screen and let an adult trace the outline lightly in pencil. Do not let a child press hard on a screen.

Saving paper and ink

Two to a page. In the print window, choose "Pages per sheet: 2" to get two half-size pictures on one A4 sheet. Smaller pictures suit children of five and above.
Use the back. Print on the clean side of paper that has already been used on one side. Children do not mind.
Draft mode. Choose "Draft" or "Economy" quality. The lines print a little lighter, which is fine for colouring.
Reuse one print. Slip the page into a clear plastic folder and colour on the plastic with whiteboard markers. It wipes clean with a dry cloth.

Which paper?

Ordinary copier paper is right for crayons and colour pencils. For sketch pens it is still fine, though the colour may show through on the back. For watercolour or poster paint, ordinary paper wrinkles; print on thicker drawing paper if your printer accepts it, or paste the print on a sheet of chart paper before painting.

If something goes wrong

The picture is cut off at the edge. Set Scale to "Fit to page", or reduce it to 90%.
The picture is small in a corner. The paper size is wrong. Choose A4, and Portrait.
The page prints with my child's screen colours. You pressed "Print my colours". Use "Print the blank page" for a clean outline.
A second, empty page comes out. Turn off headers and footers and set margins to "Default".
Lines look grey or broken. The ink is low, or draft quality is too light for your printer. Choose "Normal".

For teachers

You are welcome to print class sets. To give every child the same picture, print one clean copy and photocopy it; this is cheaper than printing thirty. For a mixed-age group, take pictures marked "easy" for the youngest and "medium" for the rest, so that everyone finishes at about the same time.