PibblyHow to print coloring pages well
Most printing problems are not the file. They are paper that is too thin for markers, a printer quietly mixing colour ink to make black, or a page scaled so the edges disappear. Five minutes of settings fixes all three.
1. Pick paper for what they colour with
Crayons and coloured pencils: normal copier paper is fine and cheapest. Washable markers: go up to 120 gsm or light card if you have it — or slip a blank sheet behind the page. That one spare sheet saves the table. For a page you plan to frame or give as a card, light card looks noticeably better.
2. Print in black only, normal quality
In the print dialog, set colour to Black / Monochrome / Grayscale, and quality to Normal. If your printer offers a toner- or ink-saving (draft) mode, try it on one page first — on pure line art it is usually hard to tell apart, and it can use a lot less ink.
3. Get the size right
Download the PDF that matches your paper (we offer A4 and US Letter on every page). If anything looks close to the edge, choose “Fit to page” or 95% scaling. Thick toddler lines survive scaling well; very detailed pages for older kids are best at 100%.
4. If lines look pale
Pale grey lines almost always mean the printer is making black out of colour inks. Switch to black-only. If it is still pale on an inkjet, the black cartridge is usually low — line art is a good early warning.
5. A few habits that help
- Print 2–3 pages at once for the kids’ table, classroom or a car trip, rather than one emergency page at a time.
- Keep a small folder of printed pages. Our Thanksgiving pages and Christmas pages get used most at family gatherings.
- For toddlers, thicker lines survive chunky crayons best — start with animal pages for toddlers.
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Make a custom page – 3 freeMake a name pageQuestions parents ask
What paper is best for coloring pages?
Normal copier paper (75–90 gsm) is fine for crayons and pencils. For markers, use 120–160 gsm paper or card, or put a spare sheet underneath — marker ink bleeds through thin paper.
Which printer setting saves the most ink?
Print in black-and-white / grayscale, normal quality. Coloring pages are pure line art, so draft mode often looks almost identical and uses much less ink. Avoid 'rich black' or photo mode.
Why does my page print with grey lines instead of black?
That usually means the printer is mixing colour inks to make black. Set colour to 'Black only' or 'Monochrome' in the print dialog and lines will come out darker and cheaper.
A4 or US Letter — does it matter?
Both work. Pick the size your printer is loaded with and choose 'Fit to page' if the edges get close. Pibbly PDFs are made with safe margins for both sizes.
See also: what coloring is good for at each age.