How to make and print planner refills at actual size

Choose the refill size and layout first

Planner Refill Maker supports A5, Bible, Mini 6, Micro5, HB×WA5, Davinci Pocket, and custom dimensions. Because naming and exact dimensions can vary by product, measure an existing refill or check the manufacturer specification before printing.

Layouts include monthly one-page / spread, yearly one-page / spread, weekly block / weekly + notes / vertical, daily pages, and ruled / grid / dot notes. Weekly Vertical and Daily layouts can also use a chosen time range.

Even within the Mini 6 family, the app's Mini 6 preset is 80 × 126 mm while Davinci Pocket is 76 × 126 mm. Raymay Fujii lists 76 × 126 mm on its Pocket refill products. Measure the paper you actually bind and check hole positions. Presets are not guaranteed dimensions for every manufacturer.

Example 1: a Mini 6 monthly refill

For a January 2027 refill, select Mini 6 if your paper measures 80 × 126 mm, then choose Monthly and either the one-page or facing-page layout. If your paper is 76 × 126 mm, switch to Davinci Pocket or custom dimensions that match it.

Set the range to January 2027 and choose a Monday or Sunday week start. If you want holidays, enable Japanese holidays and check the date labels, text size, and ring-side margin in Preview. The app includes verified Japanese holiday data for 2027.

For a one-page layout, choose whether the first page is on the left or right. For a spread, also check the bound preview. Export the visible page as a trial PDF and print it at actual size before creating a longer run.

Example 2: Bible weekly pages with notes

Choose Bible (95 × 170 mm) and Weekly + Notes. The weekly date range can be entered by day, and output includes each complete week that touches that range. Start with one week to judge the amount of room for plans and notes.

Leave ring-side margin on Auto or set it between 4 and 30 mm. The notes page can be ruled, grid, dotted, or blank, with adjustable spacing. Check the inner margins on both facing pages in Preview.

For duplex printing, choose Long-edge or Short-edge output, then inspect the print-sheet and bound previews. Match the printer's flip-edge setting and test one or two sheets for orientation and page order before printing the rest.

Example 3: A5 grid note paper

For undated notes, select A5 (148 × 210 mm), Notes, then Grid. Grid spacing can be set from 3 to 12 mm in 0.5 mm increments. Try 5 mm and choose the number of pages you need.

Line weight and writing space are easier to judge on a physical sample than on screen. Adjust the ruling and print a trial PDF. To reuse the setup, export a local .settings.json file and review it before importing it later.

Check ring-side margins and facing-page behavior

Planner refills need enough inner margin for punched holes and rings. The app can use an automatic ring margin or a manual value from 4 to 30 mm, mirrors the ring side between left and right pages, and lets one-page layouts choose which side starts first.

Optional punch-position guides are alignment references only; they do not guarantee a particular binder manufacturer’s exact hole positions. Confirm the final punching position against a real refill or dedicated punch.

Adjust Japanese holidays and visual settings

The current version bundles verified Japanese holiday data for 2026 and 2027. Saturday, Sunday, and holiday colors can be set separately, and holiday names can be shown or hidden. The app does not guess holiday dates for years outside the bundled data.

Appearance controls include Minimal / Classic / Tight Margins, monochrome / accent output, five text-size levels, rule weight, page numbers, and week numbers. For small refills, a test print is more reliable than judging text size only on screen.

The current app can also create 1–100 undated Monthly, Weekly, or Daily units; a facing-page unit makes two pages. Yearly layouts remain dated. Other options include monthly lists, personal events and recurring days off, 30-minute vertical-week divisions, and 3–12 mm ruling intervals.

Choose between exact-size PDF and A4 imposition

If your printer can feed the refill paper directly, export an exact-size PDF whose page dimensions match the refill itself. For ordinary home printers, A4 or US Letter imposition is usually easier to handle.

Imposition keeps the refill at full physical size rather than scaling it down to fit. If a layout cannot fit at actual size, the app reports the problem instead of silently shrinking it. Crop guides can be added for trimming afterward.

Paper-edge margin ranges from 0 to 20 mm and defaults to 0 mm. For A5 on A4, the app can place two refills on a sheet at 0 mm margin but only one at 5 mm. This is an imposition example, not a guarantee of borderless printing. Increase the margin if crop guides are clipped.

Test duplex orientation before printing a full batch

Output can be single-sided, long-edge flip, or short-edge flip, with a front/back placement preview. When the page sequence requires it, a blank final back page can also be added.

Printer feed direction and duplex behavior vary, so print only one or two sheets first and verify the back-side orientation before committing to the full batch.

Print at Actual size / 100%

Even a correctly sized PDF prints at the wrong size if the print dialog enables Fit, Fit to page, or other scaling. Use Actual size / 100% when printing the refill.

The size-check PDF includes a 100 mm reference line and a 50 × 50 mm box. Measuring them after printing helps detect unintended scaling in the PDF viewer or printer driver.

When the print does not line up

If a test sheet looks wrong, check one setting at a time. PDF paper size and printer scaling are separate choices. Use the 100 mm line and 50 × 50 mm box in the size-test PDF to see whether scaling occurred.

Even if the cut paper is the correct size, hole placement can prevent it from fitting. Compare the edges and holes with an original refill before punching; punch-position guides are only references.

Know when a general document editor is a better fit

Word or Excel can also be used to design refills and may be more flexible for completely custom tables or unusual fields. The trade-off is that you need to manage physical page size, dates, facing pages, ring margins, imposition, and duplex placement yourself.

Planner Refill Maker is aimed at generating common monthly, weekly, daily, and note layouts as correctly sized PDFs. Use a general document editor when you need a fully custom form rather than a standard planner layout.

Calendar generation and PDF creation run in the browser

Planner settings, calendar generation, preview rendering, imposition, and PDF creation run in the browser. The generated HTML includes a Content Security Policy with connect-src 'none' and does not require a runtime API or CDN. Remembered settings are stored in browser localStorage.

The hosted version still needs the initial request that loads the app HTML. For fully offline use, the generated dist/index.html can be opened locally. Long date ranges or memory-constrained phones can still make PDF generation more demanding.

You can export settings to a .settings.json file and review them before importing later. It contains dimensions, layout, date range, and personal events, but not the generated PDF or display language. Keep a separate copy if you may clear browser storage. Supported dates run from January 1900 to December 2100, with a maximum selected range of 60 months.

Tips and limitations

• Keep one original refill to compare paper dimensions and hole positions after printing.
• Try one month or one week before printing a whole year, and check the writing space.
• On small Micro5 or Mini 6 pages, text often looks smaller on paper than on screen.
• Duplex orientation varies by printer. Test Long-edge and Short-edge on a small batch.
• Browser site-data deletion can erase saved settings. Export a .settings.json file for setups you want to reuse.