11x17 Tabloid Calendars: Printing at Home or at a Print Shop

An 11 × 17 inch (tabloid) wall calendar is large enough to read from across a kitchen or office and still fits on a standard printer stand at a copy shop. This guide covers both ways to print one and the one setting that makes the difference.

Tabloid, Ledger and A3

Tabloid is 11 × 17 in (279 × 432 mm). "Ledger" is the same sheet in landscape. Outside North America the nearest size is A3, which is 297 × 420 mm: 18 mm wider and 12 mm shorter than tabloid.

A3 and the rest of the A series are defined by ISO 216.

The CalendarBest builder exports A3 but not tabloid. An A3 PDF prints on tabloid paper at about 94%, which keeps the whole calendar on the sheet with even margins. You will not notice the difference on the wall: the month title goes from 24 to about 22.5 points and the date numbers from 12 to about 11.3 points.

Exporting the PDF

1. Open your calendar in the builder and pick a template. Templates with strong print contrast, such as the professional templates or the minimal templates, read best from a distance.
2. In the export panel, choose A3 and portrait. Choose "Entire year" for a 12-page PDF or "Current month" for one page.
3. Decide on notes. On A3 the grid is 200 mm tall and fills the upper part of the page. The lower third stays blank unless you turn on "Include notes", which prints your notes list there. A blank lower third is useful on a wall calendar for writing longer plans by hand.

Printing at Home

Most home printers top out at Letter or A4. To print 11 × 17 you need a wide-format printer, usually sold as an "A3" or "11 × 17" model. Before printing, check three things in its specifications:

• Maximum paper size: it should list 11 × 17 in or A3. Some models only accept large paper through a rear slot or a single-sheet feeder, not the main tray.
• Maximum paper weight: cardstock for a wall calendar is 176–216 gsm (65–80 lb cover). Many wide-format inkjets take that only through the rear feed.
• Borderless printing: not needed. The calendar has its own white margins.

In the print dialog, set the paper size to Tabloid (or 11 × 17), choose Fit to page, and set the paper type to cardstock or matte heavyweight. Print one page on plain paper first to check that the grid is centered.

Printing at a Print Shop

Copy and print shops such as FedEx Office, Staples and The UPS Store print 11 × 17 in color on demand, from a file you upload or bring on a USB stick. To get the result you expect:

• Say "fit to page" or "scale to fit". If the operator prints the A3 file at actual size, about 9 mm can be cut from each side. With 20 mm margins the grid usually survives, but the page will not be centered.
• Ask for a heavier stock. 80 lb cover (216 gsm) is a common in-store option and stiff enough to hang without curling. 100 lb text is thinner and cheaper, fine for a calendar that goes on a board behind glass or in a frame.
• Choose matte or uncoated. Gloss-coated cover stock is common at print shops but does not take ballpoint or pencil well. If you plan to write on the calendar, ask for uncoated.
• Check one proof. For a 12-page year, ask to see the first page before they run the rest.

Prices vary by store and change often, so check the shop's current rate for a single 11 × 17 color page before ordering twelve.

Binding and Hanging

A 12-month tabloid calendar is usually hung one of three ways:

• One page at a time on a clipboard, bulldog clip or two pushpins, swapping the page each month. Cheapest, and nothing has to be bound.
• Wire or coil binding along the top edge, which print shops can add. The PDF leaves more than 20 mm of white space above the month title, which is enough room for the binding holes.
• A poster frame, if the calendar is a year overview you will not write on.

When 11 × 17 Is Not Worth It

If you mostly write events into the cells, a Letter or A4 page on a fridge often works just as well, because the cells on A3 and tabloid are wider but not taller. Tabloid pays off when the calendar is read from a distance, such as a shared family or team wall calendar, or when you want the extra blank space below the grid. For the basics of paper sizes and scaling, see how to print a calendar.