The one print setting that shrinks most stencils, how to check your printer with a 1 cm square, and what to bring to your consult.
You set the tattoo to 8 cm, printed the stencil, and it measures 7.4 cm. That is almost always the print dialog, not the file.
The culprit: "Fit to page"
Most PDF viewers and phone print dialogs scale pages by default — "Fit", "Shrink oversized pages" or "Scale to printable area". The whole stencil shrinks by the same percentage, so it still looks right.
Fix: choose Actual size or 100%, pick the same paper size you exported (A4 or US Letter), and print the PDF — not a screenshot or PNG.
Measure before you transfer
Every TryStencil PDF carries a 1 cm check square. Measure it with a ruler. If it is 0.9 cm, the stencil is 10% small — fix the setting and print again.
Want to test your printer first? Download the free printer test page — it has 10 cm, 5 cm and 1 cm squares and a ruler.
Thermal and inkjet stencil paper
- Inkjet stencil paper: print the PDF at 100% directly.
- Thermal stencil printer / copier: print on plain paper at 100% first, then run it through, or print straight to the thermal printer at 100%.
Bring the numbers to your consult
Size is the decision people regret most. Tell your artist the width in cm, the placement and show a photo of how it sits on you. That is exactly what a consult pack contains.
Designs are references. A licensed tattoo artist must review, adapt and apply them.
Try it on before it’s permanent
Preview a design on your own photo in real centimetres, then print the stencil at exactly that size.
Start for free →
