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Random freezes, missing sound and display glitches usually trace back to one bad driver. Find and replace yours safely.Free scan · under a minutePuppeteer PDFs change size or layout when the PDF options and the page’s print CSS disagree, when print rules differ from screen rules, or when content is not ready before capture. Make one source of truth responsible for paper size, set orientation, margins, and scale explicitly, and wait for fonts and page content before calling page.pdf().
Why Puppeteer PDF dimensions change
page.pdf() generates a PDF using the print CSS media type. It does not simply take a screenshot of the current browser viewport. Print-specific styles can hide elements, change widths, and alter page breaks. The PDF’s paper box and the content laid out inside that box are also affected by different controls, so a page can have the expected paper size while its content appears smaller, larger, or rearranged.
The API and CSS both set page size
Puppeteer’s PDF options accept a named format or explicit width and height. The page can also declare a size in CSS with @page. By default, preferCSSPageSize is false: CSS page dimensions are scaled to fit the size selected by the API. Set it to true when the CSS @page size should take priority over format, width, or height.
An implicit paper size is still a choice
If you omit format, Puppeteer’s documented default is Letter. Letter is 8.5 × 11 inches; A4 is 21 × 29.7 cm. A document styled for A4 can therefore be fitted to Letter unless you explicitly make CSS page size authoritative or configure the API to use A4. Orientation and margins affect the usable content area even when the paper dimensions are correct.
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Print CSS reflows the page
Because PDF generation uses print media, rules inside @media print apply. These may set different widths and margins, hide screen-only controls, or change pagination. If your intention is to render the page with screen CSS, call page.emulateMediaType('screen') before generating the PDF. That changes which media rules apply; it does not by itself resolve a conflict between CSS page size and the PDF options.
Scale changes content, not the paper box
The PDF option scale accepts values from 0.1 to 2 and defaults to 1. Changing it changes the rendered content’s geometry, even if paper dimensions remain unchanged. If the paper is correct but text and layout look uniformly too small or large, check scale as well as the page-size settings.
Viewport-dependent layout and readiness can change pagination
Responsive rules and relative or viewport-based units can reflow when content is laid out for print. Viewport-related units in @page are also an area of ongoing standards discussion. Dynamic application data, images, and fonts can affect line wrapping and page breaks if they arrive late. Puppeteer’s PDF options include waitForFonts, which defaults to true, but that does not replace waiting for your application’s data or images to be ready.
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Choose one source of truth for page geometry
| Approach | Set in Puppeteer | Set in CSS | Use when |
|---|---|---|---|
| CSS owns page size | Set preferCSSPageSize: true; avoid conflicting API dimensions. |
Declare the intended size and margins in @page. |
The document’s print stylesheet should define its paper geometry. |
| Puppeteer owns page size | Set format or explicit width and height; leave preferCSSPageSize false. |
Omit conflicting @page size declarations. |
Your application or job configuration should select paper size. |
Do not leave orientation, margins, scale, or background rendering to assumptions. Define them explicitly, then verify that the page’s print CSS follows the same geometry model.
Use explicit settings for a predictable A4 PDF
This example uses CSS as the page-size authority. It sets A4 portrait dimensions and 12 mm margins in both the CSS page rule and Puppeteer’s margin options, waits for network activity to settle, waits for fonts, and prints backgrounds. The values are an implementation pattern, not a guarantee that every application’s content will paginate identically.
await page.setContent(html, {waitUntil: 'networkidle0'});
await page.evaluate(() => document.fonts.ready);
await page.pdf({
path: 'output.pdf',
width: '210mm',
height: '297mm',
margin: {top: '12mm', right: '12mm', bottom: '12mm', left: '12mm'},
preferCSSPageSize: true,
printBackground: true,
scale: 1,
landscape: false,
});@page {
size: 210mm 297mm;
margin: 12mm;
}
@media print {
html, body { margin: 0; }
.screen-only { display: none !important; }
}If your application navigates to an existing page rather than using setContent(), wait for the navigation and for the page’s own data-loading condition before printing. networkidle0 is useful for the supplied HTML-loading example, but an application with continuing network requests may need an application-specific readiness signal instead. Likewise, wait for images or other asynchronous content if they affect the document’s layout.
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Match the symptom to the setting
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| A4 content appears on Letter-sized pages | The API-selected paper takes priority and CSS page size is being fitted to it. | Set preferCSSPageSize: true if CSS should own size, or select A4 in the API and remove conflicting CSS size declarations. |
| The paper dimensions look right but content is too small or large | Scale or available content area differs. | Set scale: 1 explicitly and inspect margins, orientation, and print widths. |
| The PDF looks different from the browser | PDF generation uses print media, not screen media. | Inspect @media print; use page.emulateMediaType('screen') only if screen styling is actually intended. |
| Page breaks vary between runs | Data, fonts, or images may not be ready at print time. | Wait for application data and assets, and ensure fonts are ready before calling page.pdf(). |
| Local output differs from CI output | The same CSS and PDF controls may be receiving different content or readiness timing. | Log the effective PDF options, use a single page-size authority, and wait for the same data and assets in both environments. |
Troubleshoot Puppeteer PDF size and layout
Check the paper format first
Make format explicit if the API owns geometry. If you intend Letter but omit format, the documented default is Letter; if you intend A4, do not rely on the default. When CSS owns size, set preferCSSPageSize: true and ensure the @page rule declares the desired dimensions.
Remove conflicting dimensions
A PDF job that declares A4 in CSS but specifies Letter or different explicit dimensions in Puppeteer has two competing size authorities. Decide which one wins. For CSS-owned geometry, use @page and enable CSS priority. For API-owned geometry, set the API dimensions and remove a conflicting @page size.
Separate page size from margins
Paper size describes the page; margins define the space available to content. A wide margin can make a correctly sized sheet look as though its content has been scaled down. Set all four margins deliberately, and avoid relying on unrelated browser or stylesheet margins to determine the print content area.
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Inspect print-only rules and orientation
Compare the page’s normal layout with its @media print rules. Check whether print CSS changes widths, hides elements, or introduces break rules. Set landscape explicitly: a landscape choice changes the page orientation and the available width, which can change wrapping and pagination.
Confirm scale and background behavior
Use scale: 1 when you want the default content scale made explicit. Set printBackground: true if colored backgrounds or other background graphics are part of the intended output; otherwise, a PDF may look different even when its dimensions are correct.
Wait for the page you mean to print
Waiting for navigation alone may not mean that application data, images, or custom fonts have finished changing the layout. Wait for an application-specific ready state where appropriate, and let fonts resolve before capture. Puppeteer’s waitForFonts PDF option defaults to true; the example also awaits document.fonts.ready explicitly. Neither step can make missing application data appear, so handle data and image readiness separately.
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Keep CI and local PDFs consistent
- Use the same chosen paper size and geometry authority in both environments.
- Set margins, orientation, scale, and background behavior explicitly.
- Use the same print stylesheet and wait for application data, fonts, and layout-affecting images.
- When a difference appears, compare the effective PDF options and the rendered print layout before changing scale.
These controls make the inputs to PDF layout explicit. They do not eliminate differences caused by different page content or readiness timing, so those conditions should be made consistent as well.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Puppeteer’s default PDF paper size?
The documented default format is Letter.
Does `preferCSSPageSize: true` change the page’s CSS media type?
No. `page.pdf()` still generates using print CSS; the option controls whether CSS `@page` size takes priority over API dimensions.
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Can I use `page.pdf()` to render screen styles?
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