How to Set Paper Margins for Printing in C#

How Can I Set Equal Margins on All Sides?

The simplest constructor takes a single integer and applies it uniformly to all four sides. We pass the value in millimeters:

:path=/static-assets/print/content-code-examples/how-to/set-paper-margins/set-paper-margins-uniform-margins.cs

using IronPrint;

// Configure a uniform 20 mm margin on all sides
PrintSettings settings = new PrintSettings
{
    PaperMargins = new Margins(20),
    PaperSize = PaperSize.A4
};

// Print the invoice
Printer.Print("invoice.pdf", settings);

Imports IronPrint

' Configure a uniform 20 mm margin on all sides
Dim settings As New PrintSettings With {
    .PaperMargins = New Margins(20),
    .PaperSize = PaperSize.A4
}

' Print the invoice
Printer.Print("invoice.pdf", settings)

Margins(20) sets Left, Top, Right, and Bottom each to 20 mm. This is the most common choice for standard business documents where consistent whitespace on every edge is sufficient.

IronPrint measures margins in millimeters, which avoids the confusion of the System.Drawing.Printing.Margins class that uses hundredths of an inch. A 25.4 mm margin in IronPrint is equivalent to new System.Drawing.Printing.Margins(100) — no conversion math required on our end.

How Do I Set Different Margins for Each Side?

When a document needs extra space at the top for a letterhead or at the bottom for a footer, we use the four-parameter constructor:

:path=/static-assets/print/content-code-examples/how-to/set-paper-margins/set-paper-margins-per-side-margins.cs

using IronPrint;

// Configure per-side margins (left, top, right, bottom)
PrintSettings settings = new PrintSettings
{
    PaperMargins = new Margins(10, 25, 10, 20),
    PaperOrientation = PaperOrientation.Portrait
};

// Print the letterhead
Printer.Print("letterhead.pdf", settings);

Imports IronPrint

' Configure per-side margins (left, top, right, bottom)
Dim settings As New PrintSettings With {
    .PaperMargins = New Margins(10, 25, 10, 20),
    .PaperOrientation = PaperOrientation.Portrait
}

' Print the letterhead
Printer.Print("letterhead.pdf", settings)

The parameter order is left, top, right, bottom. Each value is independent, so we can create asymmetric layouts that accommodate headers, footers, binding edges, or punch-hole space. The Margins class API reference documents every field.

What Shorthand Options Exist for Common Margin Layouts?

IronPrint's Margins class provides two additional constructors beyond the uniform and per-side versions:

Horizontal / Vertical shorthand — Margins(int horizontal, int vertical) sets left+right to the first value and top+bottom to the second:

:path=/static-assets/print/content-code-examples/how-to/set-paper-margins/set-paper-margins-shorthand-margins.cs

using IronPrint;

// Configure horizontal and vertical margin shorthand
PrintSettings settings = new PrintSettings
{
    PaperMargins = new Margins(10, 20)
};

// Print the landscape report
Printer.Print("report-landscape.pdf", settings);

Imports IronPrint

' Configure horizontal and vertical margin shorthand
Dim settings As New PrintSettings With {
    .PaperMargins = New Margins(10, 20)
}

' Print the landscape report
Printer.Print("report-landscape.pdf", settings)

Zero margins — Margins.Zero removes all margins for borderless printing:

:path=/static-assets/print/content-code-examples/how-to/set-paper-margins/set-paper-margins-zero-margins.cs

using IronPrint;

// Configure zero margins for edge-to-edge printing
PrintSettings borderless = new PrintSettings
{
    PaperMargins = new Margins(0)
};

// Print the poster
Printer.Print("poster.png", borderless);

Imports IronPrint

' Configure zero margins for edge-to-edge printing
Dim borderless As New PrintSettings With {
    .PaperMargins = New Margins(0)
}

' Print the poster
Printer.Print("poster.png", borderless)

Keep in mind that most physical printers enforce a hardware-minimum printable area. Setting Margins.Zero sends zero-margin instructions to the driver, but the printer may still clip content near the edges depending on its capabilities.

How Do I Combine Margins with Other Print Settings?

PaperMargins is one property on PrintSettings. We can combine it with paper size, orientation, DPI, copies, grayscale mode, and printer selection in a single configuration object:

:path=/static-assets/print/content-code-examples/how-to/set-paper-margins/set-paper-margins-combined-settings.cs

using IronPrint;

// Configure full print settings with asymmetric margins
PrintSettings settings = new PrintSettings
{
    PaperMargins = new Margins(15, 20, 15, 25),
    PaperSize = PaperSize.A4,
    PaperOrientation = PaperOrientation.Portrait,
    Dpi = 300,
    NumberOfCopies = 2,
    Grayscale = false,
    PrinterName = "HP LaserJet Pro MFP M428"
};

// Print the Q4 report to the named printer
Printer.Print("Q4-report.pdf", settings);

Imports IronPrint

' Configure full print settings with asymmetric margins
Dim settings As New PrintSettings With {
    .PaperMargins = New Margins(15, 20, 15, 25),
    .PaperSize = PaperSize.A4,
    .PaperOrientation = PaperOrientation.Portrait,
    .Dpi = 300,
    .NumberOfCopies = 2,
    .Grayscale = False,
    .PrinterName = "HP LaserJet Pro MFP M428"
}

' Print the Q4 report to the named printer
Printer.Print("Q4-report.pdf", settings)

For asynchronous workflows — WPF, MAUI, or ASP.NET web apps — replace Printer.Print() with await Printer.PrintAsync() to avoid blocking the UI thread. The same PrintSettings object works with both methods.

What Are My Next Steps?

We covered four ways to configure print margins with IronPrint: uniform margins using Margins(int), per-side control with Margins(int, int, int, int), the horizontal/vertical shorthand Margins(int, int), and borderless printing with Margins.Zero. Each approach feeds into PrintSettings.PaperMargins and works with both Printer.Print() and Printer.PrintAsync().

For further reading, explore these resources:

• IronPrint Tutorials — Print Document for end-to-end printing walkthroughs.
• Print Settings How-To for DPI, orientation, copies, and more.
• Margins class API reference for complete constructor and field documentation.
• Printer Class API Reference for all static printing methods.

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