Drone (Part 107) waiver letter prints incomplete footer — clear full-page output

Joe B.

Reviewed for technical accuracy

Specialities: Windows 11/10, Printers, Networking, Group Policy, Print Servers

Part 107 waiver letter footer missing/truncated — scaling, margins, paper size (Letter vs Legal/A4), secure PDF, Acrobat “Print as Image”

Technician

Hey! We’ll make your Drone (Part 107) waiver/authorization letter print the full page. When the footer prints incomplete or the bottom line gets cut off, it’s usually a paper size / printable area / scaling issue or a secure PDF rendering quirk.
To target the fix, tell me: Are you printing from Adobe Acrobat/Reader or a browser? What paper size does the printer think it has (Letter, Legal, A4)? And are options like Fit to printable area, Actual size, or Shrink oversized pages enabled?

Customer

It’s an FAA PDF from the DroneZone portal. We print from Chrome on Windows to an HP laser. The Part 107 waiver letter footer is missing—only half the signature block shows. “Fit to page” is on, but the page still looks truncated.

Technician

Thanks — that helps. FAA letters are secure PDFs that often include a narrow bleed and a footer near the edge. Browsers respect the printer’s non-printable margins, so the last 5–12 mm can be clipped. Another cause is a Letter vs A4 or Letter vs Legal mismatch that shifts the page down.
Let’s do three quick wins: 1) Open in Adobe Acrobat Reader. 2) Use Fit → Choose paper source by PDF page size. 3) Enable Shrink oversized pages or set Custom scale 95–97% so the entire footer lands inside the printable area.

Customer

We can install Acrobat. Do we keep “Actual size” or “Fit”? Also our tray is set to A4 but the document might be Letter.

Technician

Perfect. In Adobe Acrobat Reader go: File → Print → set Page Sizing & Handling: Fit (or Custom Scale 96–97%). Check Choose paper source by PDF page size so a Letter PDF doesn’t get forced onto A4. Keep Auto portrait/landscape ON. This usually restores the waiver letter footer and the FAA signature line.

Customer

The top looks fine, only the bottom is cut off. Could duplex or margins in the HP driver be squeezing the printable area?

Technician

Good catch. Some HP/Brother drivers reduce the printable area when duplex or Booklet is enabled. In Printer Properties → Finishing, temporarily disable duplex and any scaling/watermarks. Also confirm the tray is set to the correct size (Letter 8.5×11 or Legal 8.5×14) and that Borderless is OFF (borderless can add its own scaling). Reprint the Part 107 approval letter.

Customer

If we must print from the browser for staff, any way to stop the incomplete page without installing software on every PC?

Technician

You can improve browser printing by forcing Scale 95–97% and disabling Headers and footers in the Chrome print dialog (these push content down). Also confirm Paper size: Letter and toggle Fit to page. Still clipped? Use the printer’s “Fit to printable area” option in the driver or print via System dialog (Ctrl+Shift+P in Chrome).

Customer

We also have Macs. The Drone waiver letter from Preview looks OK but the bottom line still cuts off on a Brother printer.

Technician

On macOS, Preview sometimes ignores the document’s internal margins. Try this workflow:
• Install the manufacturer driver (not AirPrint) and re-add the queue.
• Open the PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader for Mac, choose Fit or Scale 96%, and make sure Paper Size matches the PDF.
• In CUPS options, set Expand/Reduce = Fit to Page. This fixes most footer missing cases on Mac.

Customer

The FAA letter is a secure PDF. Could security prevent scaling or force margins that cause the footer to disappear?

Technician

Security can limit edits but not printing scale. However, when fonts or transparency are near the edge, drivers sometimes crop. If scaling doesn’t help, use Acrobat → Advanced → Print as Image at 300 dpi. This rasterizes the page so the footer and FAA contact block print exactly as seen.

Customer

We print through a Windows print server. Could server settings make the bottom margin tighter?

Technician

Yes. Mismatched drivers (server PS vs. client PCL), forced N-up, or server-side scaling can crop the footer.
• Align driver models on server & client (both PCL6 or both PS).
• Temporarily enable Render print jobs on client computers to bypass server scaling.
• In the shared queue defaults, set Paper = Letter, Scaling = 100%/Fit, Duplex = Off for forms.

Customer

After switching to Acrobat with Fit and 96% scale, the waiver letter footer prints completely. Any other checks so it stays consistent?

Technician

Final checks:
• Lock tray to the correct size and disable auto-detect if staff swap A4/Letter.
• Save an Acrobat preset (Fit + Choose paper source by PDF page size).
• Avoid browser printing for FAA letters; default to Reader.
Need hands-on help or a driver preset pushed to all PCs? Open the chat — we’ll configure it for you.

Quick answer: the accepted fix

Accepted fix when a Part 107 waiver letter prints incomplete footer: open the FAA PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader → set Fit or Custom scale 95–97% and check Choose paper source by PDF page size. Ensure Paper = Letter (or the document’s size), disable duplex/booklet, and if clipping persists use Print as Image (300 dpi).

FAQ

Step-by-step (Windows 11)

1. Open the Part 107 waiver letter PDF in Adobe Acrobat Reader, not a browser.
2. Set Fit (or Custom Scale 96–97%) and check Choose paper source by PDF page size.
3. Confirm Paper = Letter or the document’s page size; turn Duplex = Off for this print.
4. If still clipped, use Advanced → Print as Image (300 dpi) and reprint.

Step-by-step (macOS)

1. Install the printer’s manufacturer driver and re-add the queue (avoid AirPrint for this form).
2. Print from Adobe Acrobat Reader with Fit or 96% scale; select the correct paper size.
3. In CUPS, set Expand/Reduce = Fit to Page; reprint to confirm the full footer appears.

Sources

• Adobe — Scale a PDF or print on different paper
• Adobe — Print PDF as Image
• Microsoft — Troubleshoot printer problems (Windows)
• Apple — Print documents on Mac

Matt ● replies in < 1 min

Technician Expert

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Trusted by 27,000+ customers

Alex · Expert's Assistant

Start Chat

5 Tech Support Specialists are online right now.