WD: How to Create Crop Marks in Microsoft Word

ID: Q176136

The information in this article applies to:

SUMMARY

In Word there is no way to automatically add crop marks to your document. This article presents some methods you can use to create crop marks in your Word document.

MORE INFORMATION

Crop marks are short lines at the corners of a page that show where the outer edges of the paper should be trimmed: 

       |               |
   ____|               |____

          Document
          Page

   ____                 ____
       |               |
       |               |
You can use any of the following methods to create crop marks in your Word document. Method 1 is easier to set up; however, you may not be able to position the crop marks close enough to the text of the document. Method 2 allows greater precision in the positioning of the crop marks; however, Method 2 is more difficult to set up.

Method 1: Insert a Three-Column Table in the Header and Footer

Using this method, you can create crop marks by inserting a three-column, one-row table in the header and footer of your document and adding borders.

To set up the table, follow these steps:

1. On the View menu, click Header And Footer.

2. On the Table menu, click Insert Table.

3. Type 3 for the Number of Columns, type 1 for the Number of Rows, and 

   then click OK.
4. Click into column 2 of the table and on the Table menu, click Select 
   Column.
5. On the Table menu, click Cell Height And Width and select the Column 
   tab. In the Width Of Column 2 box, type the distance between the left
   and right margin (for example, specify 6 inches if your left and right
   margins are each 1.25 inches and your paper width is 8.5 inches).
6. Click Previous Column to change the width of column 1. Type .5" in the 
   Width of Column 1 box; click Next Column twice to change the Width of
   Column 3. Type .5" in the Width of Column 2 box.
7. Click OK.

8. On the Table menu, click Select Table.

9. On the Table menu, click Cell Height and Width, and then select the Row 

    tab. In the Indent From Left box, type -.5"; in the Height Of Row box,
    select Exactly; in the At box, type .5" and then click OK.

    NOTE: You can vary the position of your crop marks by adjusting the
    Indent From Left setting and the column width of columns 1 and 3. The
    column width of columns 1 and 3 must be the same. The Indent From Left
    setting must be the negative of the column width setting (for example,
    if the column width is 1", the Indent From Left setting must be 1").
To format the borders, follow these steps:

1. With the table selected, click Borders and Shading on the Format menu.

2. Under Setting, select None, and then click OK. 

   NOTE: You may still see lines; however, they will be the gridlines of
   the table. These lines will not print and can be turned off by clicking
   Hide Gridlines (Windows) or Gridlines (Macintosh) on the Table menu.
3. Click into column 1 and on the Table menu, click Select Column.

4. On the Format menu, click Borders and Shading.

5. Apply a right and bottom border and then click OK.

6. Click into column 3 and on the Table menu, click Select Column.

7. On the Format menu, click Borders and Shading.

8. Apply a left and bottom border and then click OK.

The header table should resemble the following: 

        |               |
   _____|               |_____
To copy the table and paste it to the footer, follow these steps:

1. On the Table menu, click Select Table.

2. On the Edit menu, click Copy.

3. On the Header and Footer toolbar, click Switch Between Header and 

   Footer.
4. On the Edit menu, click Paste Cells.

5. Click into column 1 and on the Table menu, click Select Column.

6. On the Format menu, click Borders and Shading. Under Setting, click None 

   to remove the existing border, apply a right and top border, and then
   click OK.
7. Click into column 3 and on the Table menu, click Select Column.

8. On the Format menu, click Borders and Shading.

9. Under Setting, click None to remove the existing border, apply a left 

   and top border, and then click OK.
The footer table should resemble the following: 

   _____                 _____
        |               |
        |               |

Method 2: Using Drawing Tools

1. On the View menu, click Page Layout.

2. In Word 97 for Windows, on the File menu, click Page Setup; in Word 98 

   Macintosh Edition, on the Format menu, click Document. Set the Margins
   at the points where you would like the crop marks to appear and then
   click OK.
3. Press RETURN (Windows) or ENTER (Macintosh) to insert a carriage return 
   in the document so that there are at least two, and then select the
   first carriage return in the document.
4. On the Table menu, click Insert Table and then click OK. 

   This will place a table temporarily in the document to assist in drawing
   and placing the crop marks.
5. On the View menu, point to Toolbars and select Drawing.

6. Using the drawing tools on the Drawing toolbar, draw a rectangle from 

   the upper-left corner of the paper to the upper-left corner of the
   table. Format the line style of the rectangle. Adjust the position and
   size of the rectangle if necessary.
7. On the Edit menu, click Copy and then click Paste. This should paste an 
   exact copy of the first rectangle on top of the original rectangle.
8. On the Edit menu, click Paste two more times. 

   You now should have four rectangles.
9. Drag three of the rectangles to each of the three unfilled corners of 
   the page.
10. Select and delete the table. 

    NOTE: if the two rectangles disappear at the top of the page, on the
    Edit menu, click Paste two more times and then position the rectangles
    in the top corners.
If you want the crop marks a different position than the margins, reset the margins before continuing.

Method 3: Using a Postscript Printer and a Print Field

This method requires a postscript printer.

Press CTRL+F9 (Windows) or COMMAND+F9 (Macintosh) to insert the field braces ({}) and type the instructions to add crop marks. The print field should look like the following: 

   {PRINT \p PAGE "% Crop Marks
   5 setlinewidth
   /markl 9 def
   /whitel 4 def
   /top 72 def
   /bottom 72 def
   /left 90 def
   /right 90 def
   %horizontals
   left markl sub whitel sub wp$y wp$top sub moveto markl 0 rlineto
   wp$x right sub left sub whitel 2 mul add 0 rmoveto markl 0 rlineto
   left markl sub whitel sub bottom moveto markl 0 rlineto
   wp$x right sub left sub whitel 2 mul add 0 rmoveto markl 0 rlineto
   %verticals
   left bottom markl sub whitel sub moveto 0 markl rlineto
   0 wp$y wp$top sub bottom sub whitel 2 mul add rmoveto 0 markl
   rlineto
   wp$x right sub bottom markl sub whitel sub moveto 0 markl rlineto
   0 wp$y wp$top sub bottom sub whitel 2 mul add rmoveto 0 markl
   rlineto
   stroke
   "}
For information about how to do this in earlier versions of Microsoft Word, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base: 

   ARTICLE-ID: Q92600
   TITLE     : WD: How to Create Crop Marks in Microsoft Word
Additional query words: cropmarks insertcropmarks post script 
Keywords          : kbdta macword98 kbframe kbformat 
Version           : WINDOWS:97
Platform          : WINDOWS
Issue type        : kbhowto
Solution Type     : kbfix

Last Reviewed: March 4, 1999