How to Print New Cub Scout Requirements To Fit in Handbooks

Find out how to print the new 2018 Cub Scout requirements addendum for Tigers, Wolves, Bears, Webelos, and Arrows of Light. Follow these steps so that the addendum will fit inside your son’s Cub Scout handbook.

By now, all of you have heard about the new Cub Scout requirements modifications that were implemented at the beginning of December 2016. The Boy Scouts of America now has created an addendum for each rank that lists all of the rank and adventure requirements, including those that weren’t changed.  These documents will help us update our current handbooks.

Some of my Scouting friends who are involved at the national level tell me that BSA’s plan is to continue selling their current inventory of handbooks until it is deleted. When the book is reprinted, it will reflect the modifications.  It’s my understanding that the addenda will be printed and distributed with each handbook that is sold, but I’m not sure when they’ll be available.

For those of us who already own our handbooks, these addenda were available to download from the program updates page of Scouting.org, but that page has changed, and the documents are no longer there.

Instead, you can also download them directly from here.

Tiger New Cub Scout Requirements Changes 2016

Wolf New Cub Scout Requirements Changes 2016

Bear New Cub Scout Requirements Changes 2016

Webelos AoL New Cub Scout Requirements Changes 2016

Printing

The documents were created to fit the current handbook size.  But I found out the hard way that you need to make sure you select the right print options!

The “Paper Sizing & Handling” option in my pdf reader is defaulted to “fit,” but if you choose that, the document will fill up the entire page.  No way that’ll fit inside the handbooks.  🙂

I changed the option to “Actual Size,” and that did the trick–the page text was small enough to fit in the handbook after it was cut out.

There was only one problem.  A lot of paper was being wasted.  As Cub Scouts, we’re supposed to be thrifty and conservation-minded, and using so much excess paper doesn’t allow us to be either.

I tried printing the documents as a booklet or as multiple pages on a single sheet of paper to help cut down on the paper waste, and I found one way that worked well.

One caveat – Because everyone has different kinds and versions of pdf readers on their computers, your options may not look like mine.

I chose “Multiple.”  When that’s selected, you’ll see other options that you can set.  Here is how I set it up:

1. Click on “Multiple.”
2. Select 2 pages per sheet.
3. Pick “Vertical” as your page order.
4. Click the “Print page border” box.  This made it easier to cut out.
5. Select “Landscape.”

I liked having the page border because I knew exactly where to cut, and I knew the pages would be a uniform size.

I used my handy dandy Swingline paper cutter (that you can purchase through my affiliate link) to cut out the pages.  (I love my paper cutter!  You should see the crooked sides I get when I try to cut things out with scissors.)

Will this information help you as you’re printing the new Cub Scout requirements documents?

Yours in Scouting,
Sherry

P.S.  If you are getting low on printer paper, you’ll want to check the prices at Staples through my affiliate link.  They occasionally offer great rebate deals.