Printing in Word can be seamless, but sometimes problems can arise. Missing text, misaligned margins, or entire pages not printing can disrupt your workflow. Luckily, most of these problems have easy solutions.
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This may seem obvious, but it’s always best to start with proper diagnostics. Before diving into any troubleshooting, it’s best to rule out any issues with your printer first. To do this, you can print a test page on your PC using the following steps:
If your printer is having problems, refer to our guide on what to do when your printer isn't working . However, if the test page prints correctly, continue with the following troubleshooting steps to resolve the problem.
Sometimes, problems with your document can cause Word to not print correctly. Luckily, Word has a handy feature that allows you to easily fix your document.
To use this feature, go to File > Open > Browse and select the Word file that isn't printing properly. Then, click the small arrow next to the Open button and select Open and Repair . Wait for Word to repair and open the file, then try printing again.
Alternatively, you can create a new Word document and copy the entire contents of the original file into it. If this resolves the issue, it means the printing error has been isolated to the original document.
This is a temporary solution, but it can be useful if you're in a hurry and don't have time to investigate the cause of the problem. Just save the Word document as a PDF and print it. PDFs preserve the formatting and layout of the document, ensuring it looks exactly as intended when viewed or printed.
To convert a Word file to PDF, press F12 to open the Save As dialog box . In the Save as type drop-down menu , select PDF and click Save. Your document will be saved as a PDF file and will open automatically after saving. Then try printing it again and see if it works.
Both Windows 10 and 11 have a printer troubleshooter that can automatically find and fix common problems, so you should run it if you're still having trouble printing to Word. Here's what to do:
If the problem persists after running the printer troubleshooter, the problem may be related to the printer driver on your PC.
A less common but annoying printing problem in Word is when pages print at a fraction of their actual size. This is often caused by improperly set scaling factors in the print settings. Here's what you can do to fix it.
This will cause the pages to print at full size, with text and any graphics filling the entire page.
Microsoft Word provides the option to hide text in your document. This hidden text works similarly to formatting marks such as spaces, line breaks, and tabs – it takes up space on the page but does not appear when printed or viewed on screen. Sometimes, hidden text can be the reason why certain parts of your document are missing when printed, even though they are visible in the softcopy.
If you suspect hidden text may be causing printing problems, here's how to check for and display any hidden content in a Microsoft Word document:
Another common printing problem in Word occurs when table borders or other elements in your document don't appear in the printed version, even though they're visible on screen. Here's how to fix that problem.
When you print directly to a printer, Word bypasses the print spooler and sends the document straight to the printer. This can help resolve problems like printing delays, missing pages, or incorrect formatting that can occur when a document is processed by the spooler first.
To print directly to a printer in Word:
If you've tried all of the fixes above and the problem persists, or if you're having similar problems with other Office apps, you can try using the Office repair tool. This tool scans all of your Office apps, including Word, for potential problems and automatically fixes them. Here's how to run it.
Wait for the repair tool to run, then try printing from Word again.
After spending hours working on a document, it can be frustrating when Word doesn't print properly. Hopefully, that's no longer the case, and one of the tips above will help you fix your Word printing problems.
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