What Causes Microsoft Excel Documents to Print Blank Pages
Here are some reasons Excel documents print out with extra blank pages. We also have a more general guide on how to fix things if your printer is printing blank pages.
1. Cells Are Formatted to Appear Blank
Sometimes, you can format cells in a Microsoft Excel document in certain ways to make them appear blank. This situation occurs when cells have white text, and the cell background is white, or when certain data values are set not to show or print.
2. The Document Contains Blank Pages
If the Microsoft Excel document has a block of blank cells in between areas with data, you may end up with a few blank pages printed out.
3. Pages Contain Errors
If a cell on a page contains an error, and errors are set to print as blank, Excel files may print out blank or with cells that seem empty.
4. There Are Hidden Columns
Another reason for getting blank Excel prints is if a document contains hidden columns with manual page breaks.
How to Stop Microsoft Excel From Printing Blank Pages
Try these simple fixes to make sure Microsoft Excel files don’t print blank pages.
1. Set a Specific Area to Print
Printing an Excel file is a little strange. It may not necessarily conform to the standard page sizes and layouts, depending on your data. So printing can get skewed. An easy way to fix this is to set the area you want to be printed. Here’s how:
In an Excel worksheet, select (highlight) the cells you want to appear on the printed page. Under the Page Layout tab, click on the Print Area dropdown and select Set Print Area.
Go to View > Page Break Preview to see how pages are set to be printed.
We have an informative article on how to set an area to print in Excel, as well as how to expand and clear the print area.
2. Set the Number of Pages to Be Printed
It can be annoying if many blank pages are printed at the tail end of your Excel document, but this can be dealt with easily. All you have to do is check the number of pages before printing and leave out the ones that are blank.
You can also apply this fix if blank pages appear in the middle of your Excel printout and all your data is printed. You’ll have to go through each page in the print preview to make sure no blank ones appear.
3. Scale to Match Paper Size
Scaling is best used when you want to make an Excel spreadsheet fit on your screen, but it can be used for other things too. And sometimes, errors in printing may be caused by scaling issues.
Since Excel, by default, doesn’t give you clearly defined pages, it may be difficult to know where one page ends, and the next one begins. The first thing to do is to center your data on the page. To do this:
Go to the Page Layout tab on the ribbon, click on the Margins dropdown, and select Custom Margins. In the Margins tab, under the Center on page section, check the Horizontally checkbox.
Then adjust the scale.
Go to the Scale to Fit section in the Page Layout ribbon tab. Reduce the scale from 100% to something that better fits your page.
Check the print preview to see if this has fixed the problem. Another way to scale your pages for printing is to adjust the scaling in Excel options. To do this:
Go to File > Options. Under the Advanced tab, scroll down to the General section. Make sure that the Scale content for A4 or 8. 5 x 11" paper sizes option is checked.
4. Copy Your Work Into a New Excel File
A simple temporary fix is to copy only what you want printed and paste it into a new Excel file. That way, you know exactly what is in the file and what should be printed.
5. Check for Unnoticed Text
You don’t have to manually check each cell in your Excel file if you think there are cells with white text. An easier method is to run a specific search using the find and replace search feature in Excel. Here’s how:
Press Ctrl + F to open the Find and Replace box. Extend Options to see more of them. Click on the Format dropdown and select Format. Under the Font tab, set the color to white and click on OK. Click the Find All button to see all cells with white text.
6. Check for Pages Breaks Among Hidden Columns or Rows
Hidden rows or columns in themselves won’t affect printing, but page breaks between hidden rows or columns can cause problems while printing. Follow these steps to check:
Navigate to the Editing group in the Home tab. Go to click Find & Select > Go To Special. Select Visible cells only and click OK.
If there are any hidden cells, all cells will be selected with borders of hidden rows and columns highlighted. Select the rows or columns on either side of a hidden one, right-click on the row or column name and select Unhide. Adjust page breaks so that pages print as you intend.
7. Print Zero Value Cells
You might notice if a large section of your Excel document is zeroes, but just to make sure, do the following to print cells that have a zero as their data, whether through direct input, formula, or some other method.
Go to File > Options. Under the Advanced tab, scroll down to the Display options for this worksheet section. Make sure that the Show a zero in cells that have zero value option is checked.
8. Find Out How Errors Are Treated
If an error is set to print as blank, you may be left with cells or groups of cells that don’t print their valuable data. Here’s how to enable the printing of cells with errors in Excel:
Under the Page Layout tab, click on the Dialog launcher box to the bottom right of the Page Setup section. Under the Sheet tab, make sure cell errors are set to be displayed.
9. Check Print Quality
Some printers allow printing at draft quality to save ink and time. These settings can affect how your documents print out. To make sure that draft quality is unselected, do the following:
Click on Print Titles under the Page Layout tab in the Excel worksheet. Under the Sheet tab or heading, make sure that the Black and white and Draft quality checkboxes are unchecked.
Next, make sure that your prints are of the highest quality. To do this:
Click on Print Titles under the Page Layout tab in the Excel worksheet. Switch over to the Page tab or heading, and change print quality to High.
You can move to print directly from here by hitting the Print Preview button.
10. Convert the Worksheet Into the Latest Microsoft Excel Format
Errors may be associated with the program version of the Excel file you are using, especially if you are using the old XLS format. Make sure you are using the latest Excel format. If you aren’t, convert your file into the latest format—XLSX.
11. Get the Latest Printer Drivers
Sometimes an issue with the OS and the printer driver can cause Microsoft Excel pages to print out blank. The easiest solution, in this case, is to update your printer drivers. You’ll have to log on to your printer manufacturer’s website and check for the latest drivers for your printer model.
Banish Printing Blank Excel Pages
Some issues are more easily resolved than others, and if you start noticing Excel files printing a few blank pages, a simple change of settings should resolve the issue. More serious compatibility issues are taken care of by updating file formats and printer drivers.
