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I an excel spredsheet that I want to print from two different machines. On the first machine is printed on a single page where on the second needs two as the last line cannot fit on the first page.

I have installed the same drivers on both machines. The issue appears on all the following printers:

  • Microsoft XPS Document writer (Virtual printer)
  • PDF Writer - Bio pdf (Virtual printer)
  • Xerox Phaser 6121MFP (Physical printer)

I am aware that this is an old issue that can found on many technical forums but as of now there is no solution.

Details that are common across machines:

  • Windows ver 10.0.10240 (behavior was the same with windows 7)
  • MS office Professional plus 2010 ver 14.0.7162.50000 (64-bit)

Details that are different on the two machines

  • Machine 1: Lenovo T430U
  • Machine 2: Lenovo L540

pdf output machine 1 (OK)

pdf output machine 1

pdf output machine 2 (Not OK)

pdf output machine 2

xps output machine 1 (OK)

xps output machine 1

xps output machine 2 (Not OK)

xps output machine 2

Excel page settings

Excel page settings

Excel margins

Excel margins

pdf settings

pdf settings

xps settings

xps settings

thanos.a
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  • Have you set your print area? – Eric F Nov 11 '15 at 14:43
  • @EricF I have tried but I cannot see this to remedy the problem, unless I also select the zoom level to 95% which is something I want to avoid. – thanos.a Nov 12 '15 at 07:57
  • @downvoter I don't see the reason for the downvote to my post with is the more detailed of all in that old and unresolved issue. – thanos.a Nov 12 '15 at 07:58

2 Answers2

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This is an issue with the DPI setting. I'm guessing one computer is using 125% and one is using 100%.

This setting can be found by right clicking the desktop and looking at the display Settings and going under the "Scale and Layout" heading.

Excel is programmed by monkeys who apparently thought it was a good idea to tie the size of print items to the on screen DPI instead of to some independent number which is then scaled by the desired DPI for screen rendering.

Excel_Guy
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  • Seems a legitimate reason. – thanos.a Oct 31 '19 at 20:48
  • While this DPI setting might be a cause of the experienced behavior, there must also be other sources because changing the DPI setting did not affect the print out. – René Nyffenegger Jul 22 '20 at 14:42
  • This is crazy but true. My invoice workbook has a defined layout over three pages. I've just printed to PDF on my laptop and the layout was all over. Open same document on my home PC, layout is fine. Home PC has scaling 100%, laptop 125% - change laptop to 125% and log off/back on and it's fixed. Yes, monkeys - what has display scaling got to do with print layout! – munrobasher Nov 07 '20 at 15:42
  • Additionnaly, to see a difference, I had to go under "Scale and Layout > Advanced scaling settings > Fix scaling for apps", and UNCHECK "Let Windows try to fix apps so they're not blurry". – Bob Apr 17 '23 at 12:59
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Set your print area, then set Scaling to "Fit to 1 page(s) wide by 1 tall."

Marina Michaels
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    This will change the zoom level which something I want to avoid. The zoom level is a setting on the excel file which is common across the machines. This means that if that setting is saved the print out will be zoomed out in the other machine too. I am trying to find the reason of the problem which is why that machine considers the save worksheet not to fit to the same A4 page. – thanos.a Nov 12 '15 at 08:01
  • This answer is late. To clarify, I meant that when you go to print the page, set the scaling in the print options. That's not a permanent setting; it's only when you print. – Marina Michaels Mar 31 '23 at 05:15