Troubleshooting Excel Gridlines Not Printing: Solutions and Fixes

Are your Excel gridlines refusing to appear when you print? This is a surprisingly common issue that can stem from various settings within Excel, your printer configurations, or even the file format itself. If you’re struggling to get those helpful gridlines to print, you’re in the right place. This guide compiles user-tested workarounds and solutions to help you get your Excel sheets printing with gridlines again.

Quick Fixes to Make Excel Gridlines Print

Sometimes, the solution is a simple tweak. Here are a few quick methods suggested by Excel users to resolve gridline printing problems:

• Print in XPS Format: An unusual but effective workaround reported by some users is saving the Excel document as an XPS file and printing from there. This format change somehow forces gridlines to print correctly in some cases.
• Scale to 99%: In the “Page Layout” tab, under “Scale to Fit,” try reducing the scaling from 100% to 99%. This minor adjustment has been known to resolve gridline issues for some users without significantly altering the layout.
• “Best” Print Quality Setting: Changing your printer’s print quality to “Best” can also force gridlines to print. While this might consume more ink and print slower, it’s a straightforward way to check if print quality is the culprit.

Border Style Solutions for Excel Gridline Printing

Excel offers various border styles, and it seems certain styles might not always translate well to printing gridlines. Experimenting with border styles can be a solution:

• Use a Different Border Style: If you are using a specific thin line style for your gridlines, try switching to a different style, even temporarily. Some users have found that certain default line styles don’t print as gridlines, but other styles do.
• Apply Cell Borders: A more robust solution is to explicitly apply borders to the cells containing data. Highlight the data range, right-click, select “Format Cells,” go to the “Border” tab, and choose “Outline” and “Inside” borders. This ensures that borders are definitely defined and should print.
• Page Border Trick: One user found success by creating a border around the intended print area on the page layout. This might be helpful if you are dealing with page break issues and gridlines not appearing at page boundaries.

Advanced Solutions: File Format and Print Titles

For more persistent issues, the problem might lie deeper within the Excel file itself, particularly with older file formats or specific settings:

• File Format and Print Titles: A user reported that workbooks originally created in .xls format (older Excel format), especially those containing “Print Titles,” might have gridline printing problems, even when saved as .xlsx or .xlsm.
  • The Suggested Solution:
    1. Open the problematic workbook.
    2. Go to “Page Layout,” “Page Setup,” “Sheet” tab, and ensure “Print Gridlines” is checked.
    3. Navigate to “File,” “Options,” “Advanced,” “Display options for this workbook,” and check “Show sheet tabs.”
    4. Right-click on the sheet tab, select “Move or Copy…,” choose “(new book)” under “To book:”, check “Create a copy,” and click “OK.”
    5. Close the original workbook.
    6. Save the new workbook, potentially replacing the old one.
       This process, involving moving the sheet to a new workbook, has been reported to resolve gridline printing issues related to older file formats and print titles.

Printer Driver and HP Support Document

While the solutions above address Excel settings, printer-specific issues can also be at play.

• HP Printer Specific Issue: The original post mentions an HP support document specifically addressing horizontal borders and gridlines not printing in Excel for certain HP printers on Windows 7 and 8. If you are using an HP printer and experiencing this problem, it’s highly recommended to consult this official HP document: https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c04491099. This document may contain printer driver updates or specific instructions relevant to your HP printer model.

Conclusion

Printing Excel gridlines should be a straightforward task, but as seen, various factors can interfere. By trying these user-suggested solutions, ranging from simple print settings to file format adjustments, you should be able to troubleshoot and resolve most Excel gridline printing problems. Remember to test each solution to see what works best for your specific situation.