Please Note: This article is written for users of the following Microsoft Excel versions: 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. If you are using an earlier version (Excel 2003 or earlier), this tip may not work for you. For a version of this tip written specifically for earlier versions of Excel, click here: Printing a Chart.

Printing a Chart

Written by Allen Wyatt (last updated April 25, 2023)
This tip applies to Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365


1

Excel allows you to quickly convert your worksheet data into snazzy charts. (You know—a picture is worth a thousand worksheet cells.) Once your chart looks just the way you want it to, you may be wondering exactly how to get the best results when printing it. In many ways, printing a chart is the same as printing a worksheet, but with a few subtle differences.

If you are not printing to a color printer, the first thing you will want to do is make sure you use the Print Preview feature to see what your chart will appear like in black and white. If there is not enough contrast between different parts of your chart, you will want to make changes to either the colors or patterns used within the chart so there is a better contrast and your printed chart will look better.

When you are ready to print your chart, the easiest method is to simply press Ctrl+P. Excel displays the Print dialog box (Excel 2007) or the print settings page (later versions), with which you are probably already familiar. The information at the top of the dialog box or Printer on the settings page indicates where your chart will be printed. If this is not the printer you want to use, choose a different printer using the drop-down list. (See Figure 1.)

Figure 1. The Print dialog box.

The actual information and options available in the Print dialog box or settings page can vary depending on the type of printer you are using. Different printers have different capabilities, and Windows takes advantage of these capabilities as much as possible. In general, however, you can use this dialog box or settings page to select the number of copies you want to print, along with which pages you want to print.

One of the other things you can specify is what you want sent to the printer. This is done by making a selection in the Print What box (Excel 2007) or the first drop-down list under the Settings heading (later versions of Excel). By default, this setting is Active Sheet(s) or Print Active Sheets, typically meaning that only the current worksheet will be printed (the one containing your chart). By changing this field, you can also specify that only a selection be printed or that your entire workbook is printed. (You should note that the Selection or Print Selection options are only available if you are printing a worksheet containing an embedded chart and that chart is selected; it is not available when printing a chart sheet.)

When you are satisfied with what you want to print, click on the OK button (Excel 2007) or Print button (later versions of Excel). Excel sends your information to the printer, as you directed.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (2088) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and Excel in Microsoft 365. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Printing a Chart.

Author Bio

Allen Wyatt

With more than 50 non-fiction books and numerous magazine articles to his credit, Allen Wyatt is an internationally recognized author. He is president of Sharon Parq Associates, a computer and publishing services company. ...

MORE FROM ALLEN

Tools to View Field Codes

Fields can be used to add all sorts of dynamic data to your documents. Viewing the field codes, at times, is desirable. ...

Discover More

Searching for White Space

White space permeates our documents, and sometimes you'll need to search for that white space. Word makes it easy to ...

Discover More

Disabling the Caps Lock Key

A few tips and tricks for working around the dratted Caps Lock button.

Discover More

Solve Real Business Problems Master business modeling and analysis techniques with Excel and transform data into bottom-line results. This hands-on, scenario-focused guide shows you how to use the latest Excel tools to integrate data from multiple tables. Check out Microsoft Excel 2013 Data Analysis and Business Modeling today!

More ExcelTips (ribbon)

Easily Printing to PDF

It used to be quite difficult to produce a PDF file from an Excel workbook. Times change, though, and you now have a ...

Discover More

Printing Selected Cells by Default

Want a one-button approach to printing? Excel provides the Quick Print tool, but it may not do exactly what you want. ...

Discover More

Printing a Draft of a Worksheet

Want to print out the fastest possible copy of your worksheet? You do so by printing a draft, discussed in this tip.

Discover More
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

View most recent newsletter.

Comments

If you would like to add an image to your comment (not an avatar, but an image to help in making the point of your comment), include the characters [{fig}] (all 7 characters, in the sequence shown) in your comment text. You’ll be prompted to upload your image when you submit the comment. Maximum image size is 6Mpixels. Images larger than 600px wide or 1000px tall will be reduced. Up to three images may be included in a comment. All images are subject to review. Commenting privileges may be curtailed if inappropriate images are posted.

What is three less than 3?

2019-01-19 14:37:37

Allan

Here again the Snipping Tool comes to the rescue. Use it to copy/paste the chart. Quick & simple.
Q. "... use the Print Preview feature to see what your chart will appear like in black and white. " I have never seen a Print Preview that shows a color chart in black & white. It shows color exactly as it will be printed.


This Site

Got a version of Excel that uses the ribbon interface (Excel 2007 or later)? This site is for you! If you use an earlier version of Excel, visit our ExcelTips site focusing on the menu interface.

Newest Tips
Subscribe

FREE SERVICE: Get tips like this every week in ExcelTips, a free productivity newsletter. Enter your address and click "Subscribe."

(Your e-mail address is not shared with anyone, ever.)

View the most recent newsletter.