Selecting a Paper Source

Excel supports any printer supported by Windows. This is because Excel uses the features offered by Windows to print documents. Many of the features associated with formatting your document and printing are related to the type of printer you have installed and selected. For instance, some laser printers have different bins for different paper. Windows (and thus Excel) can instruct the printer to select paper from any of the available paper bins.

If you are using a printer that supports multiple paper sources, you may want to change the paper source used for your document. (For instance, you may have a paper tray that contains legal-size paper and you want to print on it.) The first step is to inform Excel of the printer you are using:

1. Press Ctrl+P. If you are using Excel 2007, you'll see the Print dialog box. If you are using Excel 2010 or a later version, you will see the File tab of the ribbon with the print options displayed.
2. Make sure the printer listed at the top of the dialog box (Excel 2007) or tab (Excel 2010 or a later version) matches the printer you want to use for your printing.
3. If you want to change the printer, use the drop-down list to select a different printer.
4. Click the Properties button (Excel 2007) or the Printer Properties link (Excel 2010 or a later version). Excel displays the Properties dialog box for the printer you've chosen.
5. Look through the tabs in the dialog box until you find controls that specify where paper should come from. Such a control may be named something like Paper Source, or you may see a Paper Source section with individual controls for the first and subsequent pages. Use the controls to specify where your paper should come from.
6. Click on OK. The Properties dialog box closes.
7. Print your worksheet as you normally would.

If, in step 5, you don't see different options for paper sources, then your printer (or printer driver) does not support multiple sources.

ExcelTips is your source for cost-effective Microsoft Excel training. This tip (10921) applies to Microsoft Excel 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2019, and 2021. You can find a version of this tip for the older menu interface of Excel here: Selecting a Paper Source.