Windows 10: Inconsistent results between machines with Microsoft Print to PDF

I have a Surface Book laptop and an HP desktop. Both are running Windows 10 and I make a lot of use of the Microsoft Print to PDF driver. I also make a lot of use with OneDrive to provide me consistent access to the latest versions of all my files wherever I am, in the office or out on site. Everything works well.


The problem is that when I create a PDF with my laptop I have found that I get different results to when I create a PDF with my desktop. Futher experiments show this is mostly (possibly even exclusively) with Excel, and specifically with Excel when it has to scale the worksheet to 'fit all columns on page'. I can take exactly the same document with exactly the same settings and print it in exactly the same way, but get two different outputs.

The way in which the two PDFs differ changes from document to document.


In one case a work sheet with a company logo in the header has a good 'Print Preview' but massively magnifies the logo. When there are multiple pages (across several work sheets printing at the same time) it will only do this on some of the pages, typically the ones which the 'fit' function applied to the print preferences. Print preview functions show everything to be fine, but when I print from my laptop I get the occasional distortion, as described (the preview does not match the output). When I print from my desktop it's fine (the preview matches the output).


In another case, a worksheet sized to fit on a page when previewed on the desktop will overspill onto a second page when previewed on the laptop. In this case the preview matches the output for both machines, but the output is different.


I have tried to completely remove and reinstall Excel on both machines. I have completely (I think) removed the 'Print to PDF' printer on both machines (difficult to know if I have *really* removed it, or if the reinstallation is using the same driver). In all cases the results remain the same: some documents print fine on both machines, others are changed in some way.


This is really frustrating and I am hoping that a) I am not the only one out there to have had similar problems, b) if anybody has a solution.


Thanks in advance for your help.


Angus

:)

 

Microsoft "Print to PDF" prints out Garbage

Hi,

To better assist you regarding Microsoft Print to PDF, we just have a few questions for you:

• What are the documents that you're trying to save as a PDF file?
  
• Can you provide us a step-by-step screenshot of how you print your documents as PDF?

 

Microsoft Print to PDF mixes up JPGs.

Hi Anita,

Thank you for posting in Microsoft Community.

To understand the issue better, I suggest you to answer the below questions.

• What happens when you select small bunch of images and try to print?
• Is the issue specific to the Microsoft Print to PDF?

I would suggest you to follow the below steps and check if it helps you.

• Create a new folder and copy the images you want in PDF.
• Sort the images as you want. (It always copies as per the sorted time/date)
• Set the images in Order/Sequence as you want it to be set in PDF.
• Select all and Print it to PDF.

Keep us posted to help you better.

 

Print to PDF missing in Printer List

Hi William,

We suggest that you disable and re-enable the Print to PDF feature. Here are the steps:

• Click on the Start menu and type in Windows Features.
• Choose Turn Windows features on or off.
• On the next window, find Microsoft Print to PDF and disable it. Click
  OK to save changes.
• Restart your PC.
• Repeat the same steps to re-enable Microsoft Print to PDF.

If the issue persists, we suggest that you perform the troubleshooting steps suggested on the link below under
Advanced:

Fix printer problems

Regards.