Printing your PowerPoint slides is an important part of preparing for a presentation. Having a physical copy allows you to make last-minute edits, add notes, and ensure your slides look as intended before connecting your laptop and projecting for an audience.
Printing slides correctly can be tricky though. PowerPoint has many options and settings to tweak which can impact how your presentation prints. This article will walk you through best practices for getting the perfect printouts.
Choose the Right Print Layout
PowerPoint offers several print layouts to choose from in the Print pane:
- Full Page Slides – Each slide prints full-page on its own sheet of paper. Best for checking colors and alignment.
- Notes Pages – Prints one slide per page with your speaker notes below each slide. Great for presentations where notes are key.
- Outline – Prints slide titles and main text as an outline sans images/visuals. Helpful for sharing presentation narrative.
- Handouts – Prints 2, 3, 4, or 6 slides per page with lines for audience notes. Perfect handouts to share with attendees.
Consider your purpose and select the appropriate layout before printing. The preview pane shows you exactly how each option will print out.
Check Printer Settings
Open printer properties and confirm the following is set:
- Orientation: The same as your slide orientation (usually landscape)
- Paper size: Letter or legal sized paper
- Color: Color if your presentation has images/graphics
- Two-sided printing: If printing handouts or notes pages
Adjusting these printer settings ensures no content gets cut off or prints incorrectly.
Print Specific Slides
Rather than printing all slides, you may only need certain slides or a range printed for your purpose.
In the Print pane under Settings, choose “Custom Range” and enter specific slide numbers separated by commas. For example “2,5,7” or “9-12”. This prints just those selected slides.
Scale to Fit (If Needed)
If you have a complex layout with small text, consider enabling “Scale to Fit Paper” under Print Layout settings.
This will scale down the entire slide (including text) to fit the printable area of the page size selected. Avoid scaling if legibility is key.
Check Print Preview
Once your layout and printer settings are adjusted, check the print preview carefully before hitting print.
Zoom in if needed and validate slides are oriented correctly, content doesn’t get cut off, notes print, and text is sufficiently sized. Make tweaks as needed.
Print Test Page First
Rather than printing your entire 20-60 page presentation right away, start by printing only 1 test page.
Examine the single print out and make any necessary adjustments before committing to print the entire deck.
Allow Extra Time
Be sure to give yourself plenty of lead time before your presentation for printing.
Large presentations with lots of slides and images may take the printer 10-15 minutes to fully complete. Build in that buffer if rushing.
Conclusion
Printing slides in PowerPoint is easy once you know the layouts and options available. Choosing notes pages versus handouts, confirming printer alignment to slides, and checking print preview can ensure your printouts are perfect every time.
Smart printing will allow you to confidently present, refer back to key notes, and share professional takeaways with your audience. Follow these PowerPoint printing best practices for fantastic looking printouts.
