A4 is the most widely used Paper format in the world for printing various types of documents. However, when printing an Excel spreadsheet on A4 paper, there are many drawbacks if the spreadsheet has too many rows or columns. The question then arises: is there a way to print Excel to fit A4 paper and how to do it. The instructions will be provided in this article.

Benefits of printing Excel to fit A4 paper

Printing Excel to fit A4 paper is one of the techniques that document print professionals need to know, especially when printing Excel files containing numerous rows and columns.

Printing Excel to fit A4 paper brings benefits such as:

• Save printing paper: Printing Excel to fit A4 paper helps you make the most of the empty space on the page, thus saving printing paper and printing costs. If you are not aware of this trick, a spreadsheet may overflow onto multiple pages, resulting in waste.
• Easy to follow: When printing Excel to fit A4 paper, the columns of the spreadsheet will fit neatly on one page. Naturally, this will make it easier for readers to follow than having to look at 2 or more pages at once.

• Enhance aesthetics: Printing Excel to fit A4 paper also demonstrates professionalism, making the spreadsheet look clean and tidy compared to scattered printing.
• Less confusion and loss: If a spreadsheet spans multiple pages, it is very easy to lose or confuse when transferring or sharing. Printing Excel to fit A4 paper can overcome this problem because all columns in the spreadsheet will fit neatly on the same page.

Read more:

• How to wrap text in Excel Mac with just a few basic operations
• Top 5 ways to convert Excel to Word: Simple tricks that office workers should know

How to print Excel to fit A4 paper

Below, FPT Shop will guide you in detail on how to print Excel to fit A4 paper. Follow along.

Using the Page Layout dialog box

Before printing, adjust the size of the table and align the content within using the Page Layout to make the spreadsheet fit neatly on the sheet.

Step 1: Open the Excel file > Select Page Layout tab > Click on the dropdown arrow to open the page setup dialog box.

Step 2: The Page Setup dialog box appears:

• In the Orientation section, choose the A4 portrait or landscape format.
• In the Fit to section, adjust the settings to 1 page(s) wide by 1 tall.
• In the Paper size section, choose A4.

Then click Print.

Obtain the following result:

Using Page Break Preview

The second method to print Excel to fit A4 paper is to use the Page Break Preview tool as follows:

Step 1: Open the Excel file > Select View tab > Select Page Break Preview.

Step 2: Continue to select the File tab > Select Print.

Proceed with printing and you will get the result as shown in the preview pane on the right side of the screen.

Using Breaks feature

Step 1: Open the Excel file > Select the Page Layout tab on the toolbar > Select the Breaks feature in the Page Setup section > Select Insert Page Break.

Step 2: Select the File tab > Select Print. The result after printing will look like the preview displayed in the right pane.

In case you want to print a portion of the spreadsheet, do the following:

Step 1: Select the data range to be printed > Select the File tab.

Step 2: Select Print > In the Settings section, select Print Selection (Print selected cells).

The result after printing will look like the image displayed in the preview section.

Note: The instructions are performed on Microsoft Excel 2019, but for other versions such as Excel 2010, 2016, etc., you can follow them similarly.

How to print Google Sheets to fit A4 paper

Google Sheets is a standout product in the collection of applications in Google Drive. It is browser-based and allows users to create and edit spreadsheets for free, similar to Microsoft Excel.

Currently, many people switch to using Google Sheets instead of Microsoft Excel for easier editing and sharing. The editing history is also saved, so you don’t have to worry about losing your files. You can share Google Sheets links with multiple people to collaborate and see the changes without the need to send back and forth, saving time and reducing confusion.

If you are working on Google Sheets and want to print the spreadsheet to fit A4 paper, follow these instructions:

Step 1: Select the data range to be printed or the entire data in Google Sheets > Select the File tab > Select Print or use the shortcut Ctrl + P.

Step 2: In the Print window:

• Choose Current sheet to print the entire sheet.
• Or choose Selected cells to print only the selected range.

Step 3: Customize the parameters:

• In the Paper size section, choose A4.
• In the Paper Orientation section, choose Portrait or Landscape.
• In the Scale section, choose Fit to width.
• In the Margins section, choose the desired margin.

Then click Next to proceed with printing.

Customize printing parameters

After selecting the File and Print tabs, you will enter the print interface with many parameters. At this point, you can further adjust the page layout to make it fit and look better using the Wide Margins feature. Specifically:

Step 1: To adjust the margins, you can choose one of the available options: Normal, Wide, Narrow, or choose Custom Margins to manually adjust according to your preferences.

Step 2: When selecting Custom Margins, the Page Setup dialog box will appear, where you can adjust the margin parameters in the Margins section, including Top, Bottom, Left, Right, Header, Footer > Click OK to finish.

Finally, proceed with the print command to print out the document.

Some tips for printing Excel

In addition to the above methods, before printing Excel, you should also optimize the alignment to make the spreadsheet neater and cleaner. Sometimes, this can also help you print Excel to fit A4 paper. Specifically:

• Remove unnecessary columns and rows: A spreadsheet with too many columns will be difficult to fit on one A4 page. Therefore, you should check and delete any unnecessary columns or rows to reduce the size of the spreadsheet. For columns and rows that are not important, you can hide them to avoid completely losing them, and unhide them when needed.
• Adjust margins: If reducing the margins does not affect the document or violate any guidelines that must be followed, you can consider this. Reducing the margins will create more space for the spreadsheet.
• Adjust font size: Changing the font size (specifically, reducing the font size) will make the spreadsheet smaller, making it easier to print on one A4 page. However, avoid choosing a font size that is too small, as it will be difficult to read and may lead to confusion.
• Choose landscape orientation: For spreadsheets with many columns, it is recommended to choose landscape orientation instead of the default portrait orientation. You can also consider this option.

Conclusion

The article has provided detailed instructions on how to print Excel to fit A4 paper, applicable to both Excel files and spreadsheets on Google Sheets. Each step is illustrated with examples, so it should be easy to follow. This is one of the simplest tricks that document print professionals or those who frequently print documents need to know.

Read more: 

• Discover 4 ways to strikethrough text in Excel to create professional spreadsheets
• How to merge first name and last name in Excel, a time-saving trick for creating lists

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