Different printed page with same print margins in same Excel worksheet

[chuck1103]

(NOTE: I haven't setup my HP 8135e printer yet and am still using my HP Officejet Pro 8600 printer. The system would not recognize the 8600 serial number so that was the only way I could get into the community short of allowing HP to find my printer.)

I have a 12 sheet Excel workbook with all of the pages having all the same print area, margins, header, footer, print font, row height, etc values. Why would I get 2 of the 12 sheets appearing with different margins and general appearance than the other 10? Each page was a copy of the previous sheet and I have rechecked each sheet for the print parameters.

[VikramTheGreat · Accepted solution]

Hi @chuck1103,

Welcome to the HP Support Community.
 

Thank you for posting your query. I will be glad to help you.

This issue is actually quite common when working with multi-sheet Excel workbooks, even when everything looks identical. Here’s what’s likely happening and how to fix it:

Why Two Sheets Look Different

Even if you copied sheets and set the same print area, margins, headers, and fonts, Excel can still apply:

• Hidden Page Breaks or scaling differences.
• Different printer driver interpretations (especially if the printer wasn’t set up yet).
• Unintended “Fit to Page” or scaling settings on those two sheets.
• Cell content overflow or hidden columns are affecting the layout.

Steps to Fix It

1. Check Page Setup Individually

On each sheet:

• Go to Page Layout > Margins and confirm they match.
• Check Orientation and Paper Size.
   

2. Verify Scaling

• Go to Page Layout > Scale to Fit.
• Ensure Width = 1 page and Height = 1 page (or both set to “Automatic” if you don’t want scaling).
   

3. Inspect Print Area

• Select Page Layout > Print Area > Clear Print Area, then reapply it consistently.
   

4. Check for Hidden Columns/Rows

• Press Ctrl + A, then Unhide rows and columns.
• Hidden content can push margins unexpectedly.
   

5. Compare Page Break Preview

• Go to View > Page Break Preview.
• If the blue lines differ, drag them to match other sheets.

I hope this helps.

Take care and have an amazing day!
 

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Regards,

VikramTheGreat