Character Missing in Printout When Print Titles Are Set

SUMMARY

Hewlett-Packard (HP) LaserJet printers may omit a character from an Excel text string if the character's position falls where a vertical Print Title command break falls. This situation occurs when the Print Titles execution includes columns.

MORE INFORMATION

This problem occurs because PCL (printer control language) hardware fonts cannot be clipped (meaning that characters cannot be partially printed). A character that falls on a vertical Print Title break falls only halfway in the vertical Print Title, so a PCL printer is unable to print the character.

Workaround

Turning gridlines on or off will not affect this problem in any way. The best workaround is to use one of the Windows' vector fonts: Modern, Roman, or Script. These fonts will print correctly because they can be clipped.

Steps to Reproduce Problem

Using an HP LaserJet as your default printer, do the following:

1. Open a new worksheet.

2. Enter the word "TITLE" (without the quotation marks) in cell A1.

3. With cell A1 active, choose Font from the Format menu. Check the Printer Fonts check box. Choose Courier 12 as the font and choose OK.

4. Choose Column Width from the Format menu. Type 3.5 in the Column Width box and choose OK.

5. Select Row 1 and Column A. Choose Set Print Titles from the Options menu.

6. Print the file.

REFERENCES

"Microsoft Excel User's Guide." Version 3.0, pages 533-534.