Can't print this document! Print preview not matching Page Layout or Page Break Preview

Question

I'm trying to "print" this to PDF, but can't get all my tables and graphs to fit nicely when printing

This is my view in Page Break Preview

This is my view in Page Layout

This is the Print Preview screen, I think when it's scaling the rows to fit on one page, it's not scaling the graphs as well so they keep moving around.

How do I make this look nice when I print? I have 16 tables with graphs plus a footer, so they aren't going to fit all on one page, that's why I set it to print over 4 pages.

nikolinode · Answer

Excel scales cells, but floating objects (charts) don’t scale the same way, so Print Preview no longer matches Page Layout / Page Break Preview.

This is not a PDF issue — it’s how Excel handles charts when printing.

Stop using “Fit to X pages”

This is the #1 cause of layout breakage.

Go to:
Page Layout → Scale to Fit

Width: Automatic
Height: Automatic
Scale: 100%

Never use “Fit to 4 pages” when charts are involved.

Recommended layout strategy (for large reports)

Since you have 16 tables + charts + footer:

Design 1 page = 4 blocks
Each block:
- Table
- Chart aligned to the right
Use consistent row heights
Leave 2–3 empty rows between blocks

This gives Excel “buffer space” so objects don’t collide when printing.

Things that DO NOT work (and why)

Method	Why it fails
Fit to 1 / 4 pages	Breaks chart positioning
Page Layout view only	Doesn’t reflect print engine
Shrinking margins further	Doesn’t affect charts
PDF printer settings	Excel layout already broken