Printing PowerPoint Presentations
To print an open PowerPoint presentation, follow these steps:
Choose File, Print to open the Print dialog box, shown in Figure 8.3.
Figure 8.3. You can specify numerous print parameters in the Print dialog box.
Tip
Click the Print button on the Standard toolbar if you want to automatically print with the defaults rather than setting options in the Print dialog box. Be sure that your default settings match your desired output, such as grayscale or black and white. You can set these defaults in the Print dialog box.Select the printer you want to use from the Name drop-down list.
Tip
Click the Properties button to change the properties and print parameters of the selected printer.
In the Print Range group box, select the slides you want to print. Choices include
All Prints all slides in the presentation.
Current Slide Prints only the currently selected slide.
Selection Prints the selected slides. For example, if you select specific slides in the Outline pane, only these slides print.
Custom Show Enables you to select a custom show to print. This option isn't available if you haven't created at least one custom show.
→ For more information on Custom Shows, see "Working with Custom Shows,"
Slides Enter the numbers of the slides you want to print. For example, you could enter 1-4, 10 to print slides 1, 2, 3, 4, and 10. Page numbers must be selected in ascending order.
Enter the Number of Copies you want to print. If you choose to print more than one copy, specify whether or not to Collate. Collating keeps multiple copies in sequence. If you were to print five copies of a presentation without collating, for example, you would print five copies of page one first, then five copies of page two, and so on.
Specify what you want to print in the Print What drop-down list. Options include Slides, Handouts, Notes Pages, or Outline View.
If you choose to print handouts, the Handouts group box displays. Indicate how many slides you want to print per page—up to nine— in the Slides per Page field and choose either a Horizontal or Vertical Order for the flow of slides on a page.
Next, choose any of the following print options that apply:
Grayscale Prints the presentation as grayscale (using shades of black, white, and gray) which optimizes a color presentation for a black-and-white printer.
Pure Black and White Prints the presentation in black and white only, without any gray.
Tip
To print in color on a color printer, be sure to clear the Grayscale and Pure Black and White check boxes.
Include Animations Displays animated graphics in your presentation as icons on the printed page.
Scale to Fit Paper Changes the size of slides to fit the paper, making them either larger or smaller as appropriate.
Frame Slides Includes a border around the slides. Not available when you print Outline View.
Print Hidden Slides This option is available only if your presentation includes hidden slides.
Click OK to print.
Tip
You can customize printing defaults for the existing presentation in the Options dialog box. To access it, choose Tools, Options and go to the Print tab.
→ For more information about printing, see Changing Print Options,
Previewing in Grayscale and Black and White
If you don't have a color printer, you can print a color presentation in two different ways—grayscale or black and white. Table 8.1 illustrates how each PowerPoint object appears when printed in grayscale or black and white.
| Object | Grayscale | Black-and-White |
|---|---|---|
| Bitmaps | Grayscale | Grayscale |
| Charts | Grayscale | Grayscale |
| Embossing | None | None |
| Fill | Grayscale | White |
| Frames | Black | Black |
| Lines | Black | Black |
| Patterns | Grayscale | White |
| Shadows (object) | Grayscale | Black |
| Shadows (text) | None | None |
| Slide backgrounds | White | White |
| Text | Black | Black |
To preview what your color presentation will look like in grayscale, click the Grayscale Preview button on the Standard toolbar. Figure 8.4 illustrates a presentation in grayscale.
Figure 8.4. Grayscale optimizes your color presentation for a black-and-white printer.
To preview the same presentation in black and white, press the Shift key, which converts the Grayscale Preview button to the Pure Black and White Preview button. Click this button to see the differences in this color scheme. Figure 8.5 illustrates a pure black-and-white version of the same slide.
Tip
The Grayscale Preview button must be unselected before you press the Shift key. Then click Grayscale Preview button to convert it to Pure Black and White Preview.
You can manually change how an object prints in either grayscale or black and white when you are viewing in Grayscale Preview or Pure Black and White Preview. To do so, select the object, right-click, and choose Black and White from the shortcut menu. You can then choose from the following color options:
Automatic
Grayscale
Light Grayscale
Inverse Grayscale
Gra_y with White Fill
Black with Grayscale Fill
Black with White Fill
Black
White
Don't Show
Figure 8.5. Printing in pure black and white is another option.
Caution
Be sure you're viewing the presentation in Grayscale Preview or Pure Black and White Preview, or else the Black and White menu option won't be available from the shortcut menu.
Printing an Outline
In the Print dialog box you can choose to print a presentation's outline by selecting the Outline View option in the Print What drop-down list.
→ For more detailed information about printing, see "Printing PowerPoint Presentations,"
Before you do this, however, you may want to set up your outline for printing.
To display the entire contents of each slide, click the Expand All button on either the Standard or Outlining toolbar.
Tip
To print only the title of each slide, click the Collapse All button on the Outlining toolbar.
To print an outline with the same formatting (font styles and sizing, line spacing, and the like) as the presentation itself, click the Show Formatting button on the Standard or Outlining toolbar.
→ To better understand outlines, see "Collapsing and Expanding Outline Points,"