When converting from WORD to PDF not all images, etc. appear on printed paper

Question

Hi There,

I have created a document in Word that includes text boxes, shapes created in Word and images inserted from JPEG files. When I print the document directly from Word, there is no problem, all the formatting prints out on the paper correctly, as expected. When I hit command + P and "print" or save the document as a PDF, essentially converting the document from a .docx to a .pdf, the document looks fine on the screen. No formatting has been changed, even in the Print Preview it looks fine when open in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC. However, when I print the document to paper, many of the shapes are missing, some of the images are partially cut-off and in some cases, big black boxes appear.

I have had to use the "bring to front", "bring forward", "bring in front of text", etc. options in Word when creating the document to get the look I wanted and have images and shapes or text layered. Not sure if this is playing a part.

Again, there is no issue until I print out the document onto actual paper.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I am on a MacBookAir running Mojave version 10.14.6 and using the newest version of the Word app.

Thanks,

Christine

Amal. · Accepted Answer

Hi there,

I hope you are doing well. Thanks for sharing the details.

The difference in behavior between Preview and Acrobat usually comes down to how the applications handle fonts, transparency, and rendering during the print process. That’s why “Print as Image” works—it flattens everything, but as you noticed, it can sometimes scale or shift margins.

A few things you can try that may help avoid using “Print as Image”:

Update Acrobat and your printer driver: Make sure both are on the latest versions, since print rendering issues are often addressed in updates.
Check Page Scaling settings: In the print dialog, ensure “Actual Size” is selected instead of “Fit” or “Shrink oversized pages.” This can help prevent the shrinking you’re seeing.
Save as a new PDF: Sometimes re-saving the PDF using “Save As Other > Optimized PDF” or “Preflight” in Acrobat can clean up elements that cause printing glitches.

If none of these fully resolve it, using “Print as Image” may remain the fallback—but you can try adjusting the Custom Scale (%) in the print dialog to counteract the shrinking.

Also, please go through the help pages listed below and see if that works:

- https://adobe.ly/4nwLcag

- https://adobe.ly/4pvuaLk

~Amal

brent_6856 · Answer

I am having the exact same issue 5 years later. The PDF prints without issue using Apple's Preview program, but Acrobat does not. The only workaround I found is to go to Advance Printing Options and checking Print as Image. But even this causes the printed image to be shrunk slightly, and the bottom margin to be increased significantly.

Sign up

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Sign in to Adobe Community

To post, reply, or follow discussions, please sign in with your Adobe ID.

Scanning file for viruses.

This file cannot be downloaded