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table borders visible in print and PDF

Anonymous
2017-09-13T20:01:47+00:00

I created a table with 2 sides, one side has a red background and the other is plain white.  The table made formatting easier but the final version can not have visible borders so I took them out. It looks great as a Word-file (picture 1) but when I try to print it or I try to save it as a PDF-file you can see faint white border lines in the red colour (picture 2).  Does anyone know how I can avoid this?

Thank you for your help.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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  1. Bob Jones AKA CyberTaz MVP 435K Reputation points
    2017-09-20T13:49:14+00:00

    Why everyone continues to suggest creating a PDF in order to resolve the issue doesn't make much sense - You've already stated that you've done that :-) Apparently nobody seems to understand that the problem is occurring in PDFs as well as hard copy... and if the lines are generated in the PDF, they will show up regardless of which program the PDF is printed from.

    Most printers [PDF is a print process] 'see' the cell walls & interpret the use of no color as white (i.e., apply no ink here). That often results in the faint hairline issue you're experiencing. The solution is to make the cells blend together so the printer sees them as one large area of a specific color.

    The issue is rather common, though, & there are at least 2 ways to resolve it.

    1. Select the left column, then use the Merge button on the Table Layout tab of the Ribbon (IMO, this is the preferable solution)
    2. Select the left column, then apply cell Borders which are the same color as the Fill.

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  1. Anonymous
    2017-09-20T06:27:37+00:00

    Save your document as PDF file as Phillip mentioned and then open it up in Adobe Acrobat Reader DC, then print your work inside the App.

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  2. Anonymous
    2017-09-18T02:21:29+00:00

    No, you have to save as  PDF file there are two methods.

    Method 1:

    1. On all versions up to, but not including Office 2016.
    2. Create your document save as a regular word Document as a Backup.
    3. Now go to Print menu.
    4. Click on PDF, scroll down to Adobe PDF.
    5. Now follow directions that come up.

    Method 2:

    1. Create and save the document as a backup in word format.
    2. Go to Edit Menu choose SaveAs
    3. Then set Export > PDF.
    4. There are two Option Best for Print and Best for Electronic Transfer

    ![](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/ce7fadc9-3a79-4551-b969-a1d70ae5124e?platform=QnA)![](https://learn-attachment.microsoft.com/api/attachments/ab6210e1-3fcf-49c9-8768-256d34c61e37?platform=QnA) 5. Choose the method depending upon the version of office you have.

    _________

    Disclaimer:

    The questions, discussions, opinions, replies & answers I create, are solely mine and mine alone and do not reflect upon my position as a Community Moderator.

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  3. Anonymous
    2017-09-17T16:40:55+00:00

    Hi William,

    Thanks for the suggestion.  I created the file in Word so it is a .docx file.

    Can I still open it in adobe?

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  4. Anonymous
    2017-09-14T03:16:04+00:00

    Hi Letitia,

    Where did you open the PDF file and print?

    Word is not a PDF application, please try using other application like Adobe to open it and print to check whether the borders disappear.

    Regards,

    William

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