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Fuzzy text when printing (Word for Mac 2011)

Anonymous
2012-11-28T18:50:51+00:00

I just created a document with the publishing view. My text is contained in text boxes. When I print it (on an HP LaserJet 4650), the text looks slightly fuzzy. Other applications on my Mac (Safari, Notes, etc.) have no trouble printing sharp, clear text. I even tried printing another document from Word (a basic document made in the normal print layout without text boxes), and that printed out sharp. Is there a bug in publishing view or text boxes that causes fonts to be printed blurry? Is there a way to fix this?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows

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Anonymous
2012-12-17T10:39:42+00:00

I have sussed something out!

Save the word document as a .doc, not a .docx - it then prints fine. The difference? In a .docx the text box is actually a shape (graphic?). When saved as a .doc it is saved as text box, I'm assuming as actual text rather than converted to a graphic.

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  1. Bob Jones AKA CyberTaz MVP 435.7K Reputation points
    2012-11-30T12:36:30+00:00

    I'd suggest that you make sure everything is fully updated -- Office, OS X and your print driver. Check the HP site. Repair disk permissions & restart.

    Perhaps using a different font would help.

    You should also check all of the settings in the Print dialog.

    It sounds to me like the printer is interpreting the Text Boxes as a graphic objects & may be either rasterizing or antialiasing their content.

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  2. Anonymous
    2012-12-05T18:56:08+00:00

    Well, here's something interesting. I found that only the front-most text box is clear (as well as the normal text on the page). If I have multiple text boxes or objects on a page, the only clear one will be the object that I've told to "Bring to Front". This is true even if the text boxes do not overlap each other.

    The text wrapping style doesn't change this. I tried setting both of the text boxes to In Line, and then Square. They still were fuzzy except for the one that was Brought to Front.

    I am saving in the .docx format.

    In Quick Preview, Apple's Preview app, and the generated PDF, the text looks sharp. When viewing in all three of those formats, there is a little bit of text that gets cut off the bottom line of text in the text boxes, but the line is complete when printed on physical paper. However, the text is fuzzy once more when printed on physical paper. And the fuzziness follows the same rule as above--the only sharp text is in the top-most text box.

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  3. Bob Jones AKA CyberTaz MVP 435.7K Reputation points
    2012-11-30T18:48:59+00:00

    That does sound unusual -- Is it possible that one of the Text Boxes is set to In Line but the other has some form of Text Wrapping applied?

    Are you saving in the .docx format?

    How does the text look in Quick Preview in the Print dialog?

    How does it look in Apple's Preview app if you click that button in the Print dialog? Or if you actually generate a PDF? What if you print the PDF or print from Preview?

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  4. Anonymous
    2012-11-30T18:22:11+00:00

    Office, OSX, and my printer drivers are all fully updated.

    I did try using a different font, and the fuzziness was still there.

    All of the settings in the Print dialog are set the same as when I print out a "normal" document (one that doesn't use text boxes).

    I just ran an experiment to make sure it's just the text boxes. I created a new document in print layout view, and added text without a text box. Then I created two text boxes, and typed the same text into those. I made sure everything was the same--font, size, and settings between both of the text boxes and the "normal" text. Interestingly, the normal text in the document and the text in one of the text boxes was clear, but the other text box still had fuzzy text. I couldn't find anything that was different about the settings in either of the text boxes.

    It does sound/look like the printer is treating the text boxes like a graphic object, and rasterizing or antialiasing them. Any ideas on how to correct this? Thanks for your help.

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