VBA excel macro printer failures

Question

Hi, Both network and USB printer are having this issue. I can open word, excel and other applications and print just fine. When I open our Excel Application (VBA and Access) and try to print any macro report, the print job fails and then all printing stops working at that point. We thought it was a new change that was implemented that added a bar code font to a report but we backed out that change and all previous version are doing the same thing? I've reinstalled the printer, tried updating the driver, changing the driver, stopping the print spooler, clearing the spooler folder and restarting the spooler with no luck. After reboot print will work again until we try to print from the Excel VBA App. Then it kills printing. If I open the print que I can see the jobs going thru the que and disappearing but nothing prints, the printer flashes "Printing Document" but then nothing. Just started happening last week which was about a month after our new version was released. Only work around I could find was changing the printer destination in excel to Microsoft Print to PDF. I can then save the report and print out the PDF just fine. Any idea why the Excel VBA app keeps killing our printing?

Answer 1

Good day Andy,

Just to gently clarify before we go any further, this is a user‑to‑user support forum. I don’t have the ability to access or investigate individual accounts because this is a user-to-user support forum.  

I recommend first trying the troubleshooting steps suggested in the AI answer.  

If the issue continues, you can try the following additional steps: 

Notes: Some of the steps below may require assistance from your organization's IT administrator, so please reach out to them. In case you do not know who is your IT admin, kindly refer to this article: How do I find my Microsoft 365 admin? - Microsoft Support  

Please test with one affected file first to see whether the issue is resolved. 

1/ Repair the affected workbooks 

Since only the files that use VBA and Access are affected, while other files print normally. 

Open Excel desktop app > File > Open > Browse to the affected workbook. 

Click the drop down arrow next to Open and select Open and Repair. 

Once the repair is complete, test printing again. 

2/ Review Group Policy settings  

In a business environment, printing behavior may be controlled through Group Policy.  

Verify that no policy is disabling or restricting the Print Spooler service, as this can affect printing functionality. 

3/ Check for antivirus or endpoint protection interference  

Please work with your organization's IT admin to confirm that antivirus or endpoint protection software isn't blocking files or processes used by the Print Spooler service. If required by your organization's policy, they can also review whether exclusions for the spool folder are appropriate.  

Additional information is available in the following resource: Printing issues caused by Print Spooler service not running - Windows Server | Microsoft Learn 

4/ Contact Microsoft Support  

If the issue continues after the steps above, I recommend asking your organization's IT administrator to create a support ticket through the Microsoft 365 admin center > Support > Help & Support. A support engineer can perform a deeper investigation, review the environment and escalate the case if needed. 

I hope this information is helpful. If you have any questions or need further support, please don’t hesitate to reach out at any time. 

Thank you for your patience and understanding. 

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Answer 2

The behavior points to a printer or Windows print subsystem problem triggered by the Excel VBA app, not a general Office printing failure, because normal printing works until the macro report is sent and printing resumes after a reboot. The fact that Microsoft Print to PDF works also suggests the workbook/report can render, but the physical printer path is failing.

Use this isolation path:

1. Confirm whether the issue is specific to the VBA app output
   • In Excel, try printing a simple non-macro workbook.
   • From the VBA app, try a different report if available.
   • If only macro-generated reports fail, the report content is likely triggering the printer path.
2. Print a Windows test page before and after the VBA failure
   • Windows 11: Start > Settings > Bluetooth & devices > Printers & scanners.
   • Select the printer > Printer properties > Print Test Page.
   • If the test page prints before the macro run but fails after it, the VBA print job is destabilizing the printer driver or spooler path.
3. Verify the selected printer inside Excel
   • In Excel, select File > Print.
   • Make sure the intended physical printer is selected and its status is Ready.
   • Check that the app is not switching to Print to file or another unavailable printer.
4. Check print settings in the app/report
   • Confirm page size, orientation, and layout are valid for the target printer.
   • Make sure Print to file is not selected.
   • If the report was recently changed, test with the simplest possible report layout to see whether a specific element is causing the failure.
5. Repair Microsoft 365 / Office Corrupted Office components can cause printing issues.
   • Go to Start > Settings > Apps > Installed apps.
   • Select Microsoft 365.
   • On Windows 11, select Advanced options; on other documented flow, select Modify.
   • Run Quick Repair first.
   • If the issue continues, run Online Repair.
6. Restart the Print Spooler again after the failure occurs Since printing stops only after the VBA report runs, test this immediately after reproducing the issue:
   • Press Windows key + R, type services.msc, press Enter.
   • Find Print Spooler.
   • Right-click Print Spooler > Restart.
   • Then retry a normal Windows test page.
7. Update or reinstall the printer driver Even if already tried, this remains relevant because the failure appears tied to how the report is rendered to the physical printer.
   • Open Device Manager.
   • Expand Printers.
   • Right-click the printer > Update driver.
   • If no update is available, select Uninstall device.
   • Restart the PC so Windows attempts to reinstall the driver automatically.
8. Run the automated printer troubleshooter Use the Get Help printer troubleshooter to check for Windows printing issues after the failure is reproduced.
9. Use the PDF result as a diagnostic workaround Since Microsoft Print to PDF succeeds and the saved PDF prints normally, the report generation itself is likely succeeding. The failure is happening when Excel/VBA sends that output to the physical printer. That makes printer driver handling, printer-specific rendering, or Windows printing services the most likely area to focus on.
10. Restart the app and PC after testing

• Close Excel and the VBA app completely.
• Restart the PC.
• Test again.

Also check these printer-side conditions because VBA printer errors can occur when the printer is not fully available:

• The printer is installed.
• The printer is online.
• The printer is not jammed or out of paper.
• Connections between the computer and printer are solid.

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