Print your PowerPoint presentation when you need a copy to help you deliver your presentation or to help your audience follow along. You have several choices from printing an entire slideshow to printing handouts and notes pages. Learn the various ways to print PowerPoint slides and select the best option for your needs.

Choose Your Print Settings

The print options and settings for PowerPoint are found by choosing File > Print.

Instructions in this article apply to PowerPoint 2019, 2016, 2013, 2010; PowerPoint for Mac, and PowerPoint for Microsoft 365.

The following settings are displayed in the print window by default. Modify these settings as needed.

Print Copies: Select the number of copies to print.

Printer: If more than one printer is installed on your computer or network, select the printer you want to use. Select the Printer drop-down arrow and make your choice.

Settings: Print all slides is the default setting. Select the drop-down arrow to make an alternate choice.

Full Page Slides: Select the drop-down arrow to make an alternate choice. More details about all of these options will follow.

Collated: Pages will be collated as pages 1,2,3; 1,2,3; 1,2,3 and so on, unless you choose to print uncollated pages as 1,1,1; 2,2,2; 3,3,3 and so on.

Color: The default selection is to print in color. If the selected printer is a color printer, slides will print in color. On a black and white printer, the slides print in ​grayscale. More details about this printing selection will follow.

Select Which Slides to Print

In the Settings section, the default selection is to print all slides. To make an alternate choice, select the drop-down arrow.

Other choices are:

Print Selection: To use this option, first select only the slides you wish to print. Select these slides either from the Slide pane in Normal view or from the Slide Sorter view. These views show thumbnail versions of your slides so it is easy to make a group selection.

Print Current Slide: The active slide is printed.

Custom Range: You may choose to print out only a few of your slides. These selections can be made by entering the slide numbers in the text box as follows:

  • Enter specific slide numbers separated by commas, such as 2,6,7.Enter a contiguous group of slide numbers as 3-7

Print Hidden Slides: This option is available only if you have slides in your presentation that have been marked as hidden. Hidden slides do not show during a slideshow but are available to view in the editing stage.

Frame PowerPoint Slides When Printing Handouts

There are four options available when you make printouts of your PowerPoint slides.

These options are:

Frame Slides: This is a nice finishing touch for your printed handouts.

Scale to Fit Paper: Printable areas of the margins vary with each printer. Make sure that complete slides print out on your handouts by selecting this option.

High Quality: Select this option only if you need exceptional looking printouts, such as a brochure. This option uses extra toner or ink in your printer, so don’t choose this for regular printouts.

Print Comments and Ink Markup: This option is available only when the presentation has been reviewed by another person who made written comments in the file.

There are three different options for color or non-color printouts.

Choose from the following:

Color: Color printouts are the default option. However, not all printers have this capability. If you choose the Color option but do not have a color printer, the printout will be similar to, but not of the same quality as, printing in grayscale.

Grayscale: If you do not have a color printer or do not require a color printout, choose Grayscale to print all objects on the page in shades of gray. Objects appear crisper and cleaner if Grayscale is selected for non-color printers rather than printing using the default Color option.

Pure Black and White: This option prints slides in black and white. There are no shades of gray. As a result, several objects on the design theme of the slide, such as embossing and drop shadows do not print. Text prints as black, even if you chose gray as the original color of the text.

Print Full Page Slides in PowerPoint

  • Go to File.
  • Select Print.
  • Choose the number of copies to print if you wish to print more than one copy.
  • Select the printer if you wish to print to a different printer than the default selection.
  • By default, PowerPoint prints all slides. Select only the specific slides to print, if necessary.
  • Select other options, such as Frame Slides if you wish.
  • Select Print. Full page slides print, as this is the default printing selection.

Print speaker notes with each slide as an aid when giving a PowerPoint presentation. Each slide is printed in miniature (called a thumbnail) on a single page, with the speaker notes below. These notes do not show on the screen during the slide show.

Go to File.

Select Print.

Choose the number of copies to print if you wish to print more than one copy.

Select the printer if you wish to print to a different printer than the default selection.

By default, PowerPoint prints all slides. Select only the specific slides to print, if necessary. 

Select other options, such as Frame Slides if you wish.

Select Print. Full page slides print, as this is the default printing selection.

  • Go to File.
  • Select Print.
  • Choose the pages to print.
  • Select the Full Page Slides drop-down arrow and choose Notes Pages.
  • Select any other options.
  • Select Print.

Outline view in PowerPoint shows only the text content of the slides. This view is useful when only the text is required for quick editing.

Speaker notes can also be exported for use in Microsoft Word documents. Learn how to convert PowerPoint presentations to Word documents.

Choose the pages to print.

Select the Full Page Slides drop-down arrow and choose Notes Pages.

Select any other options.

  • Select File > Print.
  • Select the Full Page Slides drop-down arrow.
  • In the Print Layout section, choose Outline.
  • Choose other options if desired.
  • Select Print.

Print handouts in PowerPoint to create a take-home package of the presentation for the audience. Choose to print one full-size slide to nine miniature slides per page.

Select File > Print.

Select the Full Page Slides drop-down arrow.

In the Print Layout section, choose Outline.

Choose other options if desired.

  • Select File > Print.
  • Select the Full Page Slides drop-down arrow.
  • In the Handouts section, select the number of slides to print on each page.
  • Choose any other settings, such as the number of copies. It is a nice touch to frame the slides on the handout and it is always a good idea to choose to Scale to fit Paper.
  • Select Print.

Presenters often give out the handouts prior to the presentation so that the audience may take notes during the slideshow. If that is the case, there is one option for handouts that prints three thumbnail slides per page along with lines next to the slides for note taking.​

In the Handouts section, select the number of slides to print on each page.

Choose any other settings, such as the number of copies. It is a nice touch to frame the slides on the handout and it is always a good idea to choose to Scale to fit Paper.

  • Select File > Print.
  • Select the Full Page Slides drop-down arrow.
  • In the Handouts sections, choose 3 Slides.
  • Select any other options you wish.
  • Select Print.

In the Handouts sections, choose 3 Slides.

Select any other options you wish.

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