How to Print Your PowerPoint Slides (The Complete Guide)

PowerPoint presentations are often shared on a projector or display. But sometimes, you might need to create a printed copy for your audience. It’s great to have a physical copy of your presentation for reference.

In PowerPoint, you can print full-page slides, notes pages, and handouts that each showcase your content differently.

When it comes to printing slides in PowerPoint, there are three key formats that you can print your slides:

Full-Page Slides. This is basically the same view as the standard view in PowerPoint, simply printing each slide on its own page.
Notes Pages. If you use the important Speaker Notes feature to add reminders on what to say, you can print Notes Pages to keep them nearby. Imagine keeping these on the podium while speaking.
Handouts. You can save paper and ink by printing Handouts, which include many slides on the same page with space to write notes.

You can also print an outline version of your slides. It includes no visual content from the PowerPoint presentation.

In this tutorial, I’ll teach you how to print a PowerPoint. When it’s crunch time, and you need to create a physical copy of your presentation, use this complete guide.

Why Print Your PowerPoint Slides?

Because PowerPoint often lives in digital format, you might be wondering why you might want to print the slides. Here are some situations when you should consider printing your PowerPoint slides:

Printing your presentation can help you spot errors or typos in your presentation. I always find something in a printed copy that I miss on-screen.
Hand out copies of your presentation for the audience to keep after the meeting or to review beforehand.
Maybe you don’t use PowerPoint for sharing presentations on screen. Maybe instead, you use it as a simple tool to design handouts or posters.

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We also have a useful compliment to this tutorial. Before reading on, download our FREE eBook: The Complete Guide to Making Great Presentations. It’ll help you write, design, and deliver the perfect presentation.

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Now, we’ll look step-by-step at how to print your PowerPoint slides in a variety of formats and styles, first in a quick tutorial video, then in written format.

How to Quickly Print PowerPoint Slides (Watch & Learn)

Let’s jump straight into these tips in the screencast below. I’ll walk you through how to print your slides in a variety of styles. I’ll show you how to print a PowerPoint presentation in each of the formats discussed above and create PDF versions.

Now, let’s dive into a written walkthrough of how to print slides.

The Basics of Printing Your PPT Slides (From Within PowerPoint)

The template featured in this tutorial is from Envato Elements. — The PowerPoint template featured in this tutorial is from Envato Elements.

In this tutorial, I’m using macOS and PowerPoint version 16.65. If you’re on a different operating system or using a different version of the software, your results may be slightly different.

The tutorial features the Botany PowerPoint Presentation from Envato Elements. This template has over 50 unique slides where you can put your information. Plus, it comes with icons, charts, graphics, and picture placeholders. The modern and stylish design makes the template suitable for any presentation theme.

Before we tackle working with many print formats, let’s learn the basic choices you should make before you print any presentation. To get started, go to the File > Print menu option:

1. Choose Your Printer

The first step is to click File to open the print window. — The first step is to click **File** to open the print window.

Above all, you should choose the printer that you want to send your presentation to. If you work in an office environment with many network printers, always double-check this setting to ensure that the file won’t land on a co-worker’s desk!

To see more options click on the Show Details button. — To see more options, click on the **Show Details** button.

Click on File in the toolbar at the top of your screen. When you click on this option, there’s a Print… When you click on this option, a window appears. In the window, click on the Show Details button. Once the Show Details button is selected, you’ll be able to see more options to the right of the window.

Use the Printer field to select your printer.

At the top right, you’ll see the Printer: field. Click on the arrow in this field to choose a printer.

2. Choose the Pages to Print

You may not want to print every slide in your presentation. The good news is that PowerPoint makes it easy to choose a selection of pages to print.

Use the Slides section to choose which slides you want to print.

In the window, you’ll see a Slides: section. In this section, there are different options you can choose to print your slides. The default is the All option.

To choose a specific slide or slides, choose the Custom Range: option and type the slide numbers in the field. When typing the numbers, put a comma in between the slide numbers. For example, you should type the slide numbers like this 2,5,6,7.

3. Choose Orientation and Color Settings

Orientation describes the direction that your content prints. You can choose between Portrait and Landscape orientation. Portrait orientation means the paper is taller than it is wide, while landscape orientation is wide.

Choose your orientation and color options in the Print window. — Choose your orientation and color options in the **Print** window.

The Orientation: section is where you can choose portrait or landscape printing options. There are two buttons in this section. Choose the right one for you.

Output: this is where you can choose what color you want your slide printed in. in this field, there’s an arrow. Click on the arrow to get more options.

You may want to learn more about working with PowerPoint multimedia before continuing on:

What Is Multimedia? +How to Use It in Your PowerPoint Presentations

Andrew Childress

30 Aug 2022

Once you’ve set up those choices, you can move on to other settings for how your printed slides appear. Let’s move on from the basics to learn how to print a PowerPoint in many different formats.

How to Print Full-Page PPT Slides in PowerPoint

Have you ever wondered why PowerPoint won’t print a full page? This section should help.

Full-page slides are simply printed copies of your slides, one per page. This is a great choice when you need to review the slide before presenting.

Full page slides are were your slide takes up a whole page. — Full-page slides are where your slide takes up a whole page.

As I mentioned earlier, sometimes, seeing the slide away from your computer can help you catch errors or rethink the content.

This option uses the most paper and ink, so think carefully before choosing it.

Print PowerPoint Slide Handouts

What are handouts in PowerPoint? Slide handouts are an ideal choice for printed copies. It’s a great way to fit many slides on the same page and conserve paper in the process.

Turn you PowerPoint slides into handouts. — Turn your PowerPoint slides into handouts.

Use PowerPoint slide handouts for reference copies to keep your place in the presentation or to review your PowerPoint for typos and misspellings.

There’s a Layout: field in the print window, and there are arrows. Click on the arrows. When you click on the arrows, you’ll see many options. Choose the right option for you. In this menu, you’ll see the Notes option. Select this option to print your notes with your slides.

How to Print Your PowerPoint as a PDF

One of the most popular questions for exporting and “virtually printing” a presentation is to print a presentation as a PDF.

When you save your PowerPoint as a PDF you can easily share it through email. — When you save your PowerPoint as a PDF, you can easily share it through email.

Here’s a crucial tip when someone else is helping you print, and they don’t have PowerPoint installed. For example, if you’re taking your presentation to a print shop, a PDF on a thumb drive is more likely to work and print properly.

To save your PowerPoint as a PDF, click on the File option in the toolbar at the very top of your screen. When you click on File, a menu drops down. Choose the Save As… option.

After clicking on this option, a window appears. Next, in the File Format: field, choose the PDF option. Finally, click on the Export option to save.

Recap and Learn More PowerPoint Skills

This tutorial can serve as your reference guide when it’s time to take your presentation from screen to hard copy. Whether it’s notes pages, handouts, or another view, printing your slides is a necessary skill for many presentations.

If you were interested in this tutorial, don’t miss out on these other tutorials to help you build your PowerPoint skills:

Or download one of our professional PowerPoint templates to help you design a great presentation quickly:

35 Best PowerPoint Template Designs (For 2022 Presentations)

Sean Hodge

19 Aug 2022

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We have the perfect complement to this tutorial, which will walk you through the complete presentation process. Learn how to write your presentation, design it like a pro, and prepare it to present powerfully.

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These digital elements included premium PowerPoint presentation templates, fonts, audio, images, and more. All the elements are high quality and made by professionals. So, this subscription can save you time if you’re in a creative field. Instead of making your own, you’ll be using professional elements.

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After reading this guide on how to print PowerPoint slides, try following it for your next presentation. Also, consider saving time using a premium Envato Elements template when working on your next project.

Editorial note: This post was originally published in October of 2017. The written content has been comprehensively updated by Sarah Joy.

Post date September 16, 2017

This content originally appeared on Envato Tuts+ Tutorials and was authored by Andrew Childress

PowerPoint presentations are often shared on a projector or display. But sometimes, you might need to create a printed copy for your audience. It's great to have a physical copy of your presentation for reference.

3 formats for printing PowerPoint presentations — In PowerPoint, you can print full-page slides, notes pages, and handouts that each showcase your content differently.

When it comes to printing slides in PowerPoint, there are three key formats that you can print your slides:

Full-Page Slides. This is basically the same view as the standard view in PowerPoint, simply printing each slide on its own page.
Notes Pages. If you use the important Speaker Notes feature to add reminders on what to say, you can print Notes Pages to keep them nearby. Imagine keeping these on the podium while speaking.
Handouts. You can save paper and ink by printing Handouts, which include many slides on the same page with space to write notes.

You can also print an outline version of your slides. It includes no visual content from the PowerPoint presentation.

In this tutorial, I'll teach you how to print a PowerPoint. When it's crunch time, and you need to create a physical copy of your presentation, use this complete guide.

Why Print Your PowerPoint Slides?

Because PowerPoint often lives in digital format, you might be wondering why you might want to print the slides. Here are some situations when you should consider printing your PowerPoint slides:

Printing your presentation can help you spot errors or typos in your presentation. I always find something in a printed copy that I miss on-screen.
Hand out copies of your presentation for the audience to keep after the meeting or to review beforehand.
Maybe you don't use PowerPoint for sharing presentations on screen. Maybe instead, you use it as a simple tool to design handouts or posters.

Need Help? Download Our New eBook on Making Great Presentations (Free)

We also have a useful compliment to this tutorial. Before reading on, download our FREE eBook: The Complete Guide to Making Great Presentations. It'll help you write, design, and deliver the perfect presentation.

Now, we'll look step-by-step at how to print your PowerPoint slides in a variety of formats and styles, first in a quick tutorial video, then in written format.

How to Quickly Print PowerPoint Slides (Watch & Learn)

Let's jump straight into these tips in the screencast below. I'll walk you through how to print your slides in a variety of styles. I'll show you how to print a PowerPoint presentation in each of the formats discussed above and create PDF versions.

Now, let's dive into a written walkthrough of how to print slides.

The Basics of Printing Your PPT Slides (From Within PowerPoint)

In this tutorial, I'm using macOS and PowerPoint version 16.65. If you're on a different operating system or using a different version of the software, your results may be slightly different.

Before we tackle working with many print formats, let's learn the basic choices you should make before you print any presentation. To get started, go to the File > Print menu option: