Cannot print a Word document (Office Home & Student 2016, Windows 11)

barbara pakan 20 Reputation points
2025-09-19T12:16:07.91+00:00

Have been unable to print a Word Document prior to upgrading to Windows 11 jusr recently. I can print Excel documents. I had someone trouble shoot the problem but they were unable to resolve the printing issue. I currently have Microsoft Office Home & Student 2016. the person working the problem oerformed a repair and reinstall of Office. But the problem still exists. Can anyone give me direction on how to solve this printing issue?

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | For home | Windows
Answer accepted by question author
Randy Baroja 20,810 Reputation points Independent Advisor
2025-09-20T01:30:17.0366667+00:00

Hi,

Barbara, since you can print from Excel, PDFs, and web pages, the printer itself is fine the problem is only with Word. That usually points to either corrupted Word settings, a compatibility issue with Word 2016 on Windows 11, or a driver quirk that only shows up in Word. Before buying a newer Office version, it’s worth testing Word in Safe Mode (winword /safe) and trying to reset its settings by renaming the Normal.dotm file. Also make sure your printer driver is fully updated from the manufacturer’s website, not just Windows Update. Upgrading Office may fix the issue, but these quick checks can confirm whether it’s just Word misbehaving

Kind regards,

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  1. Stefan Blom 357.4K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2025-09-20T00:13:27.6433333+00:00

    I have a work around called Only Office just installed that converts to PDF. My question is why is the printer not able to print Word. I hate workarounds and avoid them if I can. Do you think that the Word software has been corrupted. I was thinking of Removing Office 2016 which will not be supported and installing Office 2024 which is designed for Windows 11. But I do not know if the printer problem will be resolved or not. If it works then I can get rid of the work around or keep it just in case. Does this make any sense to you?

    Converting Word documents to PDF would be a workaround, of course, and it would also be part of troubleshooting. It is very difficult to guess exactly what the underlying cause might be. I doubt that replacing Office 2016 with Office 2024 would fix the problem. I haven't used Office 2016 in years, though, so I don't know for certain.

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  2. Stefan Blom 357.4K Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2025-09-19T19:55:42.3066667+00:00

    If you convert the Word document to a PDF, then can you print the PDF version from Adobe Reader (or some other PDF viewer)?

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    2 people found this answer helpful.
  3. Randy Baroja 20,810 Reputation points Independent Advisor
    2025-09-19T12:51:09.2533333+00:00

    Hi,

    Nice to meet you! My name is Randy and I'm an independent advisor.

    When you try to print from Word, does anything happen at all like the print job briefly showing in the queue or does it act as if nothing was ever sent? Also, do you see any kind of error message in Word or from the printer itself, or is it completely silent? And just to double-check, have you been able to print from other programs besides Excel, such as a PDF or a webpage, to confirm the issue is only with Word?

    Kind regards,

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  4. AI answer

    2025-09-19T12:16:08.45+00:00

    If you are unable to print a Word document after upgrading to Windows 11, here are some troubleshooting steps you can try:

    1. Check Printer Status: Ensure that your printer is turned on, connected, and set as the default printer. You can verify this in the Windows settings.
    2. Print Test Page: Try printing a test page from the printer settings to ensure that the printer is functioning correctly.
    3. Update Printer Driver: The issue may be related to the printer driver. Verify that you have the correct and updated printer driver installed. You may need to reinstall the printer driver if it's corrupted.
    4. Check Print Spooler Service: Sometimes, the Print Spooler service may not be running correctly. You can restart the Print Spooler service to clear any stuck print jobs. This can be done through the Services application or using Command Prompt.
    5. Try Printing from Another Application: Since you can print from Excel, try printing from another application to see if the issue is specific to Word.
    6. Repair Document: If the document itself is damaged, you can try to repair it by opening Word, selecting the document, and using the "Open and Repair" option.

    If these steps do not resolve the issue, you may want to check for any known issues related to Windows 11 and printing.

    References:

    AI-generated content may be incorrect. Read our transparency notes for more information.

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