PowerPoint Tip - Successfully Print Presentations

Presentations are printed more often than we realize, but we rarely design for printing in mind. Although, I've had two clients who created presentations only for print: one was creating a brochure for sales reps and the other was presenting to potential investors at a meeting around a table.

Even if you don't plan to print the presentation, you may send it to others who will print it. You certainly want to make sure that the results will be satisfactory.

* Grayscale printing

Often, the presentation is printed in grayscale, not in color. You presentation may look entirely different when printed in grayscale. To test out the result, click the Color/Grayscale button on the Standard toolbar. In 2007, go to View tab> Color/Grayscale group> Grayscale. You may be surprised at the results! To return to color, click the button again; it changes based on the color state you're viewing.

* Converting to PDF

One of the important considerations is that many people convert a presentation to Adobe PDF format before printing. For example, conference organizers do this for the book they give attendees. Therefore you need to consider how the presentation will translate to PDF format. And not all PDF converters get the same results. If your presentation may end up as a PDF file, you should test the results. The PDF format especially has problems with semi-transparent objects, which may become solid or hatched.

* Embed fonts

If you use fonts that are not universally available, you should embed them. If you send the presentation to someone else for printing, your fonts will not appear properly. To embed fonts, choose Tools> Options and click the Save tab. (In 2007, choose Office button> PowerPoint Options and click the Save category.) Check the Embed TrueType Fonts check box. Then choose the first option, which embeds only characters in use. This options reduces the size of the file.

* Printing

If you'll be printing, the procedure is simple. Choose File> Print. (In 2007, choose Office button> Print.) The display in the Print What drop-down list determines what will print; the default is Slides. For handouts, better options are Handouts and Notes Pages. You can also choose File>Send To >Microsoft Office Word to import the presentation into Word. (In 2007, choose Office button> Publish> Create Handouts in Microsoft Office Word.) This gives you more flexibility with your format.

Ellen Finkelstein, is the best-selling author of How to Do Everything with PowerPoint 2007 (and previous editions for PowerPoint 2002 and PowerPoint 2003) Her award-winning Web site features loads of free tips on PowerPoint, the monthly PowerPoint Tips Newsletter, and the PowerPoint Tips Blog - http://www.ellenfinkelstein.com

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