XL97: Text in Colored Cell Fails to Print on Color LaserJet (173109)

The information in this article applies to:

Microsoft Excel 97 for Windows
the operating system: Microsoft Windows NT 3.51

This article was previously published under Q173109

SYMPTOMS

Text in a colored cell in Microsoft Excel may not appear when you print it to a color Page Control Language (PCL) printer, such as a Hewlett-Packard Color LaserJet.

CAUSE

This problem occurs because the color PCL printer driver for Microsoft Windows NT 3.51 reorders the printing order of the cell color and the text. The text is printed before the cell color. The result is that the cell color is printed on top of the text so that it covers the text.

WORKAROUND

To work around this behavior, use either of the following methods:

Select the "Print Text as Graphics" check box. To do this, follow these steps:
1. On the File menu, click Print.
2. Click Properties.
3. Click Options.
4. Click to select the "Print Text as Graphics" check box.
5. Click OK. Then, click OK again.
6. Click OK to print or click Cancel to close without printing.
-or-
If the printer supports PostScript, switch to a color PostScript printer driver.

STATUS

Microsoft has confirmed this to be a problem in Windows NT Workstation version 3.51 and Windows NT Server version 3.51. This problem was corrected in Windows NT Workstation version 4.0 and Windows NT Server version 4.0.

MORE INFORMATION

For additional information, please see the following article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

167427 Text Is Not Printed in Colored Cells

REFERENCES

For more information about shading cells, click the Index tab in Microsoft Excel 97 Help, type the following text

shading

and then double-click the selected text to go to the "Shade cells with solid colors" topic.

Modification Type:	Major	Last Reviewed:	9/7/2001
Keywords:	kbbug kbprint KB173109