Colored Chart Lines Print White on HP and PostScript Printers

 Last reviewed: August 27, 1996
Article ID: Q69665

The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Excel for Windows, versions 3.0, 4.0, 5.0, 5.0c

SUMMARY

Chart lines formatted in certain colors print as white lines when you use a Hewlett-Packard (HP) or PostScript printer driver with Microsoft Excel.

MORE INFORMATION

If the lines on a chart (including line, XY scatter, and combination charts) are formatted as one of the following colors 

   Bright green
   Bright yellow
   Magenta
   Cyan
   Light gray
and the chart is printed using one of the following printer drivers 

   HP DeskJet family
   PCL/HP LaserJet
   HP LaserJet III
   PCL5/HP LaserJet III
   PostScript
then the lines preview and print white. If the chart background is white, it appears as though the lines were not printed. In earlier versions of Microsoft Excel, the lines print dark even when a light screen color is selected for the line.

WORKAROUND

Method 1

If you are not using the standard VGA video driver on your computer, try switching to VGA and see if the problem still occurs. This problem has been observed to be video driver-related.

Method 2

To work around the problem, you can either change the color of the lines or change the chart foreground to a darker color like red to make the lines visible.

Follow these steps to change the foreground color:

  1. From the Chart menu, choose Select Chart.

  2. From the Format menu, choose Patterns.

  3. In the Area box, select Foreground and pick the desired color.

KBCategory: kbfasttip
KBSubcategory:

Additional Reference Words: 3.00 4.00 5.00 5.00c

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Last reviewed: August 27, 1996
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