Troubleshooting Guide: Why Microsoft Word Prints Extra Blank Pages and How to Fix It

Few office frustrations compare to the moment a printer spits out unexpected blank sheets or extra pages at the end of a document. In Microsoft Word, this issue is surprisingly common and can waste both paper and ink. Fortunately, the root cause is usually a hidden formatting mark, a layout mismatch, or an outdated printer driver.

Why Does Microsoft Word Print Blank Pages?

Before attempting to fix the issue, understanding why it occurs can save significant troubleshooting time. Typically, the printer is only executing instructions sent by the software. Common culprits include:

• Hidden Page or Section Breaks: Invisible formatting commands that force the printer to start a new page prematurely.
• Trailing Empty Paragraphs: Accidental keystrokes at the end of a document that push the cursor onto a fresh page.
• Incorrect Margin Settings: Margins that are too small or incompatible with the printer, triggering automatic page adjustments.
• Driver Miscommunications: Outdated printer drivers that misinterpret Word’s scaling or layout instructions.

Proven Solutions to Fix Word Printing Extra Pages

Below are seven reliable methods to resolve blank page issues, ordered from the simplest formatting checks to more advanced system adjustments.

1. Reveal and Remove Hidden Formatting Marks

Often, a document contains invisible commands that dictate page layout. To make these visible, navigate to the Home tab and click the paragraph symbol (¶), or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + 8.

Scroll through the document and look for any dotted lines labeled “Page Break” or double-dotted lines labeled “Section Break (Next Page).” To delete these unwanted breaks, click directly before the break and press the Delete key, or highlight the break and press Backspace.

2. Trim Trailing Paragraph Marks and Spacing

With formatting marks still visible, check the very end of the document. If there are multiple empty paragraph symbols (¶) trailing after the final sentence, these can push the page count higher. Highlight and delete these empty paragraphs.

Additionally, check the line spacing of the final paragraph. If the spacing is set to an unusually high value, it can push an invisible line onto a new page. Reset the line spacing to 1.0 or single spacing via the Home tab.

3. Adjust Page Layout and Margin Settings

Incompatible margin configurations can force Word to generate an extra canvas. Navigate to Layout, select Margins, and click Custom Margins. Ensure that the top and bottom margins are not set to zero, as many physical printers cannot handle borderless layouts and will insert a blank page as a buffer.

4. Update or Reinstall the Printer Driver

If the print preview looks perfect but the physical output still contains blank pages, the printer driver may be outdated. Go to the computer settings, locate the printers and scanners menu, and check for driver updates. Alternatively, visit the official website of the printer manufacturer to download the latest software compatible with the operating system.

5. Export the Document to PDF Before Printing

A highly effective workaround is to bypass Word’s direct printing pipeline entirely. Save the document as a PDF by selecting File, then Save As, and choosing PDF as the file format. Open the resulting PDF in a web browser or a PDF reader and print it. If the PDF prints correctly, the issue lies within the Word print settings rather than the printer hardware.

6. Reset the Normal.dotm Template

If every new document exhibits the same blank-page behavior, the default template may be corrupted. Close Word entirely, open File Explorer, and search for the folder path: %appdata%MicrosoftTemplates. Locate the file named Normal.dotm and rename it to Normal_old.dotm. When Word is restarted, it will automatically generate a fresh, error-free template.

7. Disable Duplex and Scale-to-Fit Settings

Some printers insert blank pages to maintain alignment when printing double-sided documents with an odd number of pages. Open the print dialog, click Printer Properties, and temporarily disable double-sided printing (duplex) or any “Scale to Fit” settings to see if this resolves the issue.

Note: If the issue persists across all documents even after applying these fixes, try launching Word in Safe Mode by typing winword /safe in the Windows Run dialog. This disables third-party add-ins that might be interfering with the print queue.