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how to print certain columns in excel

To print only certain columns in Excel, you can either select exactly what you want to print, or define a reusable print area. Both work in all recent versions of Excel (Microsoft 365, 2019, 2016, etc.).

Simple method: Print selection

Use this when you just want to print some columns once and don’t need to save the setup.

  1. Select the columns or cells
    • Click the letter at the top of a column to select it.
    • For multiple adjacent columns (like B–D), click B, hold Shift, click D.
    • For non‑adjacent columns (like A, C, E), hold Ctrl and click each column header.
  1. Open the Print dialog
    • Press Ctrl + P, or
    • Go to the File tab → Print.
  1. Change “Settings” to “Print Selection”
    • In the Print pane, under Settings , click the dropdown that usually says “Print Active Sheets”.
    • Choose Print Selection.
    • The preview should now show only the columns you selected.
  1. Adjust page layout if needed
    • Still in the Print pane, you can:
      • Change orientation (Portrait/Landscape).
      • Use Fit Sheet on One Page or Fit All Columns on One Page so your chosen columns don’t get split oddly.
  1. Click Print

Reusable method: Set a print area

Use this when you want to print the same columns frequently (for reports or regular handouts).

  1. Select the range to print
    • Drag to highlight the cells that include only the columns you care about (for example, A:C and rows 1:200).
  2. Set as Print Area
    • Go to the Page Layout tab.
    • Click Print Area → Set Print Area.
    • Excel now remembers this as the part of the sheet that will be printed.
  1. Print normally
    • Press Ctrl + P or use File → Print.
    • The preview will show only your defined area (i.e., only those columns).
  2. To change or clear it
    • To expand or change the area, select a new range and choose Print Area → Set Print Area again.
    • To remove it completely, use Print Area → Clear Print Area.

Extra tricks to control what prints

These help refine your “certain columns” even more.

  • Hide columns you don’t want:
    • Select unwanted columns → right‑click → Hide → then print the sheet. Hidden columns will not print.
    • Right‑click between the surrounding column letters and choose Unhide when you’re done.
  • Filter rows before printing:
    • Turn on filters via Data → Filter.
    • Filter to show only the rows you care about, then use Print Selection or a print area. Only visible rows will print.
  • Repeat header row or key column on every page:
    • Go to Page Layout → Print Titles.
    • Set Rows to repeat at top (e.g., your header row) or Columns to repeat at left (like name/customer column), so long printouts stay readable.

If you’re following a typical “how‑to” from forums

Many Excel forum threads suggest one of these standard patterns:

  • Define a Print Area for specific columns and reuse it for recurring reports.
  • Use Print Selection for one‑off prints of selected columns or non‑adjacent columns.
  • Combine filtering and hiding with either method to control exactly what appears on paper.

TL;DR:

  • For a quick one‑time job, select the columns → Ctrl + P → Settings → Print Selection → Print.
  • For something you’ll do often, select the range → Page Layout → Print Area → Set Print Area → print as usual.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.