Printing Problems

How to Fix Word Printing a Blank Envelope After Each Printed Envelope

Maira Mehtab Sep 21, 2026 868 views

Question details

The user experiences a recurring issue where Microsoft Word outputs a completely blank envelope immediately after printing a correctly addressed one, causing wasted stationery during batch printing.

Product: Microsoft Word
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Batch printing envelopes to one or multiple physical printers.
Observed behavior: One correctly addressed envelope is printed, followed by an unintended blank envelope, resulting in half of the batch being blank.

Before you start

Ensure you temporarily set your active printer to 'Microsoft Print to PDF' while troubleshooting, which will allow you to test your fixes without wasting physical envelopes.

Solution 1Recommended

Show Non-printing Characters and Remove Hidden Breaks

The most common cause of extra blank pages or envelopes in Word is an accidental page or section break at the end of the text. Removing it will solve the issue.

When an envelope is generated, sometimes an extra section break or paragraph mark is accidentally inserted. Because printers interpret this section break as a new page, they feed a blank envelope through the machine.

Enable non-printing characters

Open your envelope document in Word. Navigate to the 'Home' tab on the top ribbon and click the 'Show/Hide ¶' button (or press Ctrl + Shift + 8) to reveal hidden formatting marks.

Locate the hidden break

Scroll down to the very end of your envelope text and look for a line labeled 'Section Break' or 'Page Break', or excessive paragraph symbols (¶).

Delete the break

Place your text cursor just before the section break or extra paragraph marks and press the 'Delete' key until they are removed.

Verify page size

Check your Page Layout settings to ensure the envelope page size and orientation were not accidentally reset after deleting the break, then try printing again.

Verified Fix: Multiple users confirmed that removing the section break permanently resolved the blank envelope printing issue.

Solution 2

Use the 'Print Current Page' Option

If you are unable to find the hidden break or are in a rush, you can bypass the blank page by instructing Word to only print the active page.

Print Envelopes Flawlessly Using WPS Writer

WPS Writer offers a streamlined, highly intuitive Envelopes feature designed to handle standard and custom sizes without generating hidden formatting errors or unexpected blank pages.

1. Open Envelope Tool: Launch WPS Writer, navigate to the 'Mailings' tab on the ribbon, and click on 'Envelopes'.
2. Input Addresses: Type your Delivery Address and Return Address into the designated text fields.
3. Configure Settings: Click 'Options' to specify the exact envelope size and select the appropriate printer feed method.
4. Print Envelope: Load your blank envelope into the printer and click 'Print' to finish the task flawlessly.

Fully compatible with Microsoft Word document formats (.docx and .doc)Dedicated Envelopes and Labels tool prevents formatting corruptionFree and lightweight office suite for seamless document management

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does Word add a blank page at the end of my document?

This is almost always caused by hidden formatting marks such as manual page breaks, section breaks, or excessive empty paragraph marks (Enters) that push content onto a new page. Printers interpret these as an instruction to feed another piece of paper.

How do I reveal hidden formatting symbols in Word?

You can toggle the display of non-printing characters by clicking the '¶' (Pilcrow) icon located in the Paragraph group of the Home tab, or by using the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + 8.

Can I prevent Word from printing blank pages automatically?

Yes. You can go to File > Options > Display, and uncheck 'Print hidden text'. Alternatively, ensure your document ends cleanly without lingering section breaks, or specify the exact page range (e.g., Pages: 1) in the Print menu.

Document & File Issues