Printing Problems

How to Remove Horizontal Lines When Printing Shaded Word Table Cells

Olivia Miller Oct 15, 2026 870 views

Question details

The user needs to eliminate unexpected horizontal lines that print across shaded table cells in a Word document.

How to Remove Horizontal Lines When Printing Shaded Word Table Cells

Product: Microsoft Word 365
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Printing a document containing a table with shaded cells directly from Microsoft Word.
Observed behavior: Horizontal lines appear on the physical printout within the shaded table cells, despite not being intended as part of the document's formatting.

Before you start

Before altering any settings, open the Print Preview screen (File > Print) in Word. If the lines do not appear in this digital preview, the issue is almost certainly related to your printer driver or hardware rather than the document's formatting.

Solution 1Recommended

Remove Unintentional Cell Borders

Check the document formatting to ensure the lines are not actually hidden table cell borders applied within Word.

Sometimes, faint table boundaries or specific cell borders are unintentionally applied. Removing all borders from the affected cells ensures that Word isn't explicitly instructing the printer to draw lines.

Select the affected cells

Use your mouse to highlight the specific shaded table cells where the horizontal lines appear.

Navigate to the Borders menu

Go to the 'Home' tab on the ribbon and find the 'Paragraph' group, or navigate to the 'Table Design' tab.

Apply No Border

Click the drop-down arrow next to the 'Borders' icon and select 'No Border' from the list. Print the document again to test.

Tip: If you need lines around the outside of the table but not inside, you can select 'Outside Borders' after clearing all borders.

Solution 2

Export and Print as a PDF

Bypass Word's print spooling rendering by saving the document as a PDF first, which effectively 'flattens' the formatting.

Solution 3

Update or Reinstall Printer Drivers

Fix miscommunications between your computer and printer that cause solid shading to be printed with horizontal gaps or lines.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Why do horizontal lines appear only on the printed Word document but not on the screen?

This is usually caused by a rendering conflict between Microsoft Word and your printer's software driver. Word might process shaded blocks differently than your printer expects. If the lines don't show up in Print Preview, it is typically a driver or hardware rendering issue.

Could low printer ink cause horizontal lines on printed tables?

Yes. When ink or toner cartridges are running low, or if the printheads are dirty and need alignment, printers often struggle to output large, solid blocks of shading. This results in horizontal banding or streaks across the shaded table cells.

How can I quickly verify if the lines are part of the Word formatting?

Open the Print Preview in Word by navigating to File > Print. If the horizontal lines are visible in this digital preview, they are part of the document's formatting, such as unintentional cell borders. If they are completely absent in the preview, the issue lies with the printing process.

Does saving the document in an older Word format help with printing bugs?

Sometimes saving as an older .doc format can simplify the rendering process, but saving or exporting the document as a PDF is generally a much more effective workaround. PDFs 'flatten' the graphics and text, making it much easier for the printer to process shaded regions accurately.

Document & File Issues