Chart & Visualization Issues

Fix Low Resolution Waterfall Charts When Printing to PDF in Excel

Jason Miller Oct 19, 2026 868 views

Question details

Waterfall, treemap, and funnel charts created in Excel or PowerPoint appear blurry and pixelated when printed or exported as a PDF.

How to Fix Low Resolution Waterfall Charts When Printing to PDF in Excel and PowerPoint

Product: Microsoft Excel, Microsoft PowerPoint
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Exporting or printing documents containing newer Office chart types to PDF formats.
Observed behavior: The charts render as low-resolution bitmap images instead of scalable vector graphics, losing clarity when zoomed in or printed.

Before you start

Ensure your Microsoft Office suite is updated to the latest version, as Microsoft occasionally releases patches that address vector graphic rendering issues.

Solution 1Recommended

Export the Chart as a High-Resolution Image Before PDF Conversion

Since the native PDF engine converts these specific charts to low-resolution bitmaps, manually saving the chart as a high-quality PNG first can preserve better visual clarity.

This is a practical workaround for the inherent limitation in Microsoft's rendering engine for newer chart types introduced in Office 2016.

Save Chart as Picture

Right-click the outer edge of your Waterfall, Treemap, or Funnel chart in Excel and select 'Save as Picture...' from the context menu.

Choose High-Quality Format

In the save dialog box, select 'Portable Network Graphics (*.png)' as the file format and save it to your local drive.

Insert the Image

Delete or hide the original live chart in your PowerPoint slide or Excel sheet. Go to Insert > Pictures and insert the PNG file you just saved.

Export to PDF

Go to File > Export > Create PDF/XPS Document. The inserted PNG will retain much higher resolution than the natively converted chart.

Export the Chart as a High-Resolution Image Before PDF Conversion

Tip: If you need to update the chart data later, keep the live chart on a hidden sheet so you can easily generate a new high-resolution image.

Solution 2

Use a Third-Party PDF Printer with Custom DPI Settings

Bypassing the built-in Microsoft Export to PDF function and using a dedicated PDF printer can sometimes yield slightly better bitmap conversions.

Solution 3

Report the Rendering Issue to Microsoft

Because this is a known design deficiency affecting Treemap, Waterfall, and Funnel charts, reporting it helps prioritize a fix in future updates.

Free Microsoft Office alternative

Export High-Quality PDFs Seamlessly with WPS Office

Since low-resolution PDF exports for newer chart types like Waterfall and Treemap are a known limitation in Microsoft Office, consider trying WPS Office. It features an advanced built-in PDF rendering engine that ensures your charts, graphs, and vectors maintain crystal-clear quality when exported. Plus, it is completely free and highly compatible with all your existing Microsoft Office files.

1. Download and Install WPS Office: Get the free WPS Office suite from the official website and install it on your computer.
2. Open Your Document: Launch WPS Spreadsheets or Presentation and open your existing .xlsx or .pptx file containing the charts.
3. Export to PDF: Click Menu > Export to PDF. Enjoy high-quality, professional document rendering instantly.

Crystal-clear PDF exports with high-resolution chart renderingFully compatible with Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) and PowerPoint (.pptx) formatsBuilt-in PDF toolkit for easy conversion without third-party pluginsFree, lightweight, and familiar user interface for a seamless transition

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Why do only Waterfall, Treemap, and Funnel charts become blurry in PDFs?

These specific chart types were introduced in newer versions of Office (2016 and later). Due to a rendering limitation in Microsoft's native PDF engine, these specific formats are converted into low-resolution bitmap images instead of scalable vector graphics during the export process.

Will pasting the chart as an Enhanced Metafile (EMF) fix the resolution?

No, pasting as an EMF using the Paste Special feature does not resolve the issue. Microsoft Office still converts these newer chart types into low-resolution bitmaps even within the EMF container format.

Does printing to PDF directly from Excel yield better results than from PowerPoint?

No, the rendering limitation applies equally to both Excel and PowerPoint. Directly printing to PDF from either application will result in the same pixelated output for Waterfall, Treemap, and Funnel charts.

Excel & Data Problems