How to Fix Blank PDF Printing in Word for Mac on macOS Mojave
Question details
The user is experiencing an issue where exporting or printing a document to PDF from Microsoft Word for Mac results in blank pages, particularly while operating on macOS Mojave.
- Product
- Word for Mac
- Device & OS
- macOS Mojave
- Scenario
- Attempting to export a Word document to PDF or print it via the system PDF dialog, but the output renders incorrectly.
- Observed behavior
- The generated PDF displays completely blank pages or missing text due to font substitution or rendering failures.
Before making system changes, verify the font names used in your original document and ensure you have administrative access to your Mac's Font Book application.
Verify and Validate Document Fonts
Check your local system fonts to ensure the fonts used in your document are not corrupted or missing, which is a primary cause of blank PDF exports.
When Word attempts to export a PDF, it relies on macOS's underlying font rendering engine. If a specific font is corrupted or heavily substituted, the PDF engine may fail to draw the glyphs, resulting in a completely blank page.
Navigate to your Applications folder or use Spotlight search (Cmd + Space) to open the 'Font Book' application.
Locate the specific fonts used in your problematic Word document. Select them, click 'File' in the top menu bar, and choose 'Validate Font'.
If the Font Book identifies corrupted fonts or duplicates (marked with yellow warning icons), disable or remove them. Reinstall a fresh copy of the font if necessary.
Restart Microsoft Word, open your document, go to 'File' > 'Save As', and select 'PDF' to verify if the pages render correctly.
Update Word to the Latest Mojave-Supported Version
Ensure you are running the most stable version of Word for Mac available for your operating system without upgrading to Catalina.
Use an Alternative Device for Exporting
Transfer the document to another device to isolate whether the problem is file-specific or caused by your local Mac environment.
Create Flawless PDFs with WPS Office for Mac
If Word for Mac continues to struggle with font rendering on macOS Mojave and upgrading your OS is not an option, WPS Office provides a powerful, free alternative. It features an independent PDF rendering engine that bypasses native macOS print spooler bugs, ensuring your documents are exported perfectly without losing formatting.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does my Word document turn completely blank when saved as a PDF?
This usually happens when the macOS PDF rendering engine cannot process a specific font used in the document. If a font is corrupted, unsupported, or improperly substituted, the system may fail to draw the text, resulting in a blank PDF page.
Do I have to upgrade to macOS Catalina to fix Word PDF issues?
No. Upgrading to Catalina or later can resolve some systemic bugs, but it will also break 32-bit applications. You can often fix PDF export issues on Mojave by validating your fonts in Font Book, reinstalling problem fonts, or using an alternative office suite with built-in PDF tools.
How can I check if custom fonts are causing the printing issue?
Highlight all the text in your document (Cmd + A) and change the font to a universally supported system font, such as Arial or Helvetica. Try exporting the document to PDF again. If the blank page issue disappears, the original custom font is the culprit.
Is it possible to reinstall the Microsoft Word default fonts?
Yes. You can delete the corrupted fonts from the Font Book application, then run the Microsoft AutoUpdate tool or reinstall your Microsoft Office package to restore the factory default fonts provided by Microsoft.
