How to Print PowerPoint Slides

Place your digital slides on paper for attendees

powerpoint presentation cover page
by Karen Marcus
Karen Marcus has been a freelance writer in the tech industry for 20+ years. She's written for companies like HP, Intel, IBM, Samsung, and others.
Updated December 21, 2018

Whether or not you’re a fan of public speaking, a good PowerPoint slide presentation can help you get your message across. You can improve your communication even more by giving attendees a printed version of your slides. With such a handout, listeners can refer to all of your slides in context, and go back to any they’d like to revisit. They can also use the handout paper to take notes.

Instructions in this article apply to PowerPoint 2016, 2013, 2010, PowerPoint for Mac, and PowerPoint 365/Online.

How to Print PowerPoint Slides Using PowerPoint 2016, 2013, 2010, or PowerPoint 365/Online

The process for how to print PowerPoint slides is pretty basic. Note the different options available, including how to print multiple slides on one page.

powerpoint print menu

  1. Open your PowerPoint presentation.

  2. Select the File tab, then select Print from the menu.

  3. Choose a printer and the number of copies you want.

  4. Under Settings, use the drop-down menus to make your selections:

    • Select the number of slides you want to print. You can choose between Print All Slides, Print Current Slide, or Custom Range. If you choose Custom Range, specify the slides you want to print. For example, if you type “1-3, 5-8” you’ll be printing slides 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, and 8.
    • Select the format in which you want to print. Choose Full Page Slides.
    • Choose the number of slides you want to be printed on the page. If you want to print multiple slides on one page just choose 2 slides, 3 slides, or more. Consider limiting the number of slides to three, since it gets harder to read them with any more than that on the page.
    • If your printer supports it, you may also have the option of Print One Sided or Print on Both Sides. Make a selection for this option. Remember, printing on both sides saves paper.
    • Next, choose the order in which you want the pages printed; they can be Collated or Uncollated.
    • Select whether you want the paper to be in Portrait Orientation or Landscape Orientation.
    • Finally, choose whether you want to print in Color, Grayscale, or Pure Black and White.

    • Back at the top of the screen, select Print.

    How to Print PowerPoint Slides Using PowerPoint for Mac

    When using PowerPoint for Mac, the process follows the same basic steps, with some minor differences.

    1. Open the File menu and select Print.

    2. In the Print dialog box, click Show Details, then select PowerPoint.

    3. Click the various drop-down menus and radio buttons to select the settings you want.

    4. Pay particular attention to the Layout menu. Here you will choose the layout of your printed pages. Select a slides-only option.

    5. At the bottom of the box, click Print.