Master the art of printing complex Microsoft Project plans on a single page with our expert tips. Learn how to adjust column width, customize timescale tiers, and use strategic scaling options to transform multi-page printouts into professional, readable documents. Save time, paper, and frustration with these proven project management printing techniques.

Most projects benefit from a detailed project plan with task durations in days rather than weeks, resulting in hundreds of tasks, so getting your plan to fit to one page width can be tricky. The following tips might help.

Reduce the number of columns in the task table that will be printed

You can reduce the number of task columns that will be printed by adjusting the boundary between the task table and the Gantt chart view. Click on the grey bar between the table and the Gantt chart view and drag it to reveal or hide columns:

Click on File, Print, then Print Preview to see the impact of your changes.

Experiment with timescale tiers in the Gantt chart view

Click on the timeline on the Gantt chart and extend the units shown. For example, you could change the timeline so that it shows quarters and months.

Under Timescale options check the Size menu and make sure it is showing 100% or less.

Use Scaling under Page Setup

You can significantly reduce the number of pages that will printed by using the scaling options under Page Setup.

Go to File, then Print, then Page Setup.

Select Fit to under Scaling. Choose 1 page wide by x pages tall. This combination often works for me:

Orientation: Landscape
Scaling: Fit to 1 pages wide by 4–5 tall
Paper Size: A3

Use Print Filters to focus on essential information

Microsoft Project allows you to filter the tasks that will be printed, helping you to focus on the most essential information.

Go to View, then Filter, and select a predefined filter such as "Critical" to show only the critical path tasks, or "Incomplete Tasks" to focus on work still to be done.

You can also create custom filters by going to View, Filter, More Filters, and then clicking on "New" to define your own criteria.

Figure 28 Using filters can dramatically reduce the amount of information that needs to be printed while keeping the most important elements.

Create a custom view for printing

Creating a dedicated view specifically for printing can save time when you need to regularly share your project plan.

Go to View, then View, and select "More Views." Click on "New" to create a custom view with only the fields and formatting you want to include in printed documents.

Save this view with a name like "Print View" so you can quickly switch to it whenever you need to print your project plan.

This approach lets you maintain your detailed working view while having a streamlined version ready for sharing with stakeholders.

Figure 29 A custom view designed specifically for printing can be saved and reused whenever you need to share your project plan.