Print Gridlines in Excel Without Data on a Blank Sheet

To print gridlines without data in Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows, select a blank range, set it as the print area, then go to Page Layout > Sheet Options and check Print under Gridlines. Use Print Preview to confirm the empty cells appear as a lined worksheet before printing.

This creates a paper grid or blank worksheet template without entering placeholder values. The key is defining the range you want printed: a completely empty sheet may otherwise have no print area for Excel to output. The steps below also explain how to keep the printed grid separate from the gridlines you see on screen.

What You’ll Need

Excel for Microsoft 365 on Windows, or a recent desktop version of Excel. The ribbon names may vary slightly in older releases.
A printer, or access to Print Preview and the option to print to PDF. You can configure the worksheet before connecting to a printer.
An idea of the approximate number of rows and columns you want on the paper, such as 10 columns by 30 rows.

Step-by-Step

Open the worksheet you want to print. You can use a new blank workbook or an unused area of an existing worksheet. If the workbook contains information you do not want printed, you will set a print area around only the blank cells. Click the worksheet tab that should hold the grid; print settings and print areas apply to individual sheets.
Select the blank cell range for the grid. Click the top-left cell, such as A1, then drag to the bottom-right cell, such as J30. You can also click the Name Box to the left of the formula bar, type A1:J30, and press Enter to select that range. Adjust the example to suit your page: ten columns and 30 rows is only a starting point, not a required size. Avoid selecting the entire worksheet unless you genuinely want an extremely large printout.
Set the selected range as the print area. With the range still selected, choose Page Layout > Print Area > Set Print Area. Excel remembers this range for that worksheet. It tells Excel which blank cells to include, even though they contain no values. If you skip this step on a completely empty sheet, Print Preview may show no page or no useful printable area.
Turn on gridlines for printing. On the Page Layout tab, find the Sheet Options group. Under Gridlines, select the Print checkbox. Make sure you use the checkbox in the Print column, not only the View checkbox. View controls whether gridlines appear on your monitor; Print controls whether they appear on paper or in the resulting PDF.
Check that the gridlines are visible on screen if useful. The View checkbox in Page Layout > Sheet Options > Gridlines controls the worksheet display. It is not required for printing, but turning it on can make it easier to see the selected blank range while editing. If the worksheet is already showing gridlines, leave View as it is and verify the separate Print checkbox.
Choose page orientation and paper size. For a wide grid with many columns, go to Page Layout > Orientation > Landscape. For a taller, narrower grid, Portrait may work better. Check Page Layout > Size and choose the paper actually loaded in your printer, commonly Letter or A4. A mismatch between the selected size and the printer’s paper can cause unexpected scaling or extra pages.
Review scaling and margins. In Page Layout, use the Scale to Fit controls if you need to fit the grid to a particular page width. Setting Width to 1 page can keep all columns together, but it may make the cells very narrow if the range is wide. Leaving Height set to Automatic can let a taller grid continue onto additional pages. Use Page Layout > Margins to choose a preset or adjust the margins if the grid is too close to the edges.
Open Print Preview. Press Ctrl+P on Windows, or choose File > Print. Inspect the preview before sending the job to the printer. You should see a blank rectangle divided into cells, not a white page. Check the page count, row and column spacing, orientation, and whether all sides of the intended range are included. If the grid is missing, use the troubleshooting section below before printing.
Print a test page or save a PDF. Choose the correct printer and print one page first if you are unsure about paper size, line visibility, or scaling. To check the layout without using paper, select Microsoft Print to PDF (if available) in the printer list and print to a file. Open the PDF and inspect the lines at normal zoom; very faint lines can be easier to judge on paper than on a screen.
Save the workbook if you want to reuse the template. Use File > Save As to keep a separate copy with the print area and print-gridline setting. The range and print setting stay with the worksheet, so reopening that workbook usually retains the layout. Before using the same sheet for other work, remember that its print area may still be limited to the range you selected.

For Excel on Mac, the workflow is substantially the same: select the range, use the Page Layout tab to set the print area and enable Gridlines under Print, then preview the result. The keyboard shortcut for printing is Command+P rather than Ctrl+P. In Excel for the web, printing controls and available page options can differ; if you cannot find a Gridlines print setting or the preview does not show the blank range, open the workbook in the desktop Excel app and complete the setup there.

Common Mistakes

Turning on View but not Print. Gridlines visible in the worksheet window do not automatically mean they will be printed. In Page Layout > Sheet Options > Gridlines, confirm the checkbox beneath Print is selected.
Expecting gridlines to print like cell borders. Worksheet gridlines are a display and print option. They are usually light and can be less prominent than borders you apply with Home > Borders. For a stronger, custom-designed worksheet, use borders instead; for a simple blank grid, the Print gridlines option is usually quicker.
Not setting a print area on an empty sheet. Excel may not know which portion of a wholly blank worksheet to print. Select the desired cells and choose Page Layout > Print Area > Set Print Area before checking the preview.
Selecting a huge range. Selecting thousands of rows or columns can create many pages, or shrink the cells dramatically if you try to fit everything onto one page. Select only the number of rows and columns you expect to use.
Printing a selection by accident. In the File > Print screen, check the settings menu. If Print Selection is active, Excel may print only the currently selected cells instead of the saved print area. Choose Print Active Sheets when you want the worksheet’s print area to control the output.
Assuming a saved print area is cleared automatically. Print areas persist on the sheet. If you later need a different range, select the new range and set it again, or choose Page Layout > Print Area > Clear Print Area before starting over.

Tips

Decide how many cells should fit across a page before selecting. A grid with too many columns can become hard to write in after Excel scales it down. For a handwriting template, prioritize readable cell width over fitting every column onto one sheet.
Use multiple pages for a tall grid. If you want full-size cells, allow the range to continue across pages rather than forcing both width and height to one page. In the Print screen, inspect page breaks and the total page count before printing.
Consider margins and printer limits. Most printers cannot print right to the paper edge. If an outer line appears to be missing, try narrower margins using Page Layout > Margins, while staying within your printer’s printable area.
Use borders when line weight matters. Gridlines are intended as light worksheet guides and are not formatted individually. If the template needs darker lines, thicker outer edges, or selected boxes, select the cells and apply borders from Home > Borders. Borders can print even when worksheet gridline printing is off.
Keep a reusable blank template. Save a dedicated workbook with the print area, orientation, and gridline setting already configured. Make a copy when you need a new version, so later changes to another worksheet do not disturb the original template.
Check the paper result rather than relying only on screen appearance. Monitor display scaling and printer settings can make thin lines look different. A one-page test print or PDF review helps confirm that the cell size and line contrast are practical.

Troubleshooting

The preview is blank or says there is nothing to print: Return to the worksheet, select the intended blank range, and choose Page Layout > Print Area > Set Print Area. Then reopen File > Print. Confirm the active sheet is the one you configured and that Print Active Sheets, rather than an unintended selection, is chosen.

The cells are visible on screen but absent from print preview: On Page Layout, look at Sheet Options > Gridlines and check Print. The View checkbox alone does not enable printing. If Print is selected already, open Page Setup from the small dialog launcher in the Page Setup group, select the Sheet tab, and check Gridlines there. Return to preview to see whether the setting took effect.

Only part of the grid prints: Check the saved print area and the selected print range. Choose Page Layout > Print Area > Clear Print Area, select the complete intended range again, and set it as the print area. Also inspect page breaks in preview: a grid that spans multiple pages may be split even though the full range is included.

The grid is too small or spans too many pages: In the Print screen, review the scaling option. Fit Sheet on One Page can make a large range unreadable, while no scaling can spread a range over many sheets. Try Landscape for a wide range, reduce the number of columns, or fit the range to one page wide while allowing it to use more than one page vertically.

Lines print too faintly: Gridlines are generally light and may not stand out on every printer or paper type. Use Home > Borders to apply darker cell borders to the selected range, then preview or print a test page. If you add borders, you can leave the gridline Print setting on or turn it off; the borders are separate formatting.

The print option is missing or unavailable: Make sure you are working in a desktop version of Excel and that a worksheet is active, rather than a chart sheet. In Excel for the web, open the workbook in the desktop app if the relevant page setup controls are not available. If Excel is open in a narrow window, maximize it or expand the ribbon to reveal the Sheet Options group.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I print gridlines from a completely blank Excel worksheet?
Yes. Select the blank cell range you want, set it as the print area, and check Page Layout > Sheet Options > Gridlines > Print. The range gives Excel a defined area to output even though it contains no data.

Why do gridlines show in Excel but not on the printed page?
The worksheet’s View setting controls on-screen gridlines, while the separate Print setting controls printed gridlines. Check the Print box in Sheet Options, then confirm the result in File > Print preview.

Do I have to type anything into the cells first?
No. You can print empty cells. Selecting a range and setting it as the print area is what defines the blank grid’s size; placeholder text or numbers are not needed.

Can I make the printed lines darker?
Gridline color and weight are not individually formatted like cell borders. For darker or selectively emphasized lines, apply borders from Home > Borders. Borders are printed as cell formatting and can be adjusted independently of the gridline option.

How do I print only one page of blank grid?
Select a range small enough to fit, set it as the print area, and inspect the preview. You can choose a scaling option that fits the sheet to one page, but if the range is large the cells may shrink. Reduce the range or use landscape orientation if the result is too small.

Will the print area affect other worksheets in my workbook?
No. A print area is set for the current worksheet, not automatically for every sheet. Repeat the selection and setup on each worksheet you want to print as a blank grid, and check the active sheet before printing.

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Sources: Function behaviour and menu paths: Microsoft Support documentation for Excel. Method & sources

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