Excel won't print more than one copy

Yes, that is true and well known but it does NOT explain this problem. It is also true that both MS and Apple do write (or contract) some "universal" drivers to support legacy printers that are no longer supported or updated for new Windows or Mac OS by the original printer manufacturers.

I am a retired IT pro who managed the printer lab for a very large company and set worldwide standards for all their printers. I have 40+ years of professional experience with printers. I have written printer drivers, myself.

If there were a problem with the printer drivers, the problem would occur on many different applications but NOT with drivers supplied by other manufacturers.

This problem ONLY occurs when printing Mac Excel workbooks. And the problem exists if you print the Excel workbook on a brand new Mac Studio or a 12 year-old-MacBook. I have many printers from different suppliers and more than a dozen drivers installed on each of my Macs. They ALL have the same problem when printing Excel files.

Some of my workbooks are stuck with printing 12 copies, others default to 1, 2, or 3.

For "fun" I created some new spreadsheets yesterday and printed them for the first time using different numbers of copies and it replicated my earlier results.

Of all the solutions offered here, this one worked. I selected the portion of my spreadsheet that I wanted to print, then selected the print selection option. It printed multiple copies. Perhaps Microsoft will take notice and repair this issue. Thanks so much for your help!!!

I have determined that Mac Excel sets the default number of print copies to the number printed the very first time a new spreadsheet is printed. If you print 1 copy the first time, then that becomes the default. If you printed 12 copies the first time, then you are stuck with it forever in that particular workbook.

It doesn't matter which printer driver you use or which Mac you use to print that same file. Whatever the default is, that's what you'll get no matter how many copies you request when printing.

This has been going on for YEARS. I can't understand why MS hasn't fixed Excel to work like every other application (including Word) that allows the user to select the number of copies to be printed each time.

Perhaps MS thought it was a good idea to show the number of pages printed the last time for each workbook when you open the printer dialog box but you should be able to specify any other number if desired..

The support people in these forums should stop telling people how OTHER APPS work or telling them to reload or update their printer drivers because it is a Mac problem. NO, it is clearly an Microsoft Excel problem. Let's get it fixed!

You should try creating a brand new Excel worksheet and then you will find that you CAN print any number of copies that would like. If you happen to print, say, 5 copies on that very first printing, you will find that it will print those 5 copies. But the next and every time after that it will always print exactly 5 copies with no way to change the number. If you transfer that Excel file to another Mac, you will find that it also will only print 5 copies regardless of what printer or MacOS version is being used.

But your previously-created Excel workbooks will still be locked into printing single copies because that's how many copies were printed the FIRST TIME they were printed.

This clearly shows that it is an Microsoft EXCEL problem and not related to anything else.

If it is a simple sheet, you could export it as a PDF file or open it in Apple's Numbers app and then be able to print any desired number of copies.

I am using 365 excel for Mac Studio m2 and if you go to print and where all pages is ticked change to selection then change copies to requirement and print it should work all other options mentioned don’t work. Word 365 works fine I don’t know why they differ.

Geoff Harbour