How to Print Special Characters That Show as Boxes in Word

When you try to print a Word document, some special characters such as emojis, symbols, or foreign language letters appear as small empty boxes on the printed page. This happens because the font used in the document does not include glyphs for those characters, or the printer driver cannot map them correctly. This article explains why boxes replace special characters when printing and provides step-by-step methods to resolve the issue, including changing fonts, embedding fonts, and adjusting printer settings.

Why Special Characters Print as Boxes in Word

Special characters like ©, ®, ™, em dashes (—), accented letters (é, ñ, ü), and emojis (😀, 🎉) require specific glyphs inside a font file. When you see a box on the printed page, the font you are using does not contain a glyph for that character. This can happen for three main reasons.

First, the font selected in your Word document may be a legacy or decorative font that lacks Unicode support for modern symbols. Second, if you created the document on one computer and open it on another, the target computer may not have the same font installed. Word then substitutes a fallback font that may not include the special glyph. Third, the printer driver might be set to send text as graphics or use a built-in font list that does not match the document font.

The box character itself is the Unicode replacement character (U+FFFD) or a missing-glyph indicator. It appears when the rendering engine — either Word, Windows, or the printer — cannot find the correct glyph. The fixes below address each cause.

Font Substitution and Missing Glyphs

Every font has a character map that defines which glyphs it supports. For example, the Wingdings font has only decorative symbols and no Latin letters. If you paste an emoji into a Wingdings paragraph, Word will show a box. Similarly, some free fonts only include basic ASCII characters. When you print, the printer firmware may also lack the glyph. The most reliable approach is to use a font that covers the Unicode range of your special characters.

Printer Driver Rendering

Many printers have their own font sets stored in firmware. When you send a print job, the printer driver may substitute a built-in font for the document font to speed up processing. If the built-in font lacks the special glyph, the printer outputs a box. This is especially common with PCL (Printer Command Language) drivers. Switching to a PostScript driver or adjusting the driver settings can force the printer to use the Windows font data.

Steps to Print Special Characters Correctly

Follow these methods in order. Each method targets a different cause of the box issue. After each method, try printing a test page with the special characters.

Method 1: Change the Document Font to a Unicode Font

1. Select all text in the document
   Press Ctrl+A to select the entire document content.
2. Open the Font dialog
   Press Ctrl+D or click the Font group dialog launcher on the Home tab.
3. Choose a Unicode-compatible font
   Select Arial, Calibri, Segoe UI, or Times New Roman. These fonts include extensive glyph support for symbols, accented letters, and emojis.
4. Apply the font change
   Click OK. Then print a test page to see if the boxes are replaced by the correct characters.

If the document uses multiple fonts, repeat the process for each section. For a faster approach, use the Replace feature to change all instances of a specific font to a Unicode font.

Method 2: Embed Fonts in the Word File

1. Open File > Options
   Click File in the ribbon, then Options at the bottom of the left pane.
2. Go to the Save category
   In the Word Options dialog, select Save.
3. Enable font embedding
   Under Preserve fidelity when sharing this document, check the box Embed fonts in the file.
4. Choose embedding options
   Check Embed only the characters used in the document to keep file size smaller. Uncheck this option only if the document will be edited on another computer.
5. Save and print
   Click OK, then save the document. Print again. The embedded fonts travel with the file, so the printer receives the correct glyph data.

Method 3: Adjust Printer Driver Settings

1. Open Print dialog
   Press Ctrl+P or click File > Print.
2. Open Printer Properties
   Click the link or button labeled Printer Properties below the printer name. The exact wording varies by printer model.
3. Find graphics or font settings
   Look for a tab named Graphics, Advanced, or Device Settings. The location depends on the driver.
4. Set TrueType font handling
   Change the setting TrueType as Bitmap or Send TrueType as Bitmap to Enabled or On. This forces the printer to use the font data from Windows rather than substituting its own fonts.
5. Apply and print
   Click Apply, then OK. Print the document again.

Method 4: Use the Windows Character Map to Insert Characters

If the special character still appears as a box, it may not be a valid Unicode character. Insert the character using Windows Character Map to ensure you use the correct glyph.

1. Open Character Map
   Press Windows key, type Character Map, and press Enter.
2. Select a font
   At the top of the Character Map window, choose the same font you use in the Word document, such as Arial.
3. Find the special character
   Scroll through the grid or use the Group by dropdown to find the character you need, such as the copyright symbol ©.
4. Copy and paste into Word
   Click the character, click Select, then Copy. Return to Word and paste the character into the document.

If Word Still Shows Boxes After the Main Fix

Boxes Appear Only When Printing to a Specific Printer

Some older printers, especially monochrome laser printers, have limited font memory. The printer firmware cannot render complex glyphs like emojis. To work around this, install a PostScript driver for the same printer model. PostScript drivers send font outlines as vector data, which preserves special characters. Contact your printer manufacturer for the PostScript driver.

Boxes Appear in PDF Export but Not in Print Preview

When you export to PDF using the Microsoft Print to PDF driver, the PDF may embed a different font. Open File > Export > Create PDF/XPS. Click Options and check ISO 19005-1 compliant (PDF/A). This forces PDF/A compliance, which embeds all fonts. Then open the PDF and print from Adobe Acrobat Reader.

Boxes Appear for Emojis and Symbols Inserted via the Insert Tab

Word uses the Segoe UI Emoji font for emojis inserted from Insert > Symbol > More Symbols. If Segoe UI Emoji is missing or corrupted, reinstall it. Open Settings > Apps > Optional features. Click Add a feature, search for Segoe UI Emoji, and install it. Restart Word and print again.

Font Compatibility for Special Character Printing

Item	Unicode Font (Arial, Calibri)	Legacy Font (Wingdings, Symbol)
Glyph coverage	Over 2,000 characters including Latin, Greek, Cyrillic, symbols, emojis	Fewer than 256 characters, mostly decorative symbols
Printing on any printer	Works with most printers; embed fonts for best results	Often fails because printer lacks the font
Emoji support	Full color emoji support in Segoe UI Emoji	No emoji support
File size with embedding	Larger file if embedding full font	Smaller file but higher risk of box characters

By switching to a Unicode font, embedding fonts in the file, or adjusting printer driver settings, you can eliminate the box characters and print special characters as intended. If a specific symbol still fails, use Character Map to insert the correct glyph from a reliable font.