How to Print Word Documents With Markup as PDF/A for Archive

You need to print a Word document that shows tracked changes and comments to a PDF file that meets the PDF/A archival standard. Word’s default PDF export often flattens or omits markup, and standard PDF files may not comply with long-term preservation rules. This article explains how to configure Word to print markup and save the result as a PDF/A file suitable for archiving.

Understanding PDF/A and Markup Preservation in Word

PDF/A is an ISO-standardized version of PDF designed for electronic document archiving. It requires that all content be self-contained — fonts are embedded, colors are device-independent, and metadata is stored in a specific format. Standard PDFs may rely on external resources or allow features that degrade over time, making them unsuitable for long-term archiving.

When you print a Word document to PDF, the print engine processes the document as it appears on screen. If the document contains tracked changes and comments, you must enable the Print Markup option in the Print dialog. Without this setting, Word prints the final version only and omits all revision marks and annotations.

Word provides two main paths to produce a PDF/A file: Export to PDF/XPS and Save As PDF. Both methods offer a checkbox to make the output PDF/A compliant. The key difference is that Export preserves more interactive elements, while Save As is simpler for batch operations. Either method works if you first configure the Print settings to include markup.

Prerequisites

Before starting, ensure your document contains tracked changes or comments that you want to appear in the final PDF. Open the document and verify that the Review tab displays the Track Changes indicator as On. Also confirm that comments are visible in the document by checking the Show Markup menu under Review > Show Markup.

Steps to Print a Word Document With Markup as PDF/A

Follow these steps to produce a PDF/A file that includes all tracked changes and comments from your Word document.

1. Open the document and enable Print Markup
   Go to File > Print. In the Settings section, click the drop-down list that shows the current print range. At the bottom of that list, check the box labeled Print Markup. This tells Word to include tracked changes and comments in the printed output.
2. Select Microsoft Print to PDF as the printer
   In the Printer drop-down list, choose Microsoft Print to PDF. This built-in Windows printer creates a PDF file from any printable output.
3. Click Print and name the file
   Click the Print button. A Save Print Output As dialog appears. Choose a folder, type a file name, and click Save. At this stage, the output is a standard PDF with markup but not yet PDF/A compliant.
4. Convert the PDF to PDF/A using the Export method
   Go back to Word and open the original document again. Go to File > Export > Create PDF/XPS. Click the Options button. In the Options dialog, check ISO 19005-1 compliant (PDF/A). Also check Document structure tags for accessibility if you need tagged PDF. Click OK.
5. Publish the PDF/A file
   Back in the Publish as PDF or XPS dialog, choose a location, enter a file name, and click Publish. Word creates a PDF/A file that includes all markup from the original document.

Alternative Method: Save As PDF

If you prefer a single-step workflow, use the Save As method.

1. Open the document and enable Print Markup
   As in the previous method, go to File > Print and check the Print Markup box. This step is required even for Save As because Save As uses the current print settings.
2. Save As PDF with PDF/A option
   Go to File > Save As. Choose a folder. In the Save as type drop-down, select PDF. Click the More Options button. In the Options dialog, check PDF/A compliant. Click OK, then click Save.

Common Issues When Printing Markup to PDF/A

Markup Does Not Appear in the PDF

If your PDF shows only the final document without tracked changes or comments, you forgot to enable Print Markup in the Print dialog. Open the document again, go to File > Print, and verify that Print Markup is checked before you export or save. Word remembers this setting for the current session, but it resets when you close and reopen the application.

PDF/A Validation Fails

Some PDF/A validators report errors if the document contains fonts that cannot be embedded or if transparency effects are present. To avoid this, use standard fonts such as Times New Roman, Calibri, or Arial. Remove any transparency or gradient effects from shapes and text boxes before finalizing. Word’s PDF/A export automatically embeds fonts and converts colors to device-independent spaces, but complex formatting may still cause validation failures.

Comments Are Cut Off or Misaligned

Comments in Word appear in the margin of the printed page. If the PDF shows clipped or overlapping comments, adjust the page margins in Word before printing. Go to Layout > Margins and select a wider margin setting, such as Normal or Wide. Also ensure that the paper size in the Print dialog matches the paper size in your document layout.

Word’s Print to PDF vs Export to PDF: Archival Quality Comparison

Item	Microsoft Print to PDF	Word Export to PDF/XPS
Preserves markup	Yes, if Print Markup is enabled	Yes, if Print Markup is enabled before export
PDF/A compliance	Not built-in; requires separate conversion	Built-in option in Options dialog
Font embedding	Depends on printer driver settings	Always embeds fonts for PDF/A
Accessibility tags	Not supported	Supported via Document structure tags option
File size	Often larger due to image-based rendering	Smaller because text is selectable

Printing a Word document with markup to a PDF/A archive requires two deliberate steps: enabling Print Markup and selecting the PDF/A compliance option. The Export method gives you more control over accessibility and file size, while the Save As method is faster for simple documents. Always validate the final PDF/A file with a tool like Adobe Acrobat Preflight or the veraPDF validator to confirm compliance before storing the file in your archive system.