How to insert a printable background image in Excel?
When we insert a background with clicking Background button under Page Layout tab in Excel, the background is not printable, and you cannot view the background in print preview. Is it possible to print a background image in Excel? Yes, there is a special method to insert a printable background image in Excel.
Insert a printable background image in Excel with drawing a shape (8 steps)
Insert a printable background image in Excel with Kutools for Excel (3 steps)
Insert a printable background image in Excel with drawing a shape
To finish this job, please do with the following steps one by one:
1. Click the Insert > Shapes, and select a rectangles shape, see the following screenshot:
2. Draw a shape as large as you need in active worksheet.
3. The Drawing Tools is active now, please click the Shape Fill button and fill the shape with white.
4. Click the Shape Outline button, and replace the outline color with white as well as following screenshot shown.
5. Then right click the shape, and select the Format Shape item from the context menu.
6. In the Format Picture dialog box in Excel 2010 or Format Picture pane in Excel 2013, please do the following operations:
 | In Excel 2010: (1.) Click Fill option from the left pane; (2.) Select the Picture or texture fill option; (3.) Click the File button to specify a image to fill this shape; (4.) Check the Tile picture as texture option; (5.) Change the Transparency to 75% as you need to make the background image like watermark. |
 | In Excel 2013 and later versions: (1.) Click Fill & Line button; (2.) Under the Fill section: Select the Picture or texture fill option; Click the File button to specify a image to fill this shape; Check the Tile picture as texture option; Change the Transparency to 75% as you need to make the background image like watermark. |
7. In the same dialog, then do the following operations:
 | In Excel 2010: (1.) Click Properties option at left bar; (2.) Select the Move and size with cells option in Object positioning section; (3.) Check the Print Object option. |
 | In Excel 2013 and later versions: (1.) Click Size & Properties button; (2.) Under the Properties section: Select the Move and size with cells option; Check the Print Object option. |
8. Click Close button. Then the shape filled with pictures looks like a background image. What's more, it can be printed out when you print the active worksheet. See the following screenshot:
Note: After inserting this background picture, you will not be allowed enter any text within the picture range.
Insert a printable background image in Excel with Kutools for Excel
The above method has its own limit that you can’t enter any text after inserting the background image, but, if you have Kutools for Excel, with its Insert Watermark feature, you can quickly insert the image or text watermark which can be printable as well as you need.
After installing Kutools for Excel, please do as follows:
1. Go to the worksheet which you want to insert the printable background image, and click Kutools > Insert > Insert Watermark, see screenshot:
2. In the Insert Watermark dialog box, select Picture Watermark option, and click Select Picture button to select a picture that you want to insert as printable background, and then, specify the image scale or formatting as you need, see screenshot:
3. Then click Apply or Ok, and the selected image has been inserted into the worksheet background, when you print it, the background image will be printed as well. See screenshot:
Notes:
1. After inserting the watermark background, you can also type the text into the worksheet.
2. With this feature, you can also insert the text watermark as you need.
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