How to Print a Publisher File Without Publisher

You do not need Microsoft Publisher running on the office PC to print this week's bulletin. Publisher files (.pub) are a poor print format for anyone who does not have that application. PDF is the format printers, copiers, and print shops already expect. Convert once, then print from a browser, a PDF reader, or the copier in the church office.

This guide is about getting paper copies. If you also need to change next week's dates, convert to an editable PowerPoint file as well. Printing and editing are different jobs.

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Why You Should Not Print the .pub File Directly

A .pub file only prints reliably from Publisher itself. Double-clicking it on a computer without Publisher does not send it to the printer. Emailing it to a volunteer "to print at home" usually fails for the same reason. Many copiers can print PDF from a USB stick; almost none understand Publisher.

Even on a machine where Publisher still opens, printing from Publisher ties you to that one computer. When that PC is replaced, or when a Windows update makes the old install awkward to launch, the print workflow breaks. A PDF does not have that dependency.

The Reliable Path: Convert to PDF, Then Print

Convert the .pub file to PDF. If Publisher is still installed, use File → Save As or Export and choose PDF. If it is not, use a converter that accepts Publisher files. Converting a Publisher file to PDF covers those options in more detail.
Open the PDF on the computer attached to the printer, or copy it to a USB drive for the office copier.
Print from the PDF viewer or from the copier's USB menu.
Check the first copy before you run the full stack.

Bulletin Rescue is built for this path. Upload the .pub file, review a free watermarked preview of the first page, then download a PDF (and an editable PowerPoint file) after you unlock access. Fonts and spacing can shift during conversion, which is why the preview and a single test print matter. Uploaded files are deleted after 24 hours, so save the PDF to your own folder before then. The original .pub file on your computer is not changed.

Print Settings That Matter for Bulletins and Flyers

Church bulletins and community flyers often use paper sizes and folding that default print dialogs get wrong. Check these before you print 150 copies.

Paper size. Letter (8.5 × 11 in) and A4 are the usual office sizes. If the Publisher file was designed as a folded half-letter booklet (two pages on one sheet, folded in the middle), confirm that the PDF page size matches what the designer intended. Printing a landscape booklet as a portrait letter page will shrink or crop the design.

Actual size vs fit. "Fit to page" or "Shrink to fit" can add unexpected margins and make a full-bleed flyer look smaller than the original. For a design that already has margins, Actual size is usually closer to what Publisher would have printed. If content is clipped, then try fit-to-page on a test sheet.

Duplex (double-sided). Sunday bulletins are often one sheet printed on both sides. Turn on two-sided printing and watch the flip direction: flip on the long edge for a portrait bulletin that turns like a book; flip on the short edge for some landscape designs. Print one sheet and fold it before you commit.

Color vs grayscale. Color ink is expensive on office printers. If the bulletin was designed in color but you only need a readable grayscale copy for the pew, print a grayscale test. Photos and colored bars can go muddy; you may want to lighten a background in an editor rather than printing a dark gray slab.

Booklet mode. Some PDF readers offer booklet imposition (pages 4 and 1 on the front of a sheet, 2 and 3 on the back). Use this only if the original was a multi-page booklet. A single-page flyer does not need it.

If Publisher Is Still Installed

You can print from Publisher today the same way you always did: open the file, File → Print, choose the printer. That is fine as a temporary step.

Also export a PDF in the same session. Keep that PDF next to the .pub file. Next week, if Publisher will not launch, you can still reprint last week's bulletin or send the PDF to the copier. Installed copies may continue to work after Microsoft retired Publisher in October 2026; they are not a long-term print server.

Sending a File to a Print Shop

Copy shops and church-supply printers want PDF, not .pub. Ask them which they prefer:

A high-quality PDF for their press or copier
Page size and whether they need bleed (extra image past the trim edge)
Whether they print from your pagination or impose a booklet themselves

If you do not know the answers, send a PDF that looks correct on screen and say so. A print shop cannot open a Publisher file unless someone there still has Publisher, which is increasingly unlikely.

For event flyers that must look sharp on a noticeboard, review photos in the PDF at 100% zoom. Conversion can resample images. If a photo looks blocky, the original Publisher file may have used a low-resolution picture; fixing that requires editing, not a different print setting.

Printing From a Mac, Chromebook, or Phone

None of these devices run Publisher. All of them print PDFs.

Mac: Open the PDF in Preview or Chrome and print. Preview's print dialog handles paper size and duplex clearly.
Chromebook: Open the PDF in the browser or Files app and print to a CUPS/Google printer.
Phone or tablet: Open the PDF and use the share sheet or print dialog. This is reasonable for a proof copy, not for a 200-bulletin Sunday run.

If the only copy you have is still .pub, convert it on any computer with a browser, then move the PDF to the device that talks to the printer. Opening Publisher files on Mac and Chromebook walks through conversion on those machines.

Check the First Copy

Always print one sheet and look at it in the light you will actually use (sanctuary, fellowship hall, mailbox). Watch for:

Text that ran into a margin or fold
Substituted fonts that made a heading wrap to an extra line
Photos that printed darker than they looked on a backlit screen
Alignment that is fine on screen but looks crooked when folded

Those issues come from conversion and from the printer, not from "the PDF format." Fix them in an editor or by adjusting print scaling, then print the rest.

If you need to correct text before the next print run, use the PowerPoint copy from conversion or open the converted file in a browser editor. Do not plan to edit the PDF as if it were Publisher. PDF is for output.

Keep a Print Folder, Not a Publisher-Only Folder

A practical office folder looks like this:

2026-11-09-sunday-bulletin.pub (archive of the original)
2026-11-09-sunday-bulletin.pdf (what you actually print and email)
2026-11-09-sunday-bulletin.pptx (what you edit next week)

The PDF is the print source of truth. The .pub file is a backup of history. Treating the Publisher file as the only printable copy is what breaks the week the office computer changes.