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Word 2021 Will only print on envelopes if envelope is part of document

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2026-04-11T15:20:34.1866667+00:00

I am using Word 2021 with OS Tahoe and a Brother printer. Using older versions of Word there were no problems.

Now I use the Tools/Envelopes/Insert into active document to insert an envelope at the top of each letter I write. I would like to print the document with the envelope on envelope paper and letter on letter paper,

Word is only printing on the envelope paper. I have "auto select" chosen under the Media and Feed From in the Media and Quality section. All my printer settings are correct. The only change was using 2021 as opposed to an older version of Word.

If I choose to only print the body of the letter, the output is still on envelope paper.

Any help appreciated. Thank you.

Microsoft 365 and Office | Word | Other | MacOS
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  1. Marcin Policht 90,975 Reputation points MVP Volunteer Moderator
    2026-04-11T16:41:42.4633333+00:00

    AFAIK, this might be related to how the newer version of Word communicates section-based tray assignments to the printer driver. When you insert an envelope into an active document, Word creates two distinct sections with different page sizes. Even if your printer settings seem correct, Word may be defaulting the entire print job to the "First Page" tray setting of the first section. To resolve this, you must manually assign specific trays to each section within the Page Setup menu rather than relying on Auto Select.

    Click your cursor anywhere inside the envelope at the top of your document to ensure Section 1 is active. Go to the Layout tab on the ribbon and click the Page Setup button or the small arrow in the corner of that group. In the dialog box that appears, navigate to the Paper tab. Under the Paper Source area, change both First page and Other pages from Auto Select to the specific tray where you load your envelopes, such as Manual Feed or MP Tray. Ensure the Apply to dropdown at the bottom is set to This section before clicking OK.

    Next, scroll down and click your cursor into the body of your letter to make Section 2 active. Open the Page Setup dialog again and return to the Paper tab. This time, set both the First page and Other pages sources to Tray 1 or whichever tray holds your standard letter paper. Again, verify that Apply to is set to This section. By explicitly defining these sources, you override the global Auto Select behavior that is currently causing the printer to pull from the envelope tray for the entire document.

    If the document still pulls from the wrong tray, this might be an issue with the macOS print driver using a generic AirPrint profile which lacks advanced tray switching capabilities. You can check this by going to System Settings, then Printers & Scanners, and selecting your Brother printer. If the Kind is listed as AirPrint, you should delete the printer and re-add it. When re-adding, click the Use dropdown menu and choose Select Software to manually pick the specific Brother CUPS driver for your model. This should ensure that Word can communicate directly with the physical trays on your hardware.

    If the above response helps answer your question, remember to "Accept Answer" so that others in the community facing similar issues can easily find the solution. Your contribution is highly appreciated.

    hth

    Marcin

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