How to use Application.PrintCommunication in the xlwings API way

The Application.PrintCommunication property in Excel is a Boolean value that controls whether Excel sends print settings to the printer driver before printing a document. This communication is essential for ensuring that page layout, scaling, and other printer-specific settings are correctly applied. When set to True (the default), Excel communicates these settings during the print process. Setting it to False can improve performance in certain scenarios, such as when programmatically generating many reports where print settings are static, as it prevents Excel from repeatedly querying the printer driver. However, disabling it may lead to incorrect print output if the document relies on dynamic printer feedback for proper formatting.

In the xlwings API, this property is accessed through the Application object. The syntax for getting or setting its value is straightforward, as it maps directly to the underlying Excel object model.

Syntax in xlwings:

app = xw.apps.active # Or xw.App() for a new instance
app.api.PrintCommunication = boolean_value

• app: An xlwings App object representing the Excel application instance.
• .api: Provides direct access to the underlying Excel object model (pywin32 on Windows, appscript on Mac).
• PrintCommunication: The property name. It accepts a Boolean value: True to enable print communication (default), False to disable it.

Important Considerations:

• This property is primarily useful for advanced automation where print performance is critical. For most standard tasks, it should remain True.
• When set to False, ensure that all print settings (like PageSetup properties) are explicitly defined in your code to avoid layout issues.
• The property is application-wide, affecting all workbooks within that Excel instance.

Code Example:
The following xlwings script demonstrates how to disable PrintCommunication before batch printing multiple worksheets, then re-enable it. This can speed up operations when printer settings are consistent.

import xlwings as xw

# Connect to the active Excel application
app = xw.apps.active

# Disable print communication for performance
app.api.PrintCommunication = False

try:
    # Access the active workbook
    wb = app.books.active

    # Set common print settings (example: set all sheets to landscape)
    for sheet in wb.sheets:
        sheet.api.PageSetup.Orientation = 2 # xlLandscape

        # Print all worksheets (adjust printer name or settings as needed)
        for sheet in wb.sheets:
            sheet.api.PrintOut(Copies=1, Collate=True)

finally:
    # Re-enable print communication to ensure normal Excel behavior
    app.api.PrintCommunication = True
    print("Print communication restored to default (True).")