Improve the speed of ArcMap print preview

Summary

Using ArcMap print preview is slow if the map page size is large, if the map uses transparent symbology, and/or has raster layers.

The purpose of print preview is to check the page size and layout of the map on the printer page. It is not intended to view how the map elements look on the map page; do that in ArcMap Layout view.

Procedure

• If the map is intended to be printed, set up the page first, page size, printer, printer engine, etc., and check the print preview. Because the map at this point contains no data or map elements on the map, print preview is very fast.
• If the map is already created, turn off the visibility of the data before checking the print preview.
  
  

  Note:
  Turn off all layers in a single data frame by pressing and holding the control key and clicking the one layer check box.