Put an Image in the Header

There are quite a few articles online saying that "printable background images" are not possible in Excel. But they are, with this workaround.

Put the image in the header, and if it's larger than the size allowed for the header, it will spill into the main part of the page.

Here is a screenshot of a PDF showing a spreadsheet with a very simple EMF (vector) graphic --- a pink, 8"x10" (200x250mm) box.

The graphic can even have text in it. Here is a screenshot of a PDF showing a spreadsheet with a blue, 8"x10" EMF graphic that contains text.

If you do an EMF/vector image (not a PNG/bitmap image), the quality of any text you put in the background will be excellent:

Here are the detailed steps.

To create an EMF graphic

Creating an EMF is easy if you have Inkscape (FLOSS) or PowerPoint:

1. create a new PowerPoint document,
2. draw a box, resize it to 8x10 or similar size,
3. fill it with the desired color and text (if any),
4. right click ⟶ Save as Picture ⟶ select Enhanced Metafile (EMF) format.

Note: "Save as Picture..." doesn't appear if you are currently editing text in a textbox. You need to click the border of the box, to select the box itself and exit 'edit text' mode.

To add the image to your Excel spreadsheet as a background image

1. Page Layout ⟶ Page Setup ⟶ hit the "arrow button" for the Page Setup Dialog

2. Header/Footer Tab ⟶ "Custom Header..."

3. Left Section ⟶ press the Insert Picture... toolbar button

4. Select and add your image.

Check Your Work

1. Go to View ⟶ Print Layout mode to see your picture as a background image.
2. To resize the picture, hit the Page Setup ⟶ Header/Footer ⟶ Format Picture... toolbar button or just create a new EMF file at the correct size.
3. You can print to PDF or your local printer as desired: