Microsoft Works is less expensive than Office, and less capable than Office
Word?
Actually, this may also depend on the exact printer driver in use. Some of
the "basic" printer drivers do not support print selection.
In some cases, the Vista printer driver for a given printer may not give you
the print selection choice.
I see this more often with Internet Explorer than Works, since I seldom use
works. For example, I have a "netbook" portable that has MS Works and Open
Office installed. I'll use Open Office unless there is a specific reason
not to. My other systems have full Office versions.
You may have some workarounds, such as using the clipboard to transfer the
selection to another application, such as write or notepad.