i haven't had any problems with what you're saying, if i comprehend your question properly...
print (as far as i know) doesn't use %d and the like, that's used in printf. to use it in printf, use %%
so to make a table of width 100 just use...
print "<table width=100% border=0>";
or... printf("<table width=100%% border=0>";
if you post your actual code, then it'll shed more light on your problem
cheers
dom
🙂