The reason that there may be problems in converting from PDF to Word is because sometimes, the PDF file is generated from an image (scanned in) rather than from computer text (Word document). And this means that the software has to make judgment calls about what the text was originally.

At the risk of going down a rabbit trail, if you're having problems printing a PDF document, print it to Adobe Acrobat rather than to an actual printer. It will generate a PDF file from the PDF file (i.e. it will do some cleanup on it), and you'll likely be able to print the new file.