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How to Make Any Webpage Printer Friendly in Minutes

Marcelo | Founder

Nov 15, 2024

Why a Print Friendly Website Matters for Your Product

Creating a print friendly website is essential for any applications where users may need to print content such as reports, invoices, or analytics. By optimizing your webpages for printing, you enhance user experience and demonstrate a commitment to accessibility and professionalism.

In the SaaS landscape, users often require hard copies of digital content for documentation, presentations, or record-keeping. A printer friendly webpage ensures that when users print a page, the output is clean, well-formatted, and free from unnecessary elements that clutter the printed document.

Providing a pdf print friendly version of your content enhances usability. Users appreciate when they can easily obtain a printed version without manual adjustments or resorting to external tools. This convenience can differentiate your application in a competitive market.

The great news is that you can make your page printer friendly using some advanced css techniques!

Illustration representing a printer friendly webpage

Best Practices to Make Your Webpage Print Friendly

Implementing CSS Print Stylesheets

The most effective way to create a printer friendly website is by using CSS print stylesheets. By defining styles specifically for printing, you can control how your webpage appears on paper without affecting the on-screen presentation.

Linking Separate Stylesheets:

In your HTML <head> section, link your regular stylesheet and a separate print stylesheet:

<link rel="stylesheet" href="styles.css" media="screen">
<link rel="stylesheet" href="print.css" media="print">

This approach keeps your print styles organized and separate from your screen styles.

Creating the Print Stylesheet (print.css):

Within your print.css, specify the styles that optimize the page for printing.

/* Hide non-essential elements */
nav, footer, .advertisement {
    display: none;
}

/* Adjust font sizes and margins */
body {
    font-size: 12pt;
    margin: 1in;
}

/* Ensure content width fits the page */
.main-content {
    width: 100%;
}

Hiding Non-Essential Elements for a Cleaner Printout

To produce a clean printout, hide elements that aren’t necessary on paper, such as navigation menus, footers, sidebars, and advertisements.

/* print.css */
nav, footer, aside, .ads {
    display: none;
}

This declutters the printed page, focusing on the essential content.

Testing Printer Output

Before finalizing your print styles, test how your webpages print to ensure they appear as intended.

Using Print Preview

Use the browser’s print preview feature (Ctrl + P or Command + P) to see how the page will look when printed.

Utilizing Developer Tools

Most browsers allow you to emulate print styles in developer tools.

• Chrome: Open DevTools (F12), click on the three-dot menu, select More tools > Rendering, and choose Print under Emulate CSS media.

• Firefox: Open DevTools, click the settings gear icon, and under Available Toolbox Buttons, enable Toggle print media simulation.

This enables you to debug and refine your print styles without wasting paper.

Advanced Techniques for a Printer Friendly Page

Controlling Page Breaks and Layout with CSS

Prevent awkward page breaks by controlling how content flows across printed pages.

CSS Properties for Page Breaks:

page-break-before: Inserts a page break before an element.
page-break-after: Inserts a page break after an element.
page-break-inside: Avoids a page break inside an element.
orphans and widows: Controls the minimum number of lines in a block container before or after a page break.
break-before, break-after, and break-inside: Newer properties that offer more control over page-breaking behavior.

Examples:

/* Avoid page breaks inside headings and paragraphs */
h2, h3, p {
    page-break-inside: avoid;
}

/* Force page break before a new section */
section {
    page-break-before: always;
}

/* Prevent orphaned lines */
p {
    orphans: 3;
    widows: 3;
}

/* Using newer break properties */
table {
    break-inside: auto;
}

Managing Background Colors and Images

By default, browsers may not print background colors or images, leading to a loss of styling.

Forcing Backgrounds to Print:

body {
    -webkit-print-color-adjust: exact;
    print-color-adjust: exact; /* For Firefox */
}

This tells the browser to print background colors and images as specified in your CSS.

Note: Be cautious, as printing backgrounds can consume more ink.

Handling Images Effectively

Images can significantly impact the print quality and resource usage.

Deciding When to Hide Images:

Hide decorative images that don’t add value to the printed content.

/* Hide images inside ads or decorative elements */
.advertisement img, .decorative img {
    display: none;
}

When to Hide Images:

• If images are purely decorative.

• When images increase page load time without adding value to the printed page.

When to Show Images:

• If images convey essential information.

• When images are necessary for understanding the content.

Controlling Image Size:

Ensure images fit within the page margins.

img {
    max-width: 100%;
    height: auto;
}

Inverting Images for Printing:

For dark images, inverting colors can improve print clarity.

img.invert {
    filter: invert(100%);
}

Addressing Text Overflow

Prevent text from overflowing its container, which can cause layout issues in print.

/* Ensure long words break appropriately */
p, h1, h2, h3 {
    word-wrap: break-word;
    hyphens: auto;
}

This allows long words or URLs to break and wrap to the next line.

Adding Supplementary Content

Include additional information that enhances the printed document.

Displaying URLs After Links:

a::after {
    content: " (" attr(href) ")";
}

Adding Copyright or Watermarks:

Use ::before and ::after pseudo-elements to insert content that only appears in print.

body::after {
    content: "© 2024 Your Company Name";
    display: block;
    text-align: center;
    margin-top: 2em;
    font-size: 10pt;
    color: #555;
}

Adding Watermarks:

body::before {
    content: "CONFIDENTIAL";
    position: fixed;
    top: 50%;
    left: 50%;
    transform: translate(-50%, -50%);
    font-size: 72pt;
    color: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.1);
    z-index: -1;
}

Use and Abuse @media print

The @media print rule allows you to specify styles exclusively for print. Within it, you can adjust various properties to optimize the printed page.

Available Options:

• Page Size and Orientation:

@page {
    size: A4 portrait;
    margin: 1in;
}

• Counters for Page Numbers:

@media print {
    @page {
        counter-reset: page;
    }
    footer::after {
        content: "Page " counter(page);
    }
}

• Adjusting Margins and Padding:

body {
    margin: 1in;
    padding: 0;
}

• Customizing Headers and Footers:

@page {
    @top-center {
        content: element(header);
    }
    @bottom-center {
        content: element(footer);
    }
}

• Specifying Breaks Before or After Elements:

h1 {
    break-after: avoid;
}

For a comprehensive list of options, refer to the W3C CSS Paged Media Module.

Conclusion

Optimizing your webpages for printing enhances user satisfaction and adds professionalism to your application. Key tips include:

• Use CSS Print Stylesheets: Separate print styles from screen styles for clarity and maintainability.

• Hide Non-Essential Elements: Remove navigation menus, footers, and ads to declutter the printed page.

• Control Page Breaks: Use CSS properties to prevent awkward splits in content.

• Optimize Images and Backgrounds: Decide which images to include, adjust sizes, and control background printing.

• Add Supplementary Content: Include helpful information like URLs, page numbers, and watermarks using pseudo-elements.

By implementing these best practices, you can create a printer friendly webpage that meets users’ needs and sets your application apart.

An efficient alternative is to leverage third-party PDF generation APIs like pdforge, which create print-optimized layouts with exceptional visual quality. These tools simplify PDF generation at scale, removing the burden of code maintenance and allowing you to focus on core tasks without the hassle of managing complex layouts.