Printer-friendly is a term used on the

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

to describe a version of a

web page A web page (or webpage) is a World Wide Web, Web document that is accessed in a web browser. A website typically consists of many web pages hyperlink, linked together under a common domain name. The term "web page" is therefore a metaphor of pap ...

formatted for

printing Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabonidus. The ...

. Normally, web pages include information and navigation content that is only useful while browsing the website. Printer-friendly pages are designed to fit on an 8.5"x11" or A4 sheet (see paper sizes) and include only the content (plain text and images) of the page, along with source information. Inline

hyperlink In computing, a hyperlink, or simply a link, is a digital reference providing direct access to Data (computing), data by a user (computing), user's point and click, clicking or touchscreen, tapping. A hyperlink points to a whole document or to ...

s become ordinary text, links on the margins may or may not be shown. Additionally link target URLs may be shown. Navigation tools such as on-screen menus are not included. Printer-friendly pages are used not only for printing onto paper, but also for storage on machine-readable media such as

hard drive A hard disk drive (HDD), hard disk, hard drive, or fixed disk is an electro-mechanical data storage device that stores and retrieves digital data using magnetic storage with one or more rigid rapidly rotating hard disk drive platter, pla ...

floppy disks A floppy disk or floppy diskette (casually referred to as a floppy, a diskette, or a disk) is a type of disk storage composed of a thin and flexible disk of a magnetic storage medium in a square or nearly square plastic enclosure lined with a ...

CD-ROM A CD-ROM (, compact disc read-only memory) is a type of read-only memory consisting of a pre-pressed optical compact disc that contains computer data storage, data computers can read, but not write or erase. Some CDs, called enhanced CDs, hold b ...

s. They are usually accessed through a link on the standard page. Often the link will be indicated by a printer icon. There are several ways that

website A website (also written as a web site) is any web page whose content is identified by a common domain name and is published on at least one web server. Websites are typically dedicated to a particular topic or purpose, such as news, educatio ...

pages can be easily made printer friendly. One way is to use

JavaScript JavaScript (), often abbreviated as JS, is a programming language and core technology of the World Wide Web, alongside HTML and CSS. Ninety-nine percent of websites use JavaScript on the client side for webpage behavior. Web browsers have ...

, which can be used to create a printer-friendly version of a website page by hiding elements of the page that are not required for printing. This way, all of the content can be laid out on an 8.5"x11" or A4 sheet in an orderly fashion. Another way to create printer-friendly web pages is to use a CSS style sheet. A CSS style sheet is a set of instructions that tell the

web browser A web browser, often shortened to browser, is an application for accessing websites. When a user requests a web page from a particular website, the browser retrieves its files from a web server and then displays the page on the user's scr ...

how to display a

. By using a separate style sheet specifically for

, a

can be laid out to fit on an 8.5"x11" or A4 sheet. The most important thing to remember when creating printer-friendly

web pages A web page (or webpage) is a World Wide Web, Web document that is accessed in a web browser. A website typically consists of many web pages hyperlink, linked together under a common domain name. The term "web page" is therefore a metaphor of pap ...

is to keep the layout simple. Avoid using complicated text formatting and images, as these can cause problems when

. Also, remember to include source information on the page, such as the website address and the date the page was

printed Printing is a process for mass reproducing text and Printmaking, images using a master form or template. The earliest non-paper products involving printing include cylinder seals and objects such as the Cyrus Cylinder and the Cylinders of Nabon ...

External links

CSS Design: Going to Print
Web design {{Web-stub