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Oregon Housing and Community Services

Printing Help

While modern webpages aren’t generally built for printing, you may want to keep your own copy of a webpage, whether printed on paper or saved as a digital document on your computer or in cloud storage. This guide offers tips for printing webpages effectively.

Reading Mode

One way to reduce clutter on the webpage before printing is to enable a reading mode in your browser. In the Microsoft Edge browser, you can find this as the “Immersive reader” option under the more options (…) menu on the right side of the address bar (keyboard shortcut F9).

A screen capture showing where to find the immersive reader feature in Microsoft Edge browser.

Be aware that some items on the page will disappear when reading mode is enabled. That may include items you actually want to be included in your print. So, it’s worthwhile to review the page side-by-side (one in reading mode, one not) to spot the differences and ensure you have what you want.

For example, in the image below, the same webpage is shown twice side by side. The page on the right is not in reading mode, and it includes all tables. On the left side, the page is shown in reading mode and is missing one of the tables. The missing table appears as a small black square on the page.

A screen capture showing two web pages side by side, one in immersive reader mode, the other not.

Print to PDF

Whether you want to print the page to paper, or save as a digital document, converting the page to a PDF is often the most effective method.

  1. Select the Print option in your browser (or use keyboard shortcut Ctrl+P). In Microsoft Edge, the Print option is found in the More Options (…) menu near the top-right corner of the window.
    A screen capture showing the location of the Print menu in Microsoft Edge browser..
  2. From the Printer selection drop-down, you may see a few options for converting to PDF, including:
    • Save as PDF
      A screen capture showing the printer selection drop-down in the print window from Microsoft Edge.
    • Microsoft Print to PDF (if you’re using a computer with Windows 10 or newer)
      A screen capture showing the print to PDF selection drop-down in the print window from Microsoft Edge.
    • Adobe PDF (if you have Adobe PDF software installed on your computer). If you have other PDF software installed, you may see an option related to that software.
      A screen capture showing the print to PDF selection when you are Adobe PDF ready in the drop-down in the print window from Microsoft Edge.

Adjusting Print Options

Whether you’re printing to PDF or an actual paper printer, you will have several options in the Print window that may help you achieve the printed look you’re after.

Layout

The print window will include a Layout setting where you can select from Portrait or Landscape orientation. Your browser will likely select what it thinks is best for the content you are printing, but you can change it. If the content is wide, consider landscape orientation.

A screen capture showing the layout options in the print window from Microsoft Edge browser.

Paper Size

Whether printing on paper or saving as a PDF, the paper size affects how much content fits on each page. If the content is wide, consider a larger paper size. The paper size selection may be under the “More settings” area in the print window.

A screen capture showing the paper size options in the print window from Microsoft Edge browser.

Scale (%)

Scaling is a great way to fit more content on your printed page area. If the content you are printing is very wide (such as tables with horizontal scrolling), consider scaling down to a smaller percentage to capture everything on the page. If you are printing to physical paper, consider the “Fit to printable area” option.

A screen capture showing the scale options in the print window from Microsoft Edge browser.

Margins

Adjusting margins can help you fit the content you want on your printed page area. If you are printing to paper and the edges of the content are being cut off, consider making the margins larger. If you are printing to a PDF and want to maximize how much content fits on the page, consider making the margins smaller (minimum or narrow).

A screen capture showing the margin options in the print window from Microsoft Edge browser.

Other Options

Your print window may have additional options, such as color and quality (resolution).

A screen capture showing the color and other options in the print window from Microsoft Edge.

You may also encounter options to toggle on/off headers and footers or background graphics. These options can help you remove clutter you don’t want to print.

A screen capture showing the header and footer options in the print window from Microsoft Edge.

Print a Selection

If you want to print only a selection of the content on the page rather than everything, you can:

  1. Select the text and/or objects on the webpage you want to print.
  2. Right-click on the selection and choose “Print”.
    A screen capture showing the steps to right-click on a selection on a web page and choose print.
  3. The selection will appear in the print preview in the print window. This can help you focus on printing just the content you want.
    A screen capture showing the print window with a preview of the selected text to print.

Screen Capture

If you want to capture the page exactly as it appears in your browser, or even just a portion of the page, you can use a screen capture.

Windows computers have built-in options for creating screen captures, such as the “Snipping Tool”.

Internet browsers such as Microsoft Edge or Mozilla Firefox also have built-in options for this. In Edge browser, you can:

  1. Right-click on the page and select “Screenshot”.
    A screen capture showing right-click on a blank area of a web page and select Screenshot option.
  2. A toolbar will appear at the top of the screen with some options for selecting the area of the page you want to capture.
    A screen capture showing a toolbar that appears when using the Screenshot feature in Microsoft Edge.


Use the tips above to help you print webpages effectively. If you are working in an organization, consider reaching out to your IT department for help locating these tools on your computer or mobile device.

OHCS wants to ensure that everyone has access to its information and programs. If you would like this information in a different language, please email Language.Access@hcs.oregon.gov.