How to create a print-friendly stylesheet CSS tutorial
Jul 04, 2025 am 01:08 AM
To create a print-friendly style sheet, first use @media print or link print.css file to separate the print style; secondly, hide irrelevant elements such as navigation bar, sidebar and remove background to save ink; finally adjust the font size, font type and margins to improve readability. The specific steps include: 1. Specify the printing style through the @media print rule or HTML link; 2. Set display:none to hide non-essential elements in the print style, and set the background to white, the text to black, and the link to display the URL; 3. Set the font size to 12pt, use serif fonts, set the margins and the adaptive width of the picture to avoid forced horizontal printing. During testing, you can verify the effect by exporting PDF.
Creating a print-friendly stylesheet isn't as tricky as it might sound, but it's often overlooked. Most websites look great on screens, but when someone tries to print a page, the result can be messy—wasted ink, broken layouts, or irrelevant content cluttering up the page. The good news is that with a few CSS tweaks, you can make printed pages clean, readable, and efficient.
Use @media print to target print styles
The first step is to create a separate set of styles that only apply when the page is printed. You can do this by using the @media print rule in your CSS file or by linking to a dedicated print stylesheet in your HTML.
Here's how you can add it directly in your main CSS:
@media print {
/* Your print styles go here */
}Or link it in your HTML like so:
<link rel="stylesheet" href="print.css" media="print">
This tells the browser to use those styles only when printing. It's a simple but powerful way to keep screen and print styles separate without duplicating too much code.
Hide unnecessary elements
When printing a webpage, things like navigation bars, sidebars, ads, and social media buttons are usually irrelevant. Including them just wastes paper and ink. So, hide them.
In your print stylesheet or media block, simply add:
@media print {
nav, .sidebar, .ad-banner, .share-buttons {
display: none;
}
}You can also remove extra whitespace, background images, and colors to save ink:
body {
background: white;
color: black;
}
a::after {
content: " (" attr(href) ")";
}This makes links more useful in print by showing their URLs, which otherwise wouldn't be clickable.
Adjust layout and typography for readingability
Printed text needs to be easy to read, so tweak font sizes, line heights, and margins accordingly. On screen, we often use relative units like rem or em , which still work well for print.
Here are some basic adjustments:
- Increase font size (eg,
12ptfor body text) - Use serif fonts like Times New Roman or Georgia—they're easier to read on paper
- Set appropriate margins and page breaks
Example:
@media print {
body {
font-size: 12pt;
font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;
margin: 1in;
}
h1 {
page-break-before: always;
}
img {
max-width: 100%;
height: auto;
}
}Also, avoid forcing users into landscape mode unless absolutely necessary. Stick to portrait unless the content demands otherwise.
You don't need to reinvent the wheel to make a print-friendly site. Just focus on hiding distractions, simplifying layout, and optimizing readingability. Once you've got a solid print stylesheet in place, test it by printing to PDF before calling it done.
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