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How to print a Substack post (from the web, the app or the email)

Guides · Updated

Print a Substack post cleanly from your browser, the Substack app or the email it came in, including subscriber-only posts you already read, or save it as a PDF.

To print a Substack post, open it in a web browser (not the email, and not the app), switch to reader view if your browser has one, then press Ctrl+P (Windows) or Command+P (Mac). On an iPhone, open the post in Safari, choose Show Reader, then tap Share and Print. For a subscriber-only post you already read, sign in to Substack in that browser first, so the whole post loads before you print.

The rest of this page covers each route step by step, plus the two problems Substack readers hit most: emails that get cut off, and printouts that run on into the comments.

Print a Substack post from your browser

The web version of a post is the most complete and the easiest to print. Substack says a post always appears in full on the web and in the app, even when the email version is cut short.

  1. Open the post in your browser. If you're starting from the email, click View in browser at the top of it.
  2. If the post is for paying subscribers, make sure you're signed in (see below).
  3. Switch to reader view to drop the subscribe buttons and sidebars: Show Reader in Safari, or Simplified under Format in Firefox's print window. In Edge, open Immersive Reader (F9 on Windows).
  4. Press Ctrl+P or Command+P.
  5. In Chrome, which has no printable reader view, select the post from the headline to the last paragraph first, then tick Selection only under More settings.
  6. Check the preview and the page count, then click Print.

Stop the printout before the comments

Many Substack posts end with a subscribe button and a comment thread. Reader view drops most of that. If it still comes along, look at the preview, find the page where the post ends, and type a range such as 1-4 in the pages field. Selecting just the post and printing the selection works too.

Subscriber-only posts you already read

A printout can only contain what your browser shows. If you see the subscribe box where the rest of the post should be, the browser isn't signed in to the account that holds your subscription.

  1. Go to substack.com/sign-in, or open the publication and sign in from there.
  2. Choose whether to get a sign-in link by email or use your password.
  3. Reopen the post, scroll to the end so it all loads, and print it with the steps above.

If you're signed in and still see the subscribe box, Substack's help suggests the usual cause: a mistyped email address or a second account. Try signing in with any other address you use.

You can print the email itself from your mail app, but long posts are a problem. Substack notes that Gmail clips emails larger than about 102KB, and a long post with images easily passes that. In Gmail, click View entire message at the bottom of the clipped email before you print; in any other mail app, click View in browser at the top and print the web version. That's usually the better choice anyway, because the browser gives you reader view and page ranges.

The Substack app is free and puts your subscriptions in one Read tab, but Substack's help center doesn't describe a print option in it. The simplest route is the web version: open the same post from its email with View in browser, or open the publication's site in your phone's browser and sign in.

iPhone: open the post in Safari, tap the page menu in the address bar and choose Show Reader, then tap Share, then Print (swipe up if you don't see it). Your printer needs AirPrint and the same Wi-Fi network.

Android: open the post in Chrome, tap More (three dots), then Share, then Print, and choose your printer or Save as PDF.

More phone details, including printing without AirPrint, are in How to print a webpage from your phone.

Save a Substack post as a PDF

Follow the browser steps, but where you'd pick a printer choose Save as PDF (Chrome, Edge, Android), Save to PDF (Firefox) or the PDF button (Mac). Starting from reader view gives you a clean file with just the post. How to save a webpage as a PDF has every browser and phone.

Reading many posts on paper

If you print Substack posts because long essays read better on paper, printing them one at a time gets old. Offprint takes Substack links: text us a link whenever you find something worth reading, and your saves become a printed magazine mailed to you. For one post today, the steps above are all you need, and How to print an article without ads has more ways to clean up any page.

Common questions

Why is my printed Substack post cut off?

Usually you printed a clipped email. Open the post with View in browser and print the web version, which is always complete. If the web version stops short, it isn't fully loaded or you aren't signed in; scroll to the end and check you're signed in.

Can I print a subscriber-only Substack post?

Yes, if you can read it in your browser. Sign in to Substack with the account that holds your subscription, open the post, and print it like any other.

How do I print a Substack post without the comments?

Use reader view, select just the post and print the selection, or type a page range that stops where the post ends.

Can I print from the Substack app?

Substack's help center doesn't describe a print option in the app. Open the post in your phone's browser instead and print from there.