How to print an article from a website

Printing a whole webpage is easy. Printing just the article, without the menus, ads, comment threads and "read next" boxes, takes one extra step. That step is almost always a reader view: a clean version of the page that keeps the headline, the text and the images that belong to the story, and drops everything else.

Here is how to get a clean article printout in every major browser and on your phone, plus a few tricks for long reads.

Before you print: three checks

• Open the full article. Some sites split a story across several pages. Look for a "view as single page" or "show full article" link, or the printout will stop at the end of page one.
• Let everything load. Scroll to the bottom once so images and any lazily loaded sections are in place.
• Look for the site's own print button. Many news, recipe and magazine sites have a print icon or link that already formats the article for paper. If there is one, use it.

Print an article in Safari on a Mac

Safari's Reader is the cleanest route on a Mac.

1. Open the article in Safari.
2. Click the Reader button in the address bar (the Smart Search field) and choose Show Reader. It only appears when Safari finds an article on the page.
3. Optional: click the text button at the left of the address bar to pick a font, size and background before you print.
4. Choose File > Print or press Command+P. Safari prints the Reader version.
5. Click Print, or choose Save as PDF from the PDF menu to keep a file.

Print an article in Firefox

1. Open the article and press Ctrl+P (Windows, Linux) or Command+P (Mac).
2. Open More settings.
3. Under Format, choose Simplified. Firefox strips buttons, ads and background images. If Format isn't shown, Firefox couldn't find an article on the page.
4. Check the preview, then click Print.

Print an article in Chrome or Edge

Chrome and Edge both have a reading view for the screen (Chrome's reading mode, Edge's Reading mode, opened with F9). For a clean printout, selecting the article is the most reliable route:

1. Click just before the headline, then scroll to the end of the article and Shift-click after the last paragraph. The whole article is now selected.
2. Press Ctrl+P (Windows) or Command+P (Mac).
3. Open More settings and tick Selection only.
4. While you're there, turn off Headers and footers if you don't want the address and date printed on every page.
5. Click Print, or choose Save as PDF as the destination.

Print an article on an iPhone

1. Open the article in Safari.
2. Open the page menu next to the address bar and tap Show Reader.
3. Tap Share, then Print. If you don't see Print, swipe up.
4. Choose your AirPrint printer (it needs to be on the same Wi-Fi network) and tap Print.

If Reader isn't offered, use Hide Distracting Items from the same page menu: tap each banner or pop-up you want gone, then tap Hide, and print the tidied page.

Print an article on Android

1. Open the article in Chrome.
2. Tap More (three dots), then Share, then Print.
3. Choose your printer at the top, or Save as PDF.
4. Tap the down arrow to set the pages: if the comments start on page 4, print pages 1 to 3 only.
5. Tap the print button.

Chrome on Android also has Show Reading mode in the More menu, which is a comfortable way to read the article on screen before you decide what to print.

Make a long article comfortable to read on paper

• Bigger text. In Safari Reader, increase the font size before printing. In other browsers, raise the Scale in print settings to about 110 to 120 percent.
• Print two-sided if your printer supports it. A 20-page feature becomes 10 sheets and reads like a booklet.
• Turn off background graphics to save ink on pages with colored blocks.
• Keep the images that matter. Reader views keep the article's own photos and charts. If a chart prints too small, landscape orientation often helps.
• Staple it. It sounds obvious, but loose pages are the main reason printed articles go unread.

Saving articles to read later on paper

If you print articles because you'd rather read away from a screen, you're not alone. A few habits help: print a small batch once a week instead of one at a time, keep a folder by the couch, and write in the margins. And if you'd rather not print anything yourself, that is what Offprint is for: text us a link when you find something worth reading, and it goes into a printed magazine of your saves, mailed to you every month.

Need the general steps for any page, not just articles? See How to print a webpage. Printing an AI chat instead? See How to print a ChatGPT conversation.

Common questions

How do I print an article without the ads?

Use a reader view before you print: Safari Reader, Firefox's Simplified format, or Reader on iPhone. In Chrome and Edge, select the article text and choose Selection only in the print settings.

Why does only the first page of the article print?

Usually the article is split across several web pages, or the rest hadn't loaded yet. Open the single-page version if there is one, scroll to the end so everything loads, then print again.

Can I print an article from a site I subscribe to?

Yes, as long as you can read it in your browser. Sign in, open the article, and print it the same way. What prints is what your browser shows.

How do I save an article as a PDF to print later?

In any of the steps above, choose Save as PDF (Firefox calls it Save to PDF) instead of a printer. The PDF keeps the clean layout from the preview.