How to Print from Google Chrome

While society is increasingly moving toward paperless, digital records, there are still countless situations—like boarding passes, concert tickets, or legal tax forms—where you absolutely must print a physical copy of a website. Google Chrome has a powerful, built-in printing engine that allows you to print any webpage directly from the browser, without needing to copy and paste the text into Microsoft Word first.

You can also use Chrome’s printing system to instantly convert any website into a permanent, offline PDF file, which is incredibly useful for saving receipts.

Method 1: The Keyboard Shortcut (The Fastest Way)

The fastest way to print any webpage in Chrome is to use the universal keyboard shortcut. This bypasses all the menus and instantly opens the print preview screen.

1. Open Google Chrome and navigate to the webpage you want to print.
2. If you are using a Windows PC, hold down the Ctrl key and press P.
3. If you are using an Apple Mac, hold down the Command key and press P.

The screen will immediately darken, and a massive Print dialogue box will appear in the center of the window. You will see a live preview of exactly how the paper will look on the right side of the screen.

Method 2: Using the Chrome Menu

If you prefer using your mouse, you can access the exact same printing screen through Chrome’s main settings menu.

1. Open Google Chrome and navigate to your webpage.
2. Look at the extreme top right corner of the window. Click the three vertical dots to open the main menu.
3. Look halfway down the list and click Print…

The exact same Print preview screen will appear.

How to Configure Your Print Settings

Before you click the blue “Print” button at the bottom of the menu, you must verify three critical settings to ensure you don’t accidentally waste fifty sheets of expensive ink.

1. Select the Correct Printer

Look at the very top right of the Print menu. You will see a drop-down box labeled Destination. Click it and ensure your physical printer (e.g., “HP ENVY 6055” or “Brother HL-L2350DW”) is selected. If it says “Save as PDF,” no paper will come out.

2. Choose Specific Pages

If you are trying to print a recipe from a food blog, the blog post might be twenty pages long, but the actual recipe is only on page three. You do not want to print 19 pages of the author’s life story.

1. Look for the Pages drop-down menu.
2. Change it from “All” to Custom.
3. A small text box will appear. Type the exact page number you want to print (e.g., type 3 to print only page 3, or type 2-4 to print pages 2, 3, and 4).

3. Turn Off Headers and Footers (For Clean Prints)

By default, Chrome prints the website’s URL, the date, and the page numbers at the very top and bottom margins of the physical paper. If you are printing a professional resume or a formal document, this looks terrible.

1. Scroll down the Print menu and click More settings to expand the hidden options.
2. Scroll down until you see the checkbox labeled Headers and footers.
3. Uncheck the box.

Watch the live preview on the left; the ugly text at the top and bottom of the page will instantly vanish.

How to Save a Webpage as a PDF

If you just bought an expensive item online and want to save the receipt for your taxes, you should save the webpage as a PDF file instead of printing a physical copy.

1. Open the Print menu (Ctrl + P).
2. Click the Destination drop-down box at the top right.
3. Select Save as PDF.
4. Click the blue Save button at the bottom of the screen.
5. Chrome will ask you where you want to save the file (e.g., your Desktop or Documents folder). Choose a location and click Save.

You now have a permanent, digital copy of the webpage that you can email to your accountant or store on a USB drive.