Print better from your browser: reader modes, extensions and bookmarklets
By Nasir Uddin Shamim ยท Founder, PrintxPDF
Short answer: Firefox and Safari have built-in reader modes that produce clean printouts: press F9 in Firefox or Control-Command-R in Safari, then print. Chrome has no print-ready reader mode, so use a bookmarklet, an extension or a web-based cleaner. Bookmarklets need no permissions and work in every browser.
Every browser has a different route to a clean printout. Firefox and Safari ship reader modes that strip a page to text in one keystroke. Chrome does not have a print-ready one, so it needs a bookmarklet, an extension or a web tool. These guides cover the built-in shortcuts first, then what to check before you install anything that can read every page you visit.
Every guide in this topic
- Print-friendly options for Google Chrome, Chrome has no print-ready reader mode. Compare bookmarklets, extensions, DevTools and web tools, and learn which permissions to check before you install.
- Printing better from Firefox, Firefox Reader View, the print modal, scaling and margins, what happened to Simplify Page, and how to pick a safe print add-on from addons.mozilla.org.
- Printing better from Safari on Mac and iPhone, Safari Reader, Print Selected Text, Save as PDF on Mac and the iPhone share sheet Reader PDF option, plus Markup and how extensions ask for permission.
- Bookmarklet vs browser extension: which should you use?, Bookmarklets need no permissions and work everywhere; extensions can read every page. Compare privacy, sync and upkeep, then install one in about a minute.