Printing better from Firefox
By Nasir Uddin Shamim · Founder, PrintxPDF
Updated 2026-07-30 · 6 min read
Short answer: Press F9 to switch Firefox into Reader View, which strips ads, menus and sidebars, then press Ctrl+P to print the clean layout. Firefox also exposes scale, margins, headers and footers and selection printing in its print modal, so most jobs need no add-on at all.
Firefox is the best of the mainstream browsers for printing, and almost nobody uses the two features that make it so. Between Reader View and the print modal you can get a clean, well-scaled printout without installing anything.
Reader View is the whole trick
Reader View runs a content-extraction pass over the page and re-renders just the article: headline, body text, inline images. Ads, navigation, sidebars, comment walls and sticky headers are all gone before printing is even mentioned.
- Open the article Reader View only offers itself on pages it recognises as articles. If the page icon does not appear, the page is a dashboard, a listing or a web app, not an article.
- Press F9 On Windows and Linux, F9 or Ctrl+Alt+R toggles Reader View. On macOS use Cmd+Alt+R. You can also click the page icon at the right of the address bar.
- Set the type The left-hand toolbar lets you change the font, the size, the line height and the width. What you set here is what prints, so widen the column and drop the size slightly to fit more per sheet.
- Print from inside Reader View Press Ctrl+P. The print modal previews the reader layout, not the original page.
- Trim the header and footer Untick Print headers and footers in the modal so you do not get the URL and date stamped on every page.
Note: Reader View strips images by default only in its narrow modes; article images stay. If you want them gone to save ink, remove them in a printer-friendly view instead, or read saving ink when printing.
What happened to Simplify Page
If you remember a Simplify page checkbox in Firefox print preview, you are not imagining it. The old print preview window carried it, and Firefox 81 replaced that window with the modern in-tab print modal, which dropped the option. Reader View is the official replacement and does the same job better, because you can adjust the type before printing.
The print modal, setting by setting
| Setting | What it does | Use it when |
|---|---|---|
| Pages: All / Odd / Even / Custom | Prints a subset of sheets | You have found the two pages you want in the preview. Type 2-3. |
| Selection | Prints only highlighted text; appears only when a selection exists | You want one paragraph or one table and nothing else. |
| Scale: Fit to page width | Shrinks the layout until it fits the paper | Wide tables and dashboards that would otherwise be cut off. |
| Scale: percentage | Manual zoom, typically 70-90 percent | Squeezing a three-page article onto two sheets. |
| Margins: Default / None / Minimum / Custom | Controls white space at the sheet edge | Minimum recovers real estate. None risks clipping on inkjets. |
| Print headers and footers | Adds title, URL, date and page numbers | Off for most jobs. On for reference material you will file. |
| Print backgrounds | Includes CSS background colours and images | Off saves a lot of ink. On if a background image carries content. |
| Print using the system dialog | Hands off to the OS print dialog | You need duplex, draft quality, stapling or a specific paper tray. |
Firefox print modal options and what each one is for.
Tip: Firefox remembers most of these choices for the rest of the session, which makes it the fastest browser for printing several articles from the same site in a row.
Choosing an add-on, if you want one
Firefox add-ons come from addons.mozilla.org, and the review process there is stricter than most. Two labels are worth knowing:
- Recommended add-ons are manually reviewed by Mozilla staff and monitored for updates. Start here.
- Verified and unlabelled add-ons pass automated review only. They may be perfectly fine, but you are trusting the publisher rather than Mozilla.
- Check the Permissions section on the listing before installing, then again in
about:addonsunder the add-on Permissions tab afterwards. - An add-on that only needs to reformat the current page should not need access to your browsing history, bookmarks or downloads.
Watch out: For a print tool specifically, a bookmarklet gives you the same result with no standing permissions at all. There is one on the Firefox page, and the trade-offs are in bookmarklet versus extension. To be clear: the "Add to Firefox" button on that page is a demo listing, not a published add-on.
Firefox on Android
Firefox for Android keeps Reader View and, unusually for a mobile browser, supports a subset of desktop add-ons. Tap the page icon in the address bar for Reader View, then use the menu to Print or Save as PDF. It is the most capable mobile browser for getting a clean file off a phone.
Saved the article as a PDF? Open it in the browser PDF reader to check it before you print.
When Reader View refuses
Reader View needs an article-shaped page. Order confirmations, forum threads, search results, dashboards and single-page apps will not trigger it. For those, paste the URL into the web page printer and delete what you do not want, or use the selection trick described in printing only selected text. If the layout itself is the problem, web page printing problems covers the fixes browser by browser.
Frequently asked questions
How do I turn on Reader View in Firefox?
Press F9 or Ctrl+Alt+R on Windows and Linux, or Cmd+Alt+R on macOS. You can also click the page icon at the right of the address bar. The icon only appears on pages Firefox recognises as articles.
Where did the Simplify Page option go in Firefox?
It was removed with the old print preview window in Firefox 81, when the modern in-tab print modal replaced it. Reader View is the official replacement: switch to it with F9, then press Ctrl+P to print the simplified layout.
Can I print only part of a page in Firefox?
Yes. Highlight the text, press Ctrl+P, and choose Selection in the print modal. The option only appears when a selection is active when the modal opens, so do not click elsewhere in between.
Do I need an add-on to print cleanly from Firefox?
No. Reader View plus the print modal handles almost everything without installing anything. An add-on or a bookmarklet is only worth it if you print pages many times a day and want the whole thing on one click.
Why does my Firefox printout cut off the right side?
The page layout is wider than the paper. Set Scale to "Fit to page width" in the print modal, or switch Orientation to landscape. Wide data tables almost always need one or the other.