Hi Jeff, thanks for asking!
Printing directly from a web page, using the browser print function,
can be a frustrating experience for many users. We (all of us web
users out here) commend you for wanting to make our web experience
more pleasant. I've detailed several possible solutions for you, so
that you can select the one most appropriate to your web page
construction skill level and site hosting features.
Let's start with an introduction to the concept. Joe Burns, the
original HTML Goodies guru, offers advice on the questions to ask
about Printer Friendly Pages, and how to find the answers in his
tutorial "So You Want a Printable Page, Huh?"
What Do You Want to Print?
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/tutors/printpage.html#what
How Do You Want It To Print?
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/tutors/printpage.html#how
Get That Format
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/tutors/printpage.html#get
A Color Rule
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/tutors/printpage.html#color
Typography Concerns
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/tutors/printpage.html#type
Page Breaks
http://www.htmlgoodies.com/tutors/printpage.html#page
PRINTER-FRIENDLY SOLUTIONS USING CSS MEDIA TYPES
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Many professional web page builders recommend using CSS (Cascading
Style Sheets) to control the print appearance of web pages. I've
gathered several how-to articles and tutorials, plus a FrontPage
Tutorial that specifically addresses how stylesheets are created and
deployed by FrontPage.
Builder.com
Try CSS media types to build printer-friendly pages
Shawn Morton, Jan 27, 2003
http://builder.com.com/article.jhtml?id=u00220030127shm01.htm
MeyerWeb - Print Different - Eric Meyer
http://www.meyerweb.com/eric/articles/webrev/200001.html
Building Printer Friendly Pages, by Lauri Harpf
http://www.ethancote.com/articles/web/2002/printer_friendly_page.html
Florida Gulfcoast University
FrontPage 2000 Tutorial - Cascading Stylesheets
http://www.fgcu.edu/support/office2000/frontpage/css.html
PRINTER-FRIENDLY PAGES USING CGIs
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Another way of generating printer friendly pages is by employing a CGI
script to create the pages whenever a visitor requests them. This
method works with ALL browsers. I've located two CGI scripts, both
free, that'll create and display printer friendly pages that look
exactly as you want your visitors to see.
Master PFP (Perl)
Master PFP is an easy to install, easy to maintain CGI program written
with Perl 5 to provide your visitors with a printer friendly version
of your web page. ("PFP" stands for "Printer Friendly Page")
Willmaster Master Series CGI Software: Master PFP
http://willmaster.com/master/pfp/
PHPrint (2.1)
"PHPrint will make printer friendly pages with or without images, at
your discretion. ... Briefly, here's how this "printer-friendly pages"
script works:
You bury a tag high in your page, and low in your page. Then you place
a link to this script anywhere in the page containing those two tags.
When clicked, it takes your surfer to a printer friendly version of
the page they just left."
Mike New Net
http://www.mikenew.net/printfriendly.php
PRINTER-FRIENDLY PAGES USING ASP or ASP.NET
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If you employ ASP or .NET, these articles will explain how to create
printer-friendly pages in those applications.
CoverYourASP --> Making a printer-friendly version of your page
http://coveryourasp.com/PrinterFriendly.asp
4 Guys From Rolla
Print This Page - Comparing classic ASP to ASP.NET, Scott Mitchell
http://www.4guysfromrolla.com/webtech/030602-1.shtml
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Search Strategy: Personal knowledge and experience, Google searches.
Google Search Terms:
"printer friendly pages"
"printing a web page" typography OR width
It's been a pleasure to provide resources for user friendly printing.
Should you have any questions about the materials or links presented,
please, feel free to ask.
--larre |
