Use PrintFriendly to save or print web pages

PrintFriendly is a tool that cleans and formats web pages for printing or downloading as a PDF file. It removes ads, navigation menus, and (optionally) images but leaves the author’s name and always displays the web page address at the top.

There are two ways to use the tool:

1. Paste the web page address into a box at prientfriendly.com
2. Click a browser button (or a bookmarklet on an iPad)

PrintFriendly works in several browsers on a Mac or Windows-based computer, as well as iOS devices (not Android yet). On my iPad I use a bookmarklet to create PDFs, then I move them over to my favorite offline storage app, GoodReader.

Some of the ways PrintFriendly can help you:

• Download articles for a course reading list
• Gather material for offline reading
• Save paper
• Read more efficiently without ads, menus, etc.
• Save a blog post without the comments
• Archive your own stuff
• Download how-to’s

On top of all that – it’s free and easy to use! Here’s a sample PDF produced by the tool: 9 sources of free images.

Website developers can use this idea in the opposite direction. PrintFriendly provides a way to create a handy button that makes it easy for viewers to print or save the pages you publish.

The downside: Occasionally a web page is formatted so that PrintFriendly can’t display the content at all, but that has only happened to me a few times. I have also noticed that PrintFriendly ignores embedded YouTube videos.

[tree image from PrintFriendly.com]