The Underscore Archives

On 11/01/2008, Nigel Dunn <nigel at redefine.co.uk> wrote:
> I haven't got any links to hand for this, but my view is that it's all
> tied in with usability.
>
> If the content is likely to be printed then it makes sense to make it as
> useful as possible in that context - dropping unnecessary elements like
> navigation, including information that might be helpful (e.g. for one
> site I made sure their address & phone number would appear when printed
> as the content included things like a checklist that their clients would
> bring to a meeting), etc.

The unfortunate counter to this (great as print stylesheets are) is
that people are so used to the "print this page" / "printer-friendly
version" design pattern that they may be a little surprised to get a
different-looking page when they print vs what they saw on the screen.

However, there was an A List Apart article about implementing
printer-friendly *and* print stylesheets:

"As Cameron Adams noted back in 2004, visitors aren't familiar with
print CSS and don't see a print preview; they expect that when they
print a web page, the design on screen will match the printed page—or
at least be very similar. Readers of A List Apart know that the
changes from screen stylesheets to print stylesheets can be dramatic.
This is often by design, as we want to improve people's paper-based
experience by removing "unnecessary" elements such as navigation and
advertising. However, these dramatic changes can make people uncertain
how the printed page they have in their hands relates to the website
they just visited."
http://www.alistapart.com/articles/printtopreview/

Tim