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How to Print Emails and Attachments

Updated · Standard formula, shown below

This guide shows you how to print emails and their attachments from popular email services and desktop clients. You’ll learn the quickest methods for printing a single message, printing multiple emails at once, and saving or printing attached files like PDFs, images, and documents. No special software is needed—just your email account and a printer or PDF viewer.

What You’ll Need

  • An email account (webmail like Gmail, Outlook.com, Yahoo Mail, or a desktop client like Microsoft Outlook, Apple Mail, or Mozilla Thunderbird)
  • A printer that is installed and working, or a PDF printer (built into Windows and macOS) if you want to save as PDF
  • For attachments: a program that can open the file type (e.g., PDF reader, word processor, image viewer)

Step-by-Step

Printing an Email (Webmail – Gmail, Outlook.com, Yahoo)

  1. Open your web browser and go to your email service (e.g., mail.google.com).
  2. Log in if you aren’t already.
  3. Open the email you want to print by clicking on it in your inbox.
  4. Look for the print icon—usually a printer symbol in the top-right corner of the message window. In Gmail, it’s a small printer icon; in Outlook.com, it’s under the three-dot menu (⋯) labeled “Print”.
  5. Click the print icon. A print preview dialog will open.
  6. Select your printer (or choose “Save as PDF” if you want a digital copy).
  7. Adjust settings like paper size, orientation, and margins if needed.
  8. Click “Print” or “Save”.

Printing an Email (Desktop Client – Outlook, Apple Mail, Thunderbird)

  1. Open your email client (e.g., Microsoft Outlook).
  2. Double-click the email in your inbox to open it in its own window.
  3. Go to the File menu (or the print icon in the toolbar) and select “Print”. In Outlook, you can also press Ctrl+P (Windows) or Cmd+P (Mac).
  4. In the print dialog, choose your printer, set options like number of copies, and click “Print”.

Printing an Attachment

  1. Open the email that contains the attachment.
  2. Click on the attachment to download it (if it’s not already downloaded). In webmail, you may need to click a download icon or the file name.
  3. Once downloaded, locate the file on your computer (usually in the Downloads folder).
  4. Open the file with the appropriate program (e.g., a PDF reader, Word, or image viewer).
  5. Press Ctrl+P (Windows) or Cmd+P (Mac) to open the print dialog, or go to File > Print.
  6. Select your printer and click “Print”.

Printing Multiple Emails at Once

  1. In your email client or webmail, go to your inbox (or the folder containing the emails).
  2. Hold down the Ctrl key (Windows) or Cmd key (Mac) and click on each email you want to print to select multiple messages.
  3. In desktop clients like Outlook, right-click the selection and choose “Print”. In webmail, this option may not be available—if not, you’ll need to print each email individually.
  4. If your client supports it, the print dialog will open with options to print all selected items. Choose your printer and click “Print”.

Printing an Email as PDF (Save Instead of Paper)

  1. Follow the steps to print the email.
  2. In the print dialog, select “Microsoft Print to PDF” (Windows) or “Save as PDF” (Mac) as the printer.
  3. Click “Print” or “Save”.
  4. Choose a location to save the PDF file and give it a name.

Common Mistakes

  • Printing the attachment instead of the email: Make sure you’ve opened the attachment and are printing from the attachment’s program, not from the email window.
  • Printing only part of a long email: If the email is long, the print preview may show all pages. Check the page range in the print dialog—you can print only specific pages if needed.
  • Forgetting to check print preview: Always use the print preview to see how the email will look on paper. Emails with wide tables or images may get cut off.
  • Using the wrong printer: If you have multiple printers, ensure the correct one is selected in the print dialog.
  • Not saving the attachment before printing: Some programs may not print correctly if the attachment is still in a temporary download location. Save it to a known folder first.

Tips

  • Use landscape orientation for wide emails: If the email has a table or wide layout, switch to landscape in the print settings to avoid cutting off content.
  • Set margins to “None” or “Minimum”: This can help fit more content on a page, but be careful not to cut off text.
  • Print in black and white to save ink: Most print dialogs have a color option—choose grayscale if you don’t need color.
  • For attachments, print from the original program: This preserves formatting better than printing from a preview.
  • Use “Print to PDF” for a digital copy: This is great for archiving or sharing without using paper.

Troubleshooting

  • Print button is missing or not working: In webmail, try using the browser’s print command (Ctrl+P or Cmd+P) instead of the email’s print icon. If that doesn’t work, try a different browser or disable browser extensions that might block pop-ups.
  • Attachment won’t open: If the attachment doesn’t open, you may not have the right software. For a PDF, use a free PDF reader; for a Word doc, use a word processor. Try downloading the attachment again—it might have been corrupted.
  • Printer not responding: Check that the printer is turned on, has paper, and is connected to your computer or network. Try printing a test page from your computer’s settings.
  • Email prints with missing images or formatting: Some email clients block images by default. In the email, click “Show images” or “Always display images” before printing. Also, try printing in a different browser.
  • Print preview shows blank pages: This can happen if the email has a lot of white space. Try adjusting margins or scaling in the print dialog (e.g., “Fit to page”).

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I print an email without opening it?

In most email clients, you need to open the email to print it. However, in desktop clients like Outlook, you can select multiple emails and print them without opening each one.

How do I print an attachment without downloading it first?

In some webmail services, you can click the attachment and choose “Print” directly from the preview. If that option isn’t available, you’ll need to download the file and then print it from the appropriate program.

Why does my printed email look different from the screen?

Email clients use HTML and CSS that may not translate perfectly to print. Fonts, colors, and layout can change. Using the print preview and adjusting settings like “Background graphics” (if available) can help.

Can I print multiple attachments at once?

Yes, if you download multiple attachments (e.g., several PDFs), you can select them all in your file explorer, right-click, and choose “Print” (Windows) or open them in a PDF viewer and print them as a batch. Note that this may not work for all file types.

Is there a way to print an email thread (conversation) all at once?

Yes, in Gmail, open the conversation and click the print icon—it will print the entire thread by default. In Outlook, you can select the conversation and print it, but you may need to expand the conversation first.

What if I don’t have a printer? Can I still “print” an email?

Yes, you can use the “Save as PDF” option in the print dialog. This creates a PDF file that you can store, share, or print later.

Related

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