How to Print an Email in Yahoo Mail, Gmail and Outlook

Printing emails is one of those jobs we all need to do now and then. Whether it’s a receipt, a booking confirmation, a picture or a set of instructions, sometimes you just want a copy on paper.

In this lesson I’ll show you how to print an email if you use Yahoo Mail, Gmail or Outlook. If you’re new to email, start with Email Basics for Beginners.

If you use a different email provider, you’ll find it works in much the same way as one of the big three.

Printing Emails

The old standby of pressing Ctrl + P on your keyboard will sort of work, but it prints the whole screen: the menus, the list of other emails, the adverts, the lot. Often the email itself gets squashed or cut off.

The trick is to use your email service’s own Print option instead. That prints just the email, laid out properly on the page. The problem is that it’s not always obvious where it is, and it’s slightly different in Yahoo Mail, Gmail and Outlook.

The Print Window

Whichever email service you use, clicking Print opens a print window with a preview of your email. Before you click Print, check:

• Printer (or Destination): the printer you want to use.
• Pages: all of them, or just the ones you want. Long emails can run to several pages.
• Copies: how many you want.
• Colour: switch to black and white to save colour ink.

How to Print Emails in Yahoo Mail

1. Sign in to Yahoo Mail and open the email you want to print.
2. Click the 3 dots to open the More menu, then click Print.
3. The print window opens. Pick your printer and click Print.

Print a Yahoo Email from Your iPhone or iPad

1. Open the email in the Yahoo Mail app.
2. Tap the three dots (More).
3. Tap Print, choose your printer, then tap Print again.

Your printer needs to be on the same Wi-Fi as your iPhone or iPad. On an Android phone the steps are much the same: look for Print in the three dots menu.

Yahoo Mail Not Printing?

If your Yahoo emails won’t print, work through these in order:

• Use Yahoo’s own Print option, not Ctrl + P. Ctrl + P prints the whole Yahoo screen, which often comes out cut off or blank.
• Nothing happens when you click Print? Your browser may be blocking the print window. Look for a blocked pop-up icon at the end of the address bar and allow pop-ups for Yahoo Mail.
• Only part of the email prints? In the print window, open More settings and change the Scale so the whole email fits on the page.
• Try a different web browser, such as Edge instead of Chrome, or the other way round. If it prints from the other one, the problem is the browser, not Yahoo.
• Check the printer itself by printing something else. If nothing prints at all, see the troubleshooting section below.

How to Print Emails in Gmail

1. Sign in to Gmail and open the email you want to print.
2. Click the print icon at the top right of the message (it says Print all when you point at it).
3. The print window opens. Pick your printer and click Print.

If the email is long, the print icon disappears as you scroll down, because it scrolls up with the email. Ideally it would sit on the toolbar, always available, but it doesn’t. Scroll back to the top of the message and it reappears.

Print Just One Email from a Conversation

Gmail groups replies together into a conversation, and Print all prints every message in it. To print just one, click the three dots next to the Reply arrow on that message and choose Print.

There’s more you can do in Gmail, such as printing an email without the header, printing a picture, and printing from your phone. It’s all in my full guide to printing from Gmail.

How to Print Emails in Outlook.com

Outlook.com is Microsoft’s free email, and it’s what used to be called Hotmail. If you have a Hotmail address, these are the steps for you too.

1. Sign in to Outlook.com and open the email you want to print.
2. Click the three dots (More actions) at the top right of the message.
3. Click Print. A preview of the email opens.
4. Click Print at the top of the preview, pick your printer, and click Print again.

In the Outlook App on Your PC

If you read your email in the Outlook app instead of on the website, it’s just as easy:

• New Outlook (it looks just like Outlook.com): open the email and click Print, or the three dots and then Print.
• Classic Outlook (the one with File at the top left): click the email, then File, then Print.

Troubleshooting

The Whole Screen Printed, Not Just the Email

You’ve used Ctrl + P or the browser’s own Print. Close the print window and use the Print option in the email itself, as shown above.

The Text Is Tiny or Cut Off

In the print window, open More settings and change the Scale. A higher number makes the text bigger, and a lower one fits more on each page.

Nothing Comes Out of the Printer

Check the printer is switched on, has paper, and is the one picked in the print window. If it still won’t print anything, a stuck print job is often to blame. Here’s how to clear the print queue.

The Photos or Attachments Didn’t Print

Printing an email prints the message, not the files attached to it. Open each attachment and print it on its own. The email attachments lesson shows you how.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: How do I print an email without printing the whole screen?
A: Use the Print option inside the email, not Ctrl + P. In Yahoo Mail and Gmail it’s the print icon at the top right of the message. In Outlook.com it’s the three dots, then Print. That prints just the email.

Q: How do I print just one email from a conversation?
A: In Gmail and Yahoo Mail, click the three dots on the message you want and choose Print. The print icon at the top prints every message in the conversation.

Q: Why won’t my Yahoo email print?
A: Use Yahoo’s own Print option rather than Ctrl + P, allow pop-ups for Yahoo Mail if nothing happens, and try a different browser. If nothing prints from anywhere, the problem is the printer, not Yahoo.

Q: Can I save an email as a PDF instead of printing it?
A: Yes. Click Print as normal, then change the printer to Save as PDF or Microsoft Print to PDF and click Save.

Q: How do I print an email from my phone?
A: Open the email in your email app, tap the three dots and choose Print. Your printer needs to be on the same Wi-Fi as your phone.

Q: How do I print an email attachment?
A: Open the attachment first, then print it from the program it opens in. Printing the email itself doesn’t print the attachments.

Summary

To print an email, always use the Print option in the email itself rather than Ctrl + P:

• Yahoo Mail: the print icon, or the three dots, then Print.
• Gmail: the print icon at the top right of the email.
• Outlook.com: the three dots, then Print.

Yahoo Mail, Gmail and Outlook are the three biggest webmail services, although there are plenty more out there. If you use another one, I’m sorry I can’t cover it, but you’ll probably find it works much like one of these three.

We’ll be looking at email attachments in the next lesson, so I’ll catch up with you there.