Recently, we’ve had multiple requests for “print” links and printable versions of web sites. So, I started wondering, with widespread access including mobile, does anyone still print from web?

I posed the following question over twitter the other day: Does anyone actually print websites? If so, what types of sites and how often?

Some of the responses:

@Selicker: I print maps, instructions, and recipes

@noahwesley: I’ll rarely print a blog post/article to read later if I’m going to be bored and w/o laptop.

@fricto: My wife @owlpoo prints blog posts about cooking and knitting for the recipes/patterns quite a bit.

@beccarkt: yes! For competitive audits for clients and for articles, etc. Probably a couple times a week

So, YES. People still do print from web. They print stuff like, recipes, instructions, maps, long articles, and reports. Frequency seemed to vary-some as often as every few days, others very rarely-but the fact remains, web users still hit Control+P.

But even if not many users are printing from web anymore (which I have concluded is NOT the case), it is still really important to define a stylesheet for print.

It’s not that difficult to do, CSS makes it so easy for us to implement a print-only stylesheet. Sure it takes some more dev time to define layout styles that hide the fluff, ensure high contrast, and size things appropriately. But, that extra time makes your content and site much more accessible and usable.

Here are some dynamIt tips to writing that print stylsheet:

• If you do not already know this here is how to specify the media type for a style sheet:
  <link type=”text/css” rel=”stylesheet” href=”print.css” media=”print” />
• Remove things that don’t need to be seen when printed: navigation, features that do not pertain to the page’s primary content, ads (maybe?). The easiest way to do this is use display: none;
• Make sure that your text-to-background contrast is high. This is essential for readability.
• Do not bother making background images or colors print. People do not print from web for the design, they want content. (See above).
• If you are building from a fixed-pixel width design, keep your printable content around 700 pixels wide or less.
• Don’t forget to test it out by printing (and yes this means printing from IE6, IE7, FF2, FF3, Opera, Safari).

Dynamit was honored as one of the “Best Places to Work” in 2010 & 2011 by Columbus Business First newspaper and Interactive Agency of the Year. Times are even better in 2012 and we’re hiring a Web/Graphic Designer for our aggressively growing team.

This is an exciting opportunity to work on cutting edge projects for well-known brands in a dynamic, entrepreneurial and highly creative environment. Please email resumes/cover letters and portfolio information (documents or links to online examples) to Gary Moneysmith via gmoney@dynamit.us.

A web/graphic designer on the Dynamit team will:

• Be well versed with Adobe Creative Suite: Strong knowledge of Photoshop, experience with Illustrator and InDesign.
• Have a strong understanding of Usability & Web Trends: Experience with user interface design, knowledge of best practices & examples of this in a portfolio or live site/application design. They will also be up-to-date on web trends and design tactics with examples.
• Have experience in user experience design (UXD) designing application and system interfaces. This experience is crucial for this position.
• Have Basic Programming Knowledge: We’re not looking for a developer here, but the designer should have the ability to design for web with a knowledge of the boundaries and how to design for execution by a programmer.
• Have a Strong Portfolio: We’d like to see much more web work than print.
• Be eager to learn, with a passion for design & the web. The designer should have a strong internal drive for industry knowledge and be committed to furthering the craft.

Experience is important, but personality is key. Our culture is what drives us, and we’re looking to build our team with someone who both fits and contributes to it.

The position is full time at our office in the Arena District in Columbus, Ohio. We offer a competitive salary and benefits package as well as a fun, high-energy, intellectually-stimulating work environment.

Benefits Include

• Competitive salary (compensation will be based on skills and experience)
• Fully paid medical/dental insurance for employees
• Paid parking
• Unlimited vacation time (within reason)
• Office bar + climbing wall — not recommended together

Don’t sit back. If you want to work in a fast paced work environment with great people who love what they do, apply today.

About Dynamit
Dynamit is a digital agency based in the Arena District in Columbus, Ohio. We work with clients and brands on digital initiatives that include strategy, design, user experience and development. We influence communication and commerce. Client work includes Hilton Worldwide, Charley's Grilled Subs, McGraw-Hill, British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), E-Z-GO, American Electric Power (AEP), Columbus College of Art & Design and the Ohio State Medical Center (OSUMC) to name but a few.