Ways to adjust Safari printing margins using CSS to achieve borderless printing

I am struggling to eliminate margins when printing a webpage to PDF in Safari. Despite setting the page size to 'A4 borderless' in the print dialogue, Safari on OSX continues to add extra margins around my HTML. Enabling 'print backgrounds' only exacerbates the issue.

It appears that the @page rule has no effect on Safari. Are there any alternative methods to remove these unwanted margins?

http://jsfiddle.net/willemvb/psFHC/

@page {
  size: 21cm 29.7cm;   /*A4*/
  margin: 0; /*webkit says no*/
}

html{
    margin: 0;
    padding: 0;
    width: 100%;
}

body {
    margin: 0;
    padding: 0;
    font-family: sans-serif;
    width: 100%; 
    background: #eee;
}

Answer №1

Consider these 3 important factors:

  1. The page's margin rule may not have an effect on Safari 6, unlike Chrome 23. Until Safari supports this, there may not be a solution.

  2. Make sure to define a custom "Paper Size" in the "Print…" menu panel without margins, as mentioned here.

  3. Ensure that the inner content such as html, body, etc. do not have any margins.

Answer №2

It's important to note that the answer chosen is not entirely accurate. In order to provide the correct response, it's crucial to first grasp the underlying issue at hand.

The Truth About Borderless Printing and Printers:

While many printers claim to be capable of producing borderless prints, very few can actually achieve this feat. Most printers simply enlarge the print slightly so it extends beyond the page, providing a slider for users to adjust the amount of overhang. This is because most printers lack the necessary sensors to determine the exact position of the paper, assuming its presence without much discrepancy for regular prints. However, for borderless prints, any misalignment results in a visible white border around the print.

To simulate borderless printing, approximately 95% of printers implement a technique where ink is extended slightly beyond the edge of the paper to cover it completely. While this method may achieve the desired effect, it is not without its drawbacks. Printing into thin air can lead to smudges over time, necessitating a careful balance to minimize overhang.

High-quality large format printers incorporate sensors to detect paper width, primarily to address potential misalignments due to the lengthy paper rolls they use. Even a minuscule misalignment can lead to paper jams, highlighting the importance of precision in printing processes.

To address these challenges, designers often utilize a technique called "bleed," where the design is created slightly larger than the final paper size, allowing for trimming post-printing.

Now that you are aware of these nuances...

Delving Into the CSS Borderless Printing Conundrum:

Understanding the behavior of the "Box" is essential in comprehending the challenges posed by CSS in borderless printing.

The Box serves as a model for the behavior of nearly every CSS element. Typically, the content you aim to print is housed within a designated tag, such as a div with a specific ID or class, as depicted below:

<div class="page">lots of content</div>

The "border," along with its companions "margin" and "padding," constitute key attributes that influence the layout of elements in CSS.

An often overlooked aspect is that each printer reports the printable margins for the supported paper sizes it accommodates.

For instance, the HP 2800dtn printer showcases this feature upon hovering over the paper sizes as demonstrated here:

https://i.sstatic.net/cUjIe.png

The Solution:

In essence, Safari's behavior regarding borderless printing is not a flaw but a conscious decision. Achieving actual borderless prints is impractical due to inherent limitations in physical printing processes. While adjustments can be made to achieve borderless prints, they often involve scaling adjustments that may not be ideal for all content types.

For a more accurate representation of printed output, consider implementing CSS rules tailored for different media types to simulate print margins accurately. By defining specific margins for screen and print media, you can ensure a more faithful representation of the final output.

In scenarios where wrapping the content in an additional div is not feasible, alternative measures such as padding adjustments can be employed to achieve the desired margins for printing.

/* @media all { */
  div.page {
   ...
   height: 210mm; /* DIN A4 standard paper size */
   width: 297mm;
   ...
  }
  div.page {
   ...
   /* margin: 0;  you don't really have to explicitly set it to 0 unless it's already set to something else */
   ...
  }
/* } */

@media screen {
 div.page {
  ...
  margin: 5mm 5mm 5mm 10mm; /* printers usually have a bigger bottom margin*/
  ...
  }
}

@media print {
 div.page {
  ...
  margin: 0mm; /* Browser will apply the correct margins when it prints */
  ...
  }
}

For a more comprehensive understanding and effective resolution, tailor your CSS rules to accommodate the specific needs of screen and print media, to ensure an optimal printing experience.

Answer №3

One interesting feature of thermal label printers is their ability to print without margins. This is just the tip of the iceberg, as there are surely many more use cases waiting to be discovered. To demonstrate this capability, I recently made a simple addition to my stylesheet by including the code snippet:

@page {margin:0 !important} 

Surprisingly, Safari accepted this change without any issues, indicating that the problem has been successfully resolved.

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