[Sigia-l] RE: Printer-friendly button

Sat Oct 18 05:42:38 EDT 2003

Hello Manuel,

with extensive use of well structured (X)HTML and CSS there is nearly no
reason to make any compromise with your screen design. It is part of
HTML standard, that browsers use a special print style sheet file if it
is linked in the <head> of the page.
The only work to be done is writing a second .css file. No CMS,
JavaScript, JSP, etc. needed.

So if you (and your customers and visitors) are on the edge of modern
webdesign this is not a technical question but more a usability question
which kind of print comfort your site offers.

But nothing is for free.
- If you go beyond some point in the use of CSS your visitors with older
brosers (i. e. Netscape 4.*) will only see a degraded page width nearly
no style.
- As mentioned, there is *nearly* no reason to make any compromise with
your screen design. Getting closer to this, you will find that the
(complete) separation of structure and presentation is more of a nice
idea by now. (See also
http://www.stopdesign.com/log/2003/10/14/separated.html) So you are not
100% wrong, only 95% ;)

Greetz,
Piet

manuel razzari wrote:

> You can, of course, design your website so it prints somewhat nicely.
> 
> But, in doing this, you are limiting your screen design, your power to
> communicate or express, to what paper can do. I doubt constraining web design
> to this is in any way useful. 
>