How to fix Firefox Print Preview Error

Error during printing web pages from Mozilla Firefox is one of the tiresome and common issues with most of the users. Web pages contain many informative data which needs to be either downloaded or copied to some secure location, but if you need a hard copy of all the information you are seeking on Internet using Firefox web browser for a long run usage, you would prefer to print out the web pages from the Firefox browser.

Now the revolving issue with printing error is that, the problem in printing web pages varies for different browsers as every browser has its own settings and per-set line of codes to respond to the printing command. Even though the root cause for all such problems at times are found to the same, for example, irregular or uncommon styles or designs on a web page; troubles with margin settings, etc. with no end to the list of such errors.

Now this article is solely focused on resolving your troubles is you have one with printing web pages in Firefox.

Keep reading to know the methods which will help you to troubleshoot your printing problems.

Method #1: Check Firefox Page Settings

Many a times while printing from browsers like Firefox, users are not usually aware of the fact that certain alterations in the Firefox page settings can really create an array of problems, which in turn mess up the printing instruction. Thus one should fix those changes before printing the web page. Continue reading to know about the method in details:

Step 1. Go to the web page you want to print out, and click on the menu button.

Step 2. From the list of options that turn up, select “Print”.

Step 3. A new print preview window would turn up. Under the print preview window make sure the following changes are brought about that is, the “Scale” is set to “Shrink to fit” and also the “Portrait” orientation is set.

Step 4. Once you are done with this much, click on “Page Setup” and then click on the “Margins & Headers/Footer” tab.

Step 5. Check in the margin section that the margin settings are set correctly to the default values, that is 12.7 mm or 0.5 inch.

Step 6. Now; click “Ok” in the “Page Setup” window and go back to the “Print Preview” window, click on “Print” option, and a “Print” window will appear.

Step 7. In the “Print” window; make sure that the printer name in the “Name” list is not incorrect.

Step 8. Check for the “Print to File” settings, and it should not be selected.

If you have made the mentioned changes, you can now go ahead with the printing process.

Method #2: Resetting Firefox Printer Settings

Besides having troubles with page setup settings in Firefox, printer settings can too pave way to your series of troubles. Simply follow the steps mentioned below accurately to resolve those issues with printer settings:

Step 1. Go the URL/address bar of the Firefox web browser, and type in “about:config” and hit “Enter”.

Step 2. On hitting enter, “This might void your warranty” warning may appear on the about:config page. Just click on “I accept the risk!” button.

Step 3. Now; in the search box, type in “print_printer”.

Step 4.  Right click on the “print_printer” option and then choose “Reset” option.

Step 5. After you have done everything till this step, click on the menu  button and then hit “Exit”.

Step 6. Start the Firefox again, and try to print out your required web pages from there, your printing problems would not arise any longer.

Method #3: Resetting all Firefox Printer Settings

If the methods mentioned have not been able to resolve your printing issue, then you might need to change all the Firefox printing settings. Follow the steps to ensure that all the printer settings are changed correctly:

Step 1. Run your Firefox browser, and open your profile folder.

Step 2. In the profile folder, click on the menu  button, and then click on “help” .

Step 3. Under the “help” section, choose “Troubleshooting information” and a new tab will open up.

Step 4. Now; under the “Application Basics” section, click on the “Open folder” option. A new window will turn up with all you profile files.

Step 5. After this step, click on menu button and then hit “Exit”.

Step 6. Go to your profile folder, copy the prefs.js file to another folder to create a backup of it in case you need it again.

Step 7. Now; open the real prefs.js file with the help of text editor for example WordPad.

Step 8. Delete all the lines in prefs.js that start with print and save it.

If you have done everything perfectly, the problem would not persist anymore,

NOTE: In case anything goes wrong while opening firefox afresh, close it and overwrite prefs.js file with the same backup you created earlier.

Conclusion:

Printing web page in Firefox is not a difficult task to accomplish but yes, if there are troubles while printing and the issues are iterating over and over again you certainly need to make the changes. In order to do that, follow the guidelines given above in the article.

If you are still unable to resolve the printing issue, you better switch over to another web browser for your convenience like Google chrome, internet explorer and make anyone of them as your default browser.

If you are satisfied with the instructions given in this article, share it on social media and visit our website for more information.