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Creating Print-Friendly Web Pages
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Creating Print-Friendly Web Pages
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As students are increasingly asked to print out class materials from course Web pages, there are a few simple steps instructors can take to ease the burden on computer room printers and student pocketbooks, according to Andy Jones, lecturer in the English Department and Coordinator of the Computer-Aided Instruction Program. Jones offers these tips for instructors. Create Text-Only Versions of Web Pages
While many course Web pages are well designed and easy to read on a computer screen, Web-specific graphics and formatting can wreak havoc when transferred to the printed page. This "Web-centricity" often results in many wasted sheets of paper in the computer rooms, as students print pages full of garbled, nearly illegible text placed in odd positions, or even worse, a single slide or graphic split in pieces over multiple pages. Avoid this problem by creating "text-only" versions (free of formatting and bandwidth-intensive graphics) of the Web pages you want students to print, you can avoid this problem. For excellent examples of this type of Web page, see the Teaching Resources Center (TRC) Web site at http://trc.ucdavis.edu/trc/.Try it Out Yourself
Once you have created a course Web page, print a copy for yourself. You can learn a lot about how your information is presented by "playing student." Often, a quick edit here and there can prevent students printing sheets with only a line or two of text.Keep it Simple
While there are now methods for easily creating dynamic Web pages with lots of pictures and graphics, these sites can cause problems for students in a few ways. Along with the long download time needed for graphic-heavy pages, Web pages with many graphic elements also require longer processing time for the printer, especially one on a network like those in the labs. These print jobs can quickly cause delays in the computer rooms or force students to leave for class before a print job is completed, resulting in wasted paper and time.To learn more about effective Web design and use of graphics, see the Arbor's Web Page Design Tutorial or the TRC's Instructional Design Studio. |
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