How to Print an Email From Gmail (One Message or the Thread)

Gmail hides its print option better than most apps. There's no printer icon sitting on the toolbar for a single email, so people end up pressing their browser's print button and getting a page full of inbox, sidebar and adverts for their trouble. Gmail's own print view is cleaner, and it's only two clicks away once you know where.

Below are Google's steps for a computer, Android and iPhone, the difference between printing one email and a whole conversation, and what to do about attachments.

Printing one Gmail message on a computer

1. Open Gmail in your web browser.
2. Open the email you want to print.
3. Click the More icon, the three dots at the top right of that email.
4. Click Print.
5. Choose your printer and settings in the window that appears, then print.

Use the three dots on the email itself, not the ones at the top of the whole page. In a long thread, each message has its own, which lets you print just the one you need.

Printing a whole Gmail conversation

When a thread has a dozen replies and you want the lot, Google gives you a shortcut. Open the conversation and click Print all at the top right. Gmail lays out every message in the thread in order, ready to print.

What you want on paper	Where to click in Gmail
One message	The three dots on that message, then Print
Every message in the thread	Print all at the top right of the conversation
An attachment	Download or open it, then print from its own app

Printing an email from the Gmail app on Android

1. Open the Gmail app and the email you want.
2. Tap the More icon, the three dots, at the top right of the email.
3. Choose Print. For a whole thread, choose Print all instead.
4. Pick your printer and print.

Google notes that your printer needs to be able to receive data over Wi-Fi or a mobile network. If it only connects by cable, print from a computer instead.

Printing an email from the Gmail app on iPhone and iPad

1. Open the Gmail app and go to the email.
2. Tap More at the top right.
3. Tap Print, or Print all for the whole conversation.
4. Choose your printer from the options that appear and print.

Saving paper and ink when printing from Gmail

Before you hit print on a long thread, glance at the preview in the print window. Most browsers and phones let you choose just some pages, switch to black and white, or print two pages on one sheet. Long reply chains repeat a lot of quoted text, so printing only the message you need, rather than Print all, often halves the pile. And if an email is mostly images or a newsletter design, ask yourself whether you need it on paper at all, or whether a saved PDF would do the same job.

Printing attachments that arrive in Gmail

Google's print page doesn't give a separate route for attachments, so treat them as their own files. On a computer, hover over the attachment at the bottom of the email and click the Download icon, then open the file and print it from the app it opens in. For Word, Excel or PowerPoint files, Google also offers Edit with Google Docs, Sheets or Slides, which saves a copy to your Google Drive where you can print it.

Why some Gmail emails won't print

If the sender used confidential mode, Google says you can't print the message text or its attachments at all. That's deliberate: the sender has chosen to stop the email being printed, copied or downloaded. If you need a printed copy for your records, ask the sender to send it in a normal email.

• Check you're using the More menu on the email, not your browser's print button.
• On a phone, make sure your printer can connect over Wi-Fi or a mobile network.
• Look for a confidential mode notice on the email.
• If an attachment won't open, Google suggests checking you're on a supported browser, turning off extensions one at a time, and clearing your browser's cache and cookies.

Printing Gmail emails for a small business

Plenty of business owners still like paper for certain jobs. A printed order email clipped to a parcel, a booking confirmation for a market stall, or a long client brief marked up with a highlighter. A few tips to keep things tidy:

• Use Print all for disputes or complaints, so you have the whole exchange in order.
• Print to PDF from the print window if you only need a file for your records.
• Put the client or order name in the subject line of emails you send, so printouts are easy to sort later.
• Shred printouts with customer details when you no longer need them.

If the email you want to print seems to have disappeared, it may have been archived rather than deleted. My guide to finding archived emails in Gmail shows where to look. And for more built-in shortcuts like this, I've collected them in my guide to getting more out of Gmail.

Frequently asked questions

Where is the print button in Gmail?

Open the email and click the More icon, the three dots at the top right of that message, then click Print. For a whole thread, click Print all at the top right.

How do I print an entire Gmail conversation?

Open the conversation and click Print all at the top right. On the app, tap More and choose Print all.

Can I print an email from the Gmail app?

Yes. Tap More at the top right of the email and choose Print. On Android, Google says your printer needs to receive data over Wi-Fi or a mobile network.

Why can't I print a Gmail email?

Google says that if the sender used confidential mode, you can't print the message text or its attachments.

How do I print an attachment from Gmail?

Download it or open it in Google Docs, Sheets or Slides, then print it from there. Google's print page doesn't give a separate attachment option.