How to Print a Web Page Without Images in Firefox

Use Firefox’s Simplified format: open the page menu, choose Print, expand More settings, then select Simplified under Format settings. Check the preview and print. Firefox removes clutter such as background images, ads, and buttons along with much of the surrounding page design. Mozilla documents this workflow.

If you need the original layout and only want to suppress background graphics, keep Format set to Original and clear Print backgrounds. These controls serve different purposes: Simplified creates a cleaned reading layout, while Original keeps the site’s print styling and lets you decide whether backgrounds are printed.

1. Print without images using Simplified format

Open the web page in Firefox.
Open the application menu and select Print. Firefox opens print preview.
Expand More settings in the preview panel.
Under Format settings, select Simplified.
Inspect every page in the preview. Confirm that required text, tables, links, and figures remain.
Choose your destination and click Print. To create a file instead, choose Save to PDF as the destination.

Simplified is broader than an image-only switch. It can remove buttons, advertisements, background images, navigation, and other clutter. Firefox does not promise that every foreground image will disappear, so the preview is the final check.

2. Use Reader View when Simplified is unavailable

Some pages do not expose a simplified version. If Firefox shows the Reader View icon in the address bar:

Click the Reader View icon and wait for the page to change.
Open the application menu and choose Print.
Review the preview and print or save it as a PDF.

Reader View creates a text-oriented version before printing. It is useful for articles, but it may omit interactive controls, comments, shopping widgets, or content that is not recognized as part of the article.

3. Keep the original layout but remove background graphics

Choose this path when diagrams, product tables, or the page’s exact arrangement matter more than removing every visual element.

Open Print from the Firefox menu.
Expand More settings.
Leave Format as Original.
Clear Print backgrounds.
Use the preview to verify that foreground images and layout are still acceptable.

Firefox disables Print backgrounds when Simplified is selected. Background graphics are CSS or visual decorations; an image embedded in the page content may still print in Original format.

4. Choose the right method

Goal	Best choice	What changes
Readable text-only handout	Simplified	Removes clutter, including background images, ads, and buttons.
Article page with no Simplified option	Reader View, then Print	Prints Firefox’s reader-oriented version when available.
Original arrangement with fewer graphics	Original + Print backgrounds off	Retains the site’s print layout while suppressing backgrounds.
Precisely edit page content first	A Firefox editing extension such as Print Edit WE	Allows editing before printing; verify the extension’s current behavior for image removal.

5. Configure the print result

Firefox’s print preview can expose these controls, depending on the printer and platform:

Destination: select a printer or Save to PDF.
Pages: print all pages or a selected range.
Orientation: choose portrait or landscape.
Paper size: match the loaded paper.
Scale: reduce or enlarge content to fit.
Margins: adjust whitespace around the page.
Pages per sheet: place multiple pages on one sheet.
Color mode: choose color or black and white when supported.
Two-sided printing: enable duplex output when supported.
Headers and footers: include or remove titles, URLs, dates, and page numbers.
Print backgrounds: include CSS backgrounds in Original format.

Websites can supply print-specific CSS, so the printed page can differ from what appears on screen. Always use the preview to catch page breaks, missing content, and unexpected scaling. See Mozilla’s complete Firefox printing reference for the available controls.

6. Troubleshooting

There is no Simplified option

Firefox may not have a simplified version for that page, or Reader View may already have been enabled before opening print preview. Exit Reader View and reopen Print, or print from Reader View directly if it is available.

Images still appear

Simplified removes clutter and background images, but it is not guaranteed to remove every foreground image. Try Reader View, or use Original format with backgrounds disabled and inspect the preview. For a single image, Mozilla says you can usually open the image in a new tab and print it separately.

The page layout is wrong

Switch from Simplified to Original, then adjust orientation, scale, paper size, and margins. Wide tables often need landscape orientation or a smaller scale.

Backgrounds cannot be changed

Print backgrounds is unavailable in Simplified format by design. Select Original if you need that control.

Reader View is missing

The page may not provide a Reader View version. Use Simplified if Firefox offers it, or keep Original format and disable backgrounds.

Printing to PDF looks different from the printer

PDF output follows the preview and the page’s print CSS. Check destination-specific settings, page range, scale, and margins before saving.

7. Reliability, performance, and cost considerations

Reliability: Preview is the source of truth. Dynamic pages can finish loading after you first open them, so wait for the content you need before printing.
Performance: Simplified and Reader View can reduce the amount of page styling and clutter Firefox must lay out. Large pages can still take time to paginate.
Ink and paper: Mozilla describes Simplified as improving readability and saving paper and ink, but the amount depends on the page and printer settings.
Accessibility: Reader View can make long articles easier to scan, but verify that headings, tables, and required labels survived the transformation.
Privacy: Saving to PDF keeps the operation inside Firefox and avoids sending the page to an external screenshot service.

8. Or skip the browser setup

For automated, repeatable captures, ScreenshotNeo provides a website screenshot API. It accepts a URL and returns a PNG, JPEG, WebP, or PDF. Before capture, it accepts consent banners and removes more than 60 known consent platforms, newsletter popups, and chat widgets; each cleanup step can be turned off. Bot checks, blank pages, timeouts, failed loads, and cache hits are not billed, and the response identifies the result with X-Page-Verdict and X-Billed headers.

See the ScreenshotNeo API documentation for authentication and all options.

cURL

curl -G "https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot" -d access_key=YOUR_API_KEY --data-urlencode url=https://stripe.com -o shot.webp

Python

import requests
r = requests.get("https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot", params={"access_key": "YOUR_API_KEY", "url": "https://stripe.com"}, timeout=90)
open("shot.webp", "wb").write(r.content)

Node.js

const q = new URLSearchParams({ access_key: 'YOUR_API_KEY', url: 'https://stripe.com' });
const res = await fetch(`https://api.screenshotneo.com/v1/shot?${q}`);

ScreenshotNeo also supports full-page capture with lazy images loaded, CSS-element capture, dark mode, device presets and custom viewports, retina scale, PDF paper and margin settings, custom CSS and JavaScript, click and wait actions, request blocking, headers, cookies, user agents, authorization, timezone, geolocation, transparent backgrounds, resizing, cache TTLs, signed links, asynchronous jobs with signed webhooks, bulk capture of up to 100 URLs per call, a usage API, and an OpenAPI specification. An MCP server exposes take_screenshot, get_page_info, and capture_pdf for Claude, Cursor, and other MCP clients.

The Free plan includes 1,000 shots per month with no card. Paid plans start at $5 for 3,000 shots; yearly billing gives two months free, and every feature is available on every plan.

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9. FAQ

Does Simplified remove all images?

No. It removes clutter such as background images, but foreground images can remain. Confirm the preview.

Can I print only selected pages?

Yes. Use the Pages control in print preview to enter a range or select specific pages, depending on your Firefox version.

Can I save the image-free result as a PDF?

Yes. Select Simplified or Reader View, choose Save to PDF as the destination, and save the preview.

Why does Firefox print a different layout?

Pages can define print-specific CSS. Firefox applies that styling in preview and on paper.

What if I need a repeatable capture pipeline?

Use the ScreenshotNeo API or its MCP tools when you need scripted captures, PDFs, cleanup of consent and chat elements, or usage reporting.