# How many printed pages in a SDMB "page"? **URL:** \ **Category:** About This Message Board\ **Created:** [July 19, 2002, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-printed-pages-in-a-sdmb-page/119772 "2002-07-19T07:06:07Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2002, 7:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-printed-pages-in-a-sdmb-page/119772/1 "2002-07-19T07:06:07Z")
I’d sure like to know this _before_ I start to print something! I printed a thread from MPSIMS tonight, and didn’t realize until the first page issued from the printer that it was going to be _seventeen pages_ long! My doughty little Lexmark printer hunkered down and printed all 17 pages–just fine. But I’d like to be able to “look before I leap” before I wind up printing another long run. (For what it’s worth to mention it, I use AOL as the Internet service provider, Windows 98 Plus! as an operating system, a Compaq Deskpro 4000 and an NEC monitor (I almost wrote Minotaur). 😃 Seriously–is there a way to find out how long a “page” on the screen will be in terms of printed pages, before I crank up the printer? Thanks very much. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2002, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-printed-pages-in-a-sdmb-page/119772/2 "2002-07-19T07:43:40Z")
I don’t think so; IE seems to treat the whole thing as one long page that just happens to spill over onto more than one sheet of paper. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2002, 7:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-printed-pages-in-a-sdmb-page/119772/3 "2002-07-19T07:45:11Z")
oops, I didn’t notice that you are using AOL; still the principle is probably the same; a web page is a single document. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2002, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-printed-pages-in-a-sdmb-page/119772/4 "2002-07-19T07:48:48Z")
I do not have access to the AOL browser, but both Internet Explorer and Opera have print preview functions that show you how many printed pages will be created from a web page. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2002, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-printed-pages-in-a-sdmb-page/119772/5 "2002-07-19T08:23:06Z")
I see IE6 has print preview but IE5 doesn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Crusoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/49beb7/32.png) [@Crusoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Crusoe)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2002, 8:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-printed-pages-in-a-sdmb-page/119772/6 "2002-07-19T08:23:56Z")
IE5.5 does. ---
**Author:** ![Arnold\_Winkelried](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Arnold\_Winkelried](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arnold_Winkelried)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2002, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-printed-pages-in-a-sdmb-page/119772/7 "2002-07-19T17:16:30Z")
I would also make the font size as small as you can before you print a thread. A font size too small to comfortably read on the screen can be large enough to read on a printout. ---
**Author:** ![dougie\_monty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@dougie\_monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dougie_monty)\ **Post date:** [July 19, 2002, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-printed-pages-in-a-sdmb-page/119772/8 "2002-07-19T22:06:00Z")
Thanx 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [July 20, 2002, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-many-printed-pages-in-a-sdmb-page/119772/9 "2002-07-20T02:41:55Z")
The size of each post makes a big difference. I printed out 5 pages of Ask The Muslim Guy. At work. I canceled the job at 36 oages.