How To Print Gmail Contacts

If you use Gmail, you know it is a very advanced webmail client with benefits like archiving that few other services can match. Users can generally rest easy knowing that their emails and contacts are all there when they need them, but what about when you want a printed copy of your contacts?

We covered How To Print Multiple Gmail Emails Easily in a previous post, which required browser plugins and other trickery, but Gmail provides all the tools you need for printing your Contacts. Unfortunately, Gmail’s system of organizing your contacts can make it a bit difficult to get the results you want. Here is a guide to organizing and printing your contacts so that you can have a hard copy of your Contacts’ info in no time.

Organize Your Contacts

The first step before you print is to organize the contacts you wish to print into a group for easier organization. Even if you want to print all of your contacts, you may find that some are not included in your main Contacts list. Start by logging into your Gmail account at Gmail.com, then follow these steps to organize your Contacts for printing. (If your Contacts are already organized into the groups you want to print, skip to the Printing Your Contacts steps below.)

1.  If you are in the Mail section of Gmail, click the Mail heading to the left, then choose Contacts in the dropdown menu.
2. Click My Contacts to view your main list of contacts. You may notice that some of the contacts you were expecting to see are missing. If so, click Other Contacts and Most Contacted and you will probably find them there.
3. Check the box next to any contacts you would like to print, or click the box at the top of the list to select an entire section.
4. Click the Groups icon at the top of the list, which looks like three heads, then type “Print” into the box to create a new group. Continue adding contacts until the Print group contains all of the contacts you wish to print.
5. Click the arrow next to Contacts on the left to see all of your groups, and click the Print heading to view the group.

Printing Your Contacts

Now that you have organized your Contacts into a group, it will be much easier to print them quickly. Keep in mind, these steps will apply to any group, so if you already have your Contacts organized, the process is much simpler.

1. Make sure you are in the Contacts section of Gmail. If not, click Mail near the top left and choose Contacts from the dropdown menu.
2. Choose the group you wish to print. If you followed the instructions above, this would be the Print group.
3. Click the More button, then click Print. You will be given the option of printing all of your contacts or a group.
4. Choose the group you wish to print and click the Print button.
5. Depending on your browser, the Print Dialog box may open automatically, or you may just see a list of your contacts. If the dialog box doesn’t open, just click File in the top toolbar and click Print.
6. Choose the printing options you want, including number of copies and any formatting you wish to apply, then click OK or Print to begin printing your Contacts.

One of the main benefits of Gmail is that it saves the contact info of virtually every person you have ever sent or received email to or from. The downside of this is that printing all of your contacts can wasting a lot of paper and burning through ink cartridges, as your printout may contain a lot of useless contact info. By following the steps above, you can avoid this problem and end up with a printed copy of the exact information you need.