Many Web pages are too wide to print on 8.5–by-11 (or A4) paper, resulting in the right sides of pages being cut off. An easy solution is to install a free PDF utility such as PDF995 (www.pdf995.com), which adds a simulated printer to your system. In the Printing Preferences section of the PDF995 printer, set the paper dimensions to a large size, such as A3 or tabloid. Doing this when there is no print job in progress lets you make this the default for all future jobs.

When you want to print a Web page, simply send it to the PDF995 printer. This creates a PDF file, which you can then print from Adobe Acrobat Reader. When printing from Acrobat, be sure to check the box labeled Shrink oversized pages to paper size. Acrobat will reduce the Web page to fit your printer's paper size automatically. You'll never miss a right-hand section of a page again—and you will be able to create PDF files whenever you want! To use PDF995 without the display of ads requires registration ($9.95), but try it for free first. - Conn Clissman

It's possible to design a Web page with style sheets that will format it one way for display and another way for printing, with each style optimized for its destination. Another common technique is to provide a link to a printer-friendly version of a given page; click the Print link on a PCmag.com article and you'll get the whole article on a single page, formatted nicely for printing. But all too many pages are designed with no thought at all for the possibility that someone might want to print them.

PDF995 is one of many utilities, free and otherwise, that create PDF files by means of a simulated printer driver (see "PDFing Cheap," August 5). As noted, to turn any printable document into a PDF file, you simply send it to the simulated printer. There's definitely extra effort involved—in effect you have to print the page twice—so you may actually want to try printing directly to your printer in landscape mode first. But the result is much more useful than a printed page with the last half of each line missing.

If you happen to have Adobe Acrobat 6.0, you can also use the Open Web Page command to convert the file to PDF. The difference, which may or may not be an advantage, is that the page will be captured exactly as it appears on screen. (IE tends to remove backgrounds and change text to black to make pages print faster and more readable.) Acrobat automatically scales pages and can even fit an entire Web page on one sheet.