Converting
How to Print to PDF on a Chromebook (Free, Built-In)
Print to PDF on a Chromebook for free with the built-in dialog — save any web page or document as a PDF in seconds, with no apps or extensions.
Hamza M.
PDF Workflow Editor
Need a clean PDF of a web page, a receipt, an email, or a document — without a printer? Every Chromebook can print to PDF out of the box. The Save as PDF printer has been built into ChromeOS for years and turns anything printable into a PDF in seconds.
Here is how to print to PDF on a Chromebook for free, with nothing to install.
Print to PDF from any app
- 1Open the page, document, or image you want to save.
- 2Press Ctrl + P to open the print dialog.
- 3In Destination, choose Save as PDF.
- 4Adjust the options — paper size, orientation, margins, and colour — then click Save.
- 5Open the PDF from your Downloads folder to check the result.
The file is printed to no printer at all: ChromeOS writes it straight to your Downloads folder as a PDF.
Save a web page as a PDF
The same shortcut works in Chrome for any webpage. Enable Background graphics in the print options when the page has a coloured background or image-heavy design — otherwise those are stripped out. Pages with long content save as a multi-page PDF automatically.
Convert Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides to PDF
Printing to PDF also covers Google documents. Open the file in Google Docs, Sheets, or Slides, press Ctrl + P, pick Save as PDF, and the file lands in Downloads with the layout intact.
What print-to-PDF is good at — and not
- Great for: web pages, Google documents, images, and anything any app can print
- Not for: combining several documents into one file, or removing pages afterwards — you get exactly what you printed
- Not for: editing. A PDF you create this way is a faithful snapshot; change the source and print again
Shrink the result if it is too big
A web page with many images can come out surprisingly large — sometimes too large to attach to an email. Open the printed PDF in a browser-based compressor, pick a compression level, and download the smaller version before sharing.
Print to PDF is the fastest free way to create a PDF on a Chromebook. It is built in, saves directly to Downloads, and covers web pages, documents, and images — with a quick compress when the output runs large.
Do it now
Compress PDF
Reduce file size while maintaining quality. It runs in this browser tab — your file is not uploaded anywhere.
Open Compress PDFFrequently asked questions
How do I save something as a PDF on my Chromebook?+
Press Ctrl + P, choose Save as PDF as the destination, and click Save. The PDF is written to your Downloads folder and needs no printer or app.
Do I need a printer to print to PDF on a Chromebook?+
No. Save as PDF is a virtual printer built into ChromeOS; it creates a file instead of printing paper.
How do I save a whole web page as a PDF?+
Open the page in Chrome, press Ctrl + P, choose Save as PDF, and click Save. Enable Background graphics in the options to keep colours and images.
Can I save a Google Doc as a PDF?+
Yes. Open the document, press Ctrl + P, pick Save as PDF, and the layout is preserved in the PDF saved to Downloads.
Where do my PDFs get saved?+
To your Downloads folder by default — the one shown in the Files app — where you can move, rename, or share them.
Is anything uploaded when I print to PDF?+
No. Printing to PDF runs entirely on the Chromebook; the file is created locally from what is on your screen.