“In a way, staring into a computer screen is like staring into an eclipse. It’s brilliant and you don’t realize the damage until its too late.”–Bruce Sterling
If you need to learn how to “print screen”, you’re in luck — printing the contents on your computer screen is an easy task.
There are two methods of printing your screen — using your computer’s “Print Screen” key on the keyboard, or using screen capture software.
You may have used a computer keyboard your entire life with your fingers right next to or even touching the “Print Screen” key without knowing it. The “Print Screen” key used to be standard on PC keyboards, and was often a stand-alone key. Because making screen captures is not exactly a popular feature (an unscientific poll I just conducted of my friends indicates that only 1 in every 4 people even know what the “Print Screen” key is for), you will usually find “Print Screen” as shift option underneath another key or in the “F” keys. The keyboard I’m using right now hides this feature on the F11 key, labeled “Prnt Scrn” in blue font. Not exactly easy to find or a featured spot on the keyboard, but at least it is there.
When you need to get an image “captured” from your computer screen, hit the “Print Screen” key. You’ll notice that your printer didn’t kick into gear and start printing . . . that’s because the “Print Screen” key on a PC keybaord only “Copies” the image of the screen onto your “clipboard”. Older computers used to engage the printer immediately upon the pressing of the “Print Screen” key, and anyone running their PC in DOS will enjoy this same effect. The Windows operating system consistently makes a “copy” of your screen’s image. What do you do to get the image printed?
How to Print Screen
Basically, you’ll be turning your computer’s screen into a .jpg file. Your computer has already “copied” the image — it is up to you to “paste” that image into a file that is printable. Once you hit “Print Screen”, open a program like MicrosoftWord and press “Control” and “V” at the same time to “paste” that image into a printable document.
If you’ve done it correctly, you’ll see the image displayed on your monitor at the time you hit the “Print Screen” key. You can now print this file.
Many people will find that their keyboard doesn’t contain a “Print Screen” key — usually, replacement keyboards sold “after market”, or some cheaper models of wireless keyboards simply don’t have this feature. You’re not completely out of luck — there are “screen capture” programs that are easy to use that replace the old “Print Screen” key. These programs also offer useful upgrades such as instant printing, the ability to print only certain regions of your screen, specific windows, and other nifty little features that your regular old “Print Screen” key doesn’t offer.
My favorite screen capture program is Print Screen Deluxe, mostly because they offered me a free trial. They have a cool “thumbnail viewer” that keeps your captures in a folder for later viewing and printing.
Download your free trial here — and take advantage of “Print Screen” capability (plus some cool upgrades) without using a “Print Screen” key.
The next time you need to capture the image on your computer monitor, just use the “Print Screen” key (now that you know how) or use a piece of screen capture software to get the picture you need.
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