Challenges of Adding Print Functionality to Web Apps

On the SmartLogic podcast 'Elixir Wizards Office Hours', episode 7, SmartLogic Engineers Joel Meador and Charles Suggs, along with host Owen Bickford, have a detailed conversation about the challenges developers face when integrating printing capabilities into web applications. They explore the constraints related to browser-based printing, such as cross-browser compatibility, consistent styling, and dynamic content creation. Additionally, the trio talks about server-side PDF generation as a potential solution, addressing issues like maintaining design uniformity across web and print, ensuring accessibility, and achieving high-quality, precise printing outputs. Practical tips are shared based on their real-world experiences, including extensive research and problem-solving strategies, and an assessment of using external tools and libraries to facilitate printing. Relevant links to CSS3, WeasyPrint, WebKit, Pdf.js, YesLogic Prince 15, PrintXML, and standards like PDF/A and PDF/X are mentioned, shedding light on resources that can help developers address printing challenges in their projects.