printThis

printThis is a lightweight, open‑source JavaScript utility that enables developers to quickly print specific elements from a webpage rather than the entire page. The script is distributed under the MIT license and can be included directly from a CDN or installed via npm for use in build systems such as webpack or Rollup.

The core logic of printThis operates by cloning the target element into an off‑screen iframe, applying any stylesheets specified through options, and then invoking the browser’s native print dialog. This approach preserves the original page layout and state while avoiding side effects such as event listeners or dynamic data that should not be printed.

Common usage follows a single function call: calling printThis() on a DOM element or a jQuery selector, optionally passing an options object to control settings like the printing window title, margins, and whether to include background images. Example usage in plain JavaScript is:

printThis(document.querySelector('#report'), { color: true, loadCSS: ['/css/print.css'] });

The library supports both vanilla JavaScript and jQuery integration, providing a `$().printThis()` method for those using the jQuery API. It also includes event hooks – onPrintStart and onPrintEnd – that allow developers to perform actions before and after printing.

Because printThis uses an iframe, it adapts to variations across browsers, including Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Edge, and Internet Explorer 11, although the latter may require polyfills to support modern CSS features. The maintainers document known issues and fallback options in the README on GitHub, and a suite of unit tests runs against the library’s API.

The project has an active community with contributions on GitHub, and a moderate number of stars and forks indicating adoption in small to medium web projects. It is frequently cited in front‑end development blogs focusing on print‑style CSS and DOM manipulation techniques.