Printing

Generate PDFs and printable documents with customizable print formats in Frappe Framework

Frappe Framework provides a powerful printing system that allows you to generate PDFs and printable HTML documents with customizable templates.

Print formats

Print formats define how documents are rendered for printing. Frappe supports multiple types of print formats:

Standard print format

The default print format that comes with each DocType:

import frappe

# Get standard print HTML
html = frappe.get_print(
    "Sales Order",
    "SO-001",
    print_format="Standard"
)

Custom print formats

Create custom print formats using Jinja templates:

# In Print Format DocType
print_format = frappe.get_doc({
    "doctype": "Print Format",
    "name": "Sales Order Custom",
    "doc_type": "Sales Order",
    "print_format_type": "Jinja",
    "html": """
        <div class="print-format">
            <h1>{{ doc.name }}</h1>
            <p>Customer: {{ doc.customer }}</p>
            <p>Date: {{ doc.transaction_date }}</p>
            
            <table class="table">
                <thead>
                    <tr>
                        <th>Item</th>
                        <th>Quantity</th>
                        <th>Rate</th>
                        <th>Amount</th>
                    </tr>
                </thead>
                <tbody>
                    {% for item in doc.items %}
                    <tr>
                        <td>{{ item.item_name }}</td>
                        <td>{{ item.qty }}</td>
                        <td>{{ item.rate }}</td>
                        <td>{{ item.amount }}</td>
                    </tr>
                    {% endfor %}
                </tbody>
            </table>
            
            <p><strong>Total: {{ doc.grand_total }}</strong></p>
        </div>
    """
}).insert()

Generating PDFs

Generate PDF documents from print formats:

import frappe
from frappe.utils.pdf import get_pdf

# Get PDF content
html = frappe.get_print("Sales Order", "SO-001")
pdf = get_pdf(html)

# Save PDF to file
with open("/path/to/file.pdf", "wb") as f:
    f.write(pdf)

# Or attach to email
frappe.sendmail(
    recipients=["[e-mail]"],
    subject="Your Sales Order",
    message="Please find attached sales order.",
    attachments=[{
        "fname": "sales_order.pdf",
        "fcontent": pdf
    }]
)

Print settings

Customize global print settings:

# Get print settings
print_settings = frappe.get_single("Print Settings")

# Configure settings
print_settings.update({
    "send_print_as_pdf": 1,
    "pdf_page_size": "A4",
    "repeat_header_footer": 1,
    "print_style": "Modern"
})
print_settings.save()

Page settings

Configure page size and orientation:

# In Print Format
print_format.page_size = "A4"  # A4, A5, Letter, Legal
print_format.orientation = "Portrait"  # Portrait or Landscape
print_format.margin_top = 15
print_format.margin_bottom = 15
print_format.margin_left = 15
print_format.margin_right = 15

Print templates

Use Jinja2 templating in print formats:

{# Access document fields #}
{{ doc.name }}
{{ doc.customer_name }}
{{ doc.posting_date }}

{# Format currency #}
{{ frappe.utils.fmt_money(doc.grand_total, currency=doc.currency) }}

{# Format dates #}
{{ frappe.utils.formatdate(doc.posting_date, "dd-MM-yyyy") }}

{# Loop through child table #}
{% for item in doc.items %}
    <tr>
        <td>{{ item.item_code }}</td>
        <td>{{ item.qty }}</td>
    </tr>
{% endfor %}

{# Conditional rendering #}
{% if doc.discount_amount %}
    <p>Discount: {{ doc.discount_amount }}</p>
{% endif %}

{# Access meta information #}
{{ frappe.get_meta(doc.doctype).get_field("customer").label }}

Letter head

Add company branding to print formats:

# Create letter head
letter_head = frappe.get_doc({
    "doctype": "Letter Head",
    "letter_head_name": "Company Letter Head",
    "is_default": 1,
    "header": "<div style='text-align: center;'><h1>Company Name</h1></div>",
    "footer": "<div style='text-align: center;'><small>Company Address</small></div>"
}).insert()

# Letter head is automatically included in prints

Print styles

Customize print appearance with CSS:

# Create print style
print_style = frappe.get_doc({
    "doctype": "Print Style",
    "name": "Modern Style",
    "css": """
        .print-format {
            font-family: Arial, sans-serif;
            font-size: 12pt;
        }
        
        .print-format h1 {
            color: #333;
            border-bottom: 2px solid #0066cc;
            padding-bottom: 10px;
        }
        
        .print-format table {
            width: 100%;
            border-collapse: collapse;
        }
        
        .print-format table th,
        .print-format table td {
            border: 1px solid #ddd;
            padding: 8px;
            text-align: left;
        }
        
        .print-format table th {
            background-color: #f2f2f2;
            font-weight: bold;
        }
    """
}).insert()

Raw printing

For thermal printers and POS systems:

# Create raw print format
raw_print = frappe.get_doc({
    "doctype": "Print Format",
    "name": "POS Receipt",
    "doc_type": "Sales Invoice",
    "print_format_type": "Jinja",
    "raw_printing": 1,
    "html": """
        {{ doc.company }}
        ================================
        Invoice: {{ doc.name }}
        Date: {{ doc.posting_date }}
        Customer: {{ doc.customer_name }}
        ================================
        {% for item in doc.items %}
        {{ item.item_name }}
        {{ item.qty }} x {{ item.rate }} = {{ item.amount }}
        {% endfor %}
        ================================
        Total: {{ doc.grand_total }}
    """
}).insert()

Print preview

Generate print preview without PDF conversion:

import frappe

# Get HTML preview
html = frappe.get_print(
    "Sales Order",
    "SO-001",
    print_format="Standard",
    no_letterhead=False
)

# Return as web page
frappe.respond_as_web_page(
    "Print Preview",
    html,
    print_format=True
)

Batch printing

Print multiple documents at once:

import frappe
from frappe.utils.pdf import get_pdf

def print_multiple_documents(doctype, names, print_format="Standard"):
    """Print multiple documents as single PDF"""
    html_content = ""
    
    for name in names:
        html = frappe.get_print(
            doctype,
            name,
            print_format=print_format
        )
        html_content += html + '<div style="page-break-after: always;"></div>'
    
    # Generate combined PDF
    pdf = get_pdf(html_content)
    return pdf

# Usage
pdf = print_multiple_documents(
    "Sales Order",
    ["SO-001", "SO-002", "SO-003"]
)

Print language

Generate prints in different languages:

import frappe

# Set print language
html = frappe.get_print(
    "Sales Order",
    "SO-001",
    print_format="Standard",
    language="de"  # German
)

Custom print buttons

Add custom print buttons to forms:

# In DocType's client script
frappe.ui.form.on('Sales Order', {
    refresh: function(frm) {
        frm.add_custom_button(__('Print Packing Slip'), function() {
            frappe.ui.get_print_settings(
                false,
                function(print_settings) {
                    frappe.render_pdf(
                        frm.doctype,
                        frm.doc.name,
                        "Packing Slip"
                    );
                }
            );
        }, __('Print'));
    }
});