Ask HN: Do you print software documentation? If so how do you do it?

by squeegee_scream on 5/30/2025, 2:54:52 PM with 5 comments
I suspect that I would be more focused and work better if I did more of my engineering work away from the computer, so I'm looking at aspects of my workflow to make analog. I'm considering printing documentation and putting it in a 3-ring binder but I would appreciate insights from others who have done this.

So far my plan is

1. gather the vital documentation for a given project (including language, apis, etc)

2. choose which aspects of the documentation to print. Let's use the Elm language for example, I wouldn't need to print docs for every single package just the ones I'm using in the project.

3. clean up the documentation so it is print-ready. I did a dry run for the Elm language and realized this would be a tedious step but doing it well should result in less wasted paper and easier-to-navigate documentation

3. print

4. collect into separate 3-ring binders with tabs to make navigation easier. For example I would have a binder for Elm, a separate binder for the backend language, a separate binder for miscellaneous

I know that these will get out of date, and I suspect some documentation like React and HTML will be difficult to curate due to the large volume. I'm primarily a web developer and these technologies seem to move faster than others which means the risk of them getting outdated is higher.

So while "print out documentation" sounds simple enough, as I've begun thinking it through it seems more complicated than it should and I would love any insight anyone here has, including any references to blogs about this, and especially if a service already exists that does this sort of thing

  • by toomuchtodo on 5/30/2025, 3:32:00 PM

    If the docs are fluid, 3 ring binder makes sense so you can adjust the contents accordingly. If the docs are more static, your local print shop or an online vendor can print and spiral bound the doc at a nominal cost for shipment to you. In the case of both, it's helpful to be able to take your own written notes to add into the binder, or write directly or on post it/sticky notes in a spiral bound medium.

    Related:

    As a developer, my most important tools are a pen and a notebook - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=44113210 - May 2025

  • by dcminter on 5/30/2025, 3:37:50 PM

    In the past I've occasionally had PDF docs printed at copy shops (spiral bound usually) - but that can work out surprisingly expensive.

    You should try out a Remarkable and see if that works for you (it didn't for me but it was close). They don't have a lot of distractions and they're pretty good at displaying PDFs.

    Currently I buy books and put up with them being a little behind the bleeding edge. Good ones are hard to find though.

  • by axiologist on 6/1/2025, 3:58:52 PM

    Rarely printing anything at all here. And if i really do need to have something in paper, i'd rather do so at some copy shop.

    Instead of a space/toner/paper consuming printer, a paper sized e-ink device has turned out being the much better investment.

    And much better searchable than dead tree, too.