# How to print a NotebookLM notebook cleanly > Print a NotebookLM notebook cleanly: export to PDF first, then print the PDF. Skip the messy app UI, clipped width and lost citations. Free Chrome extension. (NotebookLM is now called Gemini Notebook.) _Markdown version of https://gemini-notebook-hub.online/guides/print-notebooklm-notebook — for AI and LLM crawlers. Content is identical to the web page._ --- _4 min read · updated 17 Jul 2026_ Want a tidy printout of your NotebookLM research? Export it to PDF first, then print the PDF. It is far cleaner than printing the web page — no app UI, no clipped edges, no lost citations. --- **NotebookLM was renamed Gemini Notebook** in July 2026. This guide covers the same product under its new name — everything below still applies whether you know it as NotebookLM or Gemini Notebook. > **Quick answer** > Do not print the NotebookLM page directly. Install the free **NotebookLM to PDF** Chrome extension, open your notebook on **notebooklm.google.com**, click **Export → PDF**, then print that PDF. You get a clean layout with real page breaks, intact citations and selectable text. Printing a NotebookLM notebook should be simple, but the obvious route — hitting print on the web page — gives you a mess. NotebookLM is an app, and your browser tries to print the whole thing. The fix is a two-step move: export the notebook to a PDF, then print the PDF. The export does the hard part of laying everything out for paper, so the print dialog has a clean document to work with. ## Why printing the NotebookLM page directly looks bad When you print straight from notebooklm.google.com, the browser captures the interface, not just your content. The usual problems: - **The app UI prints too.** Sidebars, source panels, buttons and menus land on the page alongside your notes, wasting space and ink. - **Wide content gets clipped.** Tables, long lines and code run off the right edge of the page and simply get cut off, so you lose part of every wide block. - **Citations and structure can be lost.** The numbered source references and heading hierarchy that make a notebook readable often drop out or scatter. - **Page breaks fall in awkward places.** Headings get stranded at the bottom of a page and paragraphs are chopped in half, because the layout was never meant for paper. Export to a PDF first and all of that goes away. The PDF contains only your content, sized for the page, with the structure intact. Then you are printing a normal document. ## How to print a NotebookLM notebook, step by step 1. **Install the extension.** Add [NotebookLM to PDF](/guides/export-notebooklm-to-pdf) from the Chrome Web Store. It is free, needs no account, and stays idle until you open NotebookLM. 2. **Open your notebook.** Go to notebooklm.google.com and open the notebook, chat or report you want to print. 3. **Export to PDF.** Use the export button the extension adds, choose **PDF**, and (optionally) pick which chats or notes to include. The file renders locally and downloads in a second or two. 4. **Open the PDF.** Open the downloaded file in your PDF viewer or browser so you can check it before printing. 5. **Print the PDF.** Press **Ctrl+P** (or **Cmd+P**), pick your printer, and print. Because it is a real PDF, what you see is what comes out. ## Print settings that come out cleanest A few tweaks in the print dialog make the paper copy tidier and cheaper: - **Fit to width.** Set scaling to fit the page width so nothing runs off the right edge — the PDF is already laid out for this, so it rarely needs more than the default. - **Normal margins.** Standard margins keep text off the very edge of the sheet, which some printers cannot reach anyway. - **Black and white.** Choose grayscale or black-and-white to save color ink; a research notebook reads fine without color. - **Double-sided.** Print on both sides to halve the paper for long notebooks and reports. > **Tip** > Want to mark up the notebook before you print it? Export to **Word (.docx)** instead, edit and annotate it, then print from Word. See [exporting to Word](/guides/notebooklm-to-word) for the full workflow. ## When to export Word instead PDF is the right choice when you just want a faithful printout. If you need to add comments, highlight passages or trim sections before printing, export to **Word (.docx)** first. You get an editable copy you can annotate, then print from your word processor. The same export menu offers **Markdown** too if you prefer plain text. ## Is it private? Yes. NotebookLM to PDF builds the file in your browser. There is no account to create and no server to send your research to — the extension reads the notebook you are already viewing, renders the PDF on your own machine, and hands it to you. Nothing is uploaded. It is not affiliated with Google. ## FAQ ### Can I print a NotebookLM notebook directly? You can open the browser print dialog, but the result is messy — the app UI prints, wide content is clipped, and citations can be lost. Export to PDF first, then print the PDF for a clean copy. ### Why does printing the NotebookLM page look broken? Because NotebookLM is a web app. Printing the page captures the whole interface, clips wide content at the page edges, and breaks pages in awkward places. A PDF export drops the interface and lays the content out for paper. ### Does the exported PDF break pages cleanly? Yes. The export uses a print-ready layout with real page breaks, so headings and paragraphs are not chopped in half. Citations and code blocks are preserved, and the text stays selectable. ### Is NotebookLM the same as Gemini Notebook? Yes. Google renamed NotebookLM to Gemini Notebook in July 2026 — it's the same product, same features, just a new name.