I have been contemplating creating a website that resembles a print newspaper. My hope is that the site would look like the front page of a newspaper and the webpage would be able to be printed onto an 8 1/2 x 11 paper. Additional webpages would be condensed versions of the arts section, the comics etc. The site is intended to encourage children to read the newspaper as they get older so I really want the content to be printable - not just for online viewing.

Is this remotely possible? Any chance it's feasible on a low budget through the use of a template? Would a template then need to be customized to achieve the goal of printing the page that is seen on the screen? How is the web image impacted by screen size? Could previous editions of the newspage be accessible from the site?

If ads are on the webpage, can the newpaper (webpage) content be printed without printing the ads?

What are the best programs (not cost-prohibitive) to use to create the page? To create the content (including photos, images and stories)?

Sorry if this is too many questions for 1 post. Thanks for any advice you can offer.

Sandy

Sorry this isn't going to be a helpful answer, I just wanted to ask a question.

Reading the newspaper is great and all, especially if you can do it intelligently. I myself read the New York Times every once in a while. However newspapers are on their way to disappearing. More and more people are getting their news online because it is faster, easier, and does not waste paper. I think it's a great idea for a site in its idea... just not the method of printing paper simply so the child can read it and throw it away (even if they recycle it).

Oh sorry for the rant. I guess I'll try to be helpful.... It's probably possible. Sounds like a nice little challenge for me, or a couple hours work for a more experienced web designer. You seem to be new to the web game, so it would be difficult. Yes, this should be possible through a template. Previous editions could be made to be accessible. I believe there is a way to specify the content of printed pages, so you can remove the ads, though I've never used it.

As for programs... well I can't help there. I code straight in notepad, which is totally free but ads to the workload (the satisfaction of having a hand-coded website is worth it though). I use Photoshop to create content for my site, but that is cost prohibitive (definitely so). But for simple images... there are online services you can use to resize and crop photos, or freeware programs too. Stories could be as simple as text files. Graphics for the site may be difficult, but a free alternative to Photoshop that should work decently is Gimp. Never used it, but some people swear by it, and it's free.

Blah, my longest post ever. Somebody with more knowledge than me please take over and answer the questions better. Good luck, Sandy.

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I agree with you about the negative aspects of printing the page - I hate to add more paper to the landfill! I know more and more people are getting their news online and it looks like there will be fewer printed newspapers in the future. However, I still try to read the printed Sunday paper and usually turn on the tv or the computer for the kids so I can have a few uninterrupted minutes to check out the front page at least. The site idea originated from wanting the kids to be doing something intellectually beneficial at the same time I am - we could all be looking at our newspaper - instead of having the little ones add to their screen time so that I can stay current. It wouldn't have to be printed but I really want the option to be available.

Thanks, Kakashi266. I really appreciate the suggestions.

Hi Sandy,

Since there are so many specific things you need for this template, you may want to consider outsourcing this project through a site like rentacoder.com or something. You could place quote there just to get an idea what it would cost and there is no obligation to take any of the bids.

As far as printing goes, one thing you could do is create a print.css (stylesheet file) which is a file that tells the browser how to display. What some people do is have a link to the printable version of their site and this is the page that calls up the print.css stylesheet which defines the printing parameters.

Another option is to put the archives in a PDF (Adobe Acrobat) format which makes printing much easier.

Just some thoughts...

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The print-only CSS file is what I use on my blog. It works great and allows me to control what gets printed.

I wrote an article on my blog on how to accomplish this.

Putting the archives in a PDF may be the way to go as it allows the visitor to print many articles at one time, instead of visiting a page and then printing it.

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Thanks Lisa and TechieGuy! I really appreciate the recommendations. I had looked at Rentacoder - I think through a link on your site, Lisa - but I wasn't sure what to expect regarding price and I thought my explanation might not be clear enough. I will definitely check them out.

If I'm able to pull off getting the site together, I'm sure I'll be posting regularly with problems and questions - this is a terrific resource. Again, thanks for the help.