Can Not Print To PDF In Safari or Firefox

[PGB1]

Hello All!
I apologize for posting a question that is probably answered somewhere, but after 3 hours, no answers that I found worked. I'm hoping someone here may have encountered this or know a of a possible solution

In El Capitan 10.11.4 I can not print a page as a PDF in Safari nor in Firefox.

In Safari, I will click File - Print - Then Click the Drop Down Arrow to Save As PDF. The saved file is a grey page with no writing or images.
In Firefox, I will do the same routine, but I get an error stating "Print Preview Error An Error Occurred While Printing" and then I get one that says "Print Error An Error Occurred While Printing".

Using Word or Excel, I can successfully print to PDF. My CAD program also can print to PDF. Adobe Photoshop Elements does not offer a choice to Print As PDF. (ironic, ain't it?)

While following all the information & tips I found, here is what I tried:
Uninstalled my printer & reinstalled it. Restarted Computer
Removed the files from /Library/Internet Plug-Ins that had the word Adobe in them. Restarted Computer
Uninstalled Adobe Reader Restarted Computer
Reinstalled Adobe Reader from a fresh download from get.adobe.com (Now called Adobe Reader DC) Restarted Computer
Checked the System Preference List for any Adobe printers. None were found.
Went to Applications - Safari - Get Info to try to make it opne in 64 bit mode (per one suggestion I found) but there is no choice of 32 or 64 bit modes in the get Info pane.
Made sure my physical printer was updated with the latest drivers & firmware. Restarted Computer

None of the above worked. Safari still provides a grey document & Firefox still offers error messages.

Do any of you have a suggestion about what went haywire?

Thanks For Your Help & Be Sure To Save Time To Enjoy Today!
Paul

 

[chscag]

When I select a PDF file to print using either Safari or Chrome, I right click on the PDF, then I select File, Save as, and the PDF will download to my downloads folder. From there, I can open and print the file. Also, I do not use Adobe Reader but instead use Preview.

 

[Slydude]

I may be misunderstanding something but I think PGB1 isn't trying to print a PDF. I think the goal is to take something such as a web page and turn it into a PDF. If that's the case, instead of trying to work through the Print command go to Safari's File menu and choose Export to PDF. I don't have Using the Print Dialog method seems to work for me in FireFox though I didn't try a complex page.

The Print method used to work rather well now I use the Export to PDF function and it works. The Print method seems to routinely fail under El Capitan

 

[chscag]

I just re-read his post and I believe you're right. The method you outline above is the correct way to export to PDF, however, Paul mentioned he reinstalled Adobe reader. Safari (don't know about FF) should default to using Preview unless Paul has the Adobe Safari plug-in installed.

 

[PGB1]

Thank You Both for taking time to reply. I appreciate your help & knowledge.

I apologize for the confusion. Upon a re-read, it seems that I didn't write to post too well. I'm trying to do what Sylvester mentioned, save a web page as a pdf via the Print menu. One thing I forgot to mention is that I tried removing Adobe Reader completely and then printing as PDF before I re-installed Reader. No luck
I do use Preview. I'm not a big fan of Reader. It's too clunky for me. Some PDFs don't work in Preview, like many IRS downloads. So I keep Reader around for those.

I used to Print As PDF all the time in 10.6.8 with both Safari & Firefox. (I'm new to 10.11.4- I jumped up from 10.6.8)
As an example, if I found out how to do something new on this forum (as I often do- great place to learn!), I'd print it as PDF and file it on the computer for future reference.
I liked PDF over Safari's webarchive because I could add notes & highlights to saved PDFs. I also paste some PDFs into Word, such as when printing postage labels.

Sylvester's idea of Export To PDF in Safari worked very, very well on several web pages from different URLs.
Of the pages I tested, the only one that had problems were pages on this forum. The PDFs were all broken up & text was skinny columns. But the other web pages worked very well.
In Firefox, we don't get the export option, so that one is still a pest.

Since I am at 10.11 Safari will get security updates, so maybe I don't need Firefox any longer.

I'll keep trying to get Firefox to print to pdf. If I find a solution (or a better browser), I'll let you all know! Of course, if you all think of something to try, I'll be glad to test it out & report back.

Thanks Again!
Paul

 

[chscag]

@Paul:

I'm not a particular lover of FF ever since they started putting out wonky updates around a year ago. I used FF exclusively when I ran Linux some years back and it was rock solid then. However, as of late it seems Mozilla has not been very diligent about security in FF and has had to update it several times. You might try using Chrome as they now have a 64 bit version which works real well and has good security. Safari still seems like it's the fastest browser though.

 

[Slydude]

I just tried to save this thread using the export to PDF function and it seems to have saved okay. I didn't have a problem saving the page in this thread but I have seen some of the behavior that you were talking about. The one thing I did notice is that the pages were saved with the advertisements included. I don't normally see those since I'm running AdInblock.

I'll try to do a little more digging and see if I can figure out what is causing the behavior you are seeing. In my case I think it was happening when I was using the print to PDF method.

 

[PGB1]

I think when this page didn't export properly as PDF it was because I wasn't logged in. I just tried it while logged in & it gave me a perfect PDF (with ads- but I don't run an ad block).
Safari still doesn't print to PDF, but Export works so I'll re-train myself.

In Firefox, I haven't figured out a solution yet.
I do appreciate your mention Chscag about Firefox & security. Maybe it is time for it to go. I got used to using it when I had 10.6.8 & Apple stopped issuing security updates for Safari. Firefox is quite pokey at opening & at actually doing something when 'enter' is pressed. I kind of like having Safari back.

 

[PGB1]

Here's An Update:
I got Firefox to print using the "Duh! I should have thought of this already" method.

Instead of going to File- Print, I clicked the icon in the upper-right corner of the screen. I don't know what it is called. The icon is 3 horizontal lines.
In it, there is a command to Print. For some reason, that will allow to save as PDF and to print on paper.

I have no idea why File-Print does not print, nor save as PDF, and using the icon works. But, since upgrading to 10.11.4, I actually like Safari better so I am spending more time there than with Firefox.

Hopefully this update will help someone in the future.

Enjoy This Day!
Paul