I would be really devastated if something ever happened to Blogger. I love blogging and I enjoy reading back through my own posts. But there’s this little part of me that worries that someday, it could all disappear and I would loose my entire journal forever. So I have been wanting to print out my blog for some time now. I tried Blurb.com, a site that allows you to download a program to help you set up your blog for printing into a bound book. I had a hard time with formatting my different posts and photos with that one. I came across another site, Blog2Print, and saw that they also offered bound book printing (which would come to over $80 per book, 2 books, for my one year of posts), but even better than that, they have an option to purchase your blog in PDF format to print on your own for under $3 a file! It took 2 files to complete my book, lots of printer ink, a ream of paper, and some simple poly binders. (I bought extra supplies to keep on hand for updating and adding volumes in the months to come.)
The cover designs offered by Blog2Print didn’t quite suit my blog style, so I made my own and replaced theirs in my PDF file before I printed. I also added a custom intro and back cover page. I printed, collated, 3-hole punched and divided all posts into 3 binders. There is also an option to print out all comments from your blog, I will also do that soon and place in a book of their own. (Because I LOVE comments!)
The binders I purchased allowed for sliding in my own cover and spine, I opted for spine only and slid in strips of paper with my graphics.
Now I have my blog on my bookshelf, a little piece of mind, and possibly one day, a gift for my grandchildren.
{The other binders on the shelf with red floral patterned spines contain pages of vintage clip art.}
IMPORTANT NOTE: Before printing, review all of your photos in your PDF file. Any photos that I had directly linking to any Etsy shop or Etsy item defaulted to a shopping cart image. I had to manually replace those in the files.
That’s great, Cathe! The only site I’d ever seen was Blurb. I’ll have to check out the one you used and bind my blathering for posterity!
this is one heck of a great post thanks, and great job, i never thought of printing my blog but now, hey, why not, and thanks to you,
i thank you. great info
Thanks for the link. I often wonder too if my blog will stand the test of time. I can’t wait to check this out. Your books look great!
This is such a fabulous idea! I’ve wondered about that too. My blog is new enough that I couldn’t fill up a book just yet, but maybe if I keep this in mind from the beginning it’ll make actually doing it easier! Thanks!
Warning: Copius amounts of tush kissing about to occur!
In two days time you have answered two of my BIGGEST blogging questions in completely understandable ways.
I worked on my 3 column layout this morning and was feeling super accomplished – but now, oh now I am ever so elated to learn that I can finally print my blog!
Dream come true Cathe – seriously, thank you for making my bloggy life so happy right now! (and for doing ALL the legwork.)
I am truly impressed. I have contemplated doing this myself. My blog is mostly about my daughter and someday I’d love for her to have my posts and sweet comments by my readers.
I will definately have to check this site out. Thank you for sharing this find.
Your book is beautiful. What a timeless keepsake.
That is a GREAT idea!!! More people should do this!
Okay..that is really exciting!!! I am coming up to my first year anniversary…I may do this!!!
sandy toe
WOW! what a wonderful idea! That seems like a ton of work, but well worth it. Thank you so much for posting that!
Wow what a great find Cathe, I had been wondering how on earth I could print out my blog, since it really is an online diary and I certainly want to hold onto it! I was thinking about using Blurb, so it’s nice to know what you thought of it and I am going to check out the site you mentioned for sure! I don’t have nearly as much to print out, but I want to be prepared for my one year blogiversary!
Brilliant and it looks great. My mom doesn’t have a computer but loves my blog, so I have to print each post individually for her (She gets confused by the “start reading at the bottom” thing…) At least that way I have a hard copy until I can try it your way.
This is just wonderful. I have been thinking about doing this for a while but the cost…..This is very doable. Thanks for the link!!
I’m glad you figured out how to do it! And they look great in those binders. Thanks for the tips!
How wonderful. Bet your blog looks fab in book form, with so many great ideas.
As an alternative to printing out a blog, you can export your blog to your hard drive as a way of backing up your blog entries.
Just found your blog the other day and have read through most of your posts. You are so creative and inspiring! Thank you for posting such interesting reads and great ideas.
So cool! I might have to do this for my own blog.
Great post, Cathe! I started printing up my blog about a year ago. I just copy and paste everything into a word doc and print 2 copies per post. Office Max laminates paper for only $1 a sheet, so I have the front and back done… and then they spiral bind the whole thing for only $5 for the first 50 pages, and then a little more for the rest.
I’ve got two books in the works, that I’ll be giving to my daughters, as most of my posts are about them.
Thanks for sharing the link. Your books came out beautiful.
Mary
Thank you so much! As a new Blogger, I can stay on top of this (maybe)early on!
Please stop by for a visit (new entry on a great FREEBIE and instructions for an adorable personalized bucket)!
http://lifeloveladybugs.blogspot.com
That’s a good idea. Oh man, I bet that was time consuming! Love your covers:-)
I self host my own site, so all is on my server and backed up to disk:-) Hopefully CD’s will still work in the future, cuz I’m too lazy to print it all out. hee! I have heard of ways to back-up blogspot blogs. I need to check into that for our I Heart Faces site. If you find anything on that, let me know.
That’s such a great idea, I don’t know what I would do if I lost all of my posts and wonderful comments on my blog. I’m having printer problems but I am definitely going to try something like this once it’s up and running again! Thank you for such a great post!
Thank you for this blog posting – I’d been thinking about this very thing! Now all the legwork is done – lol!
I’ve used Blurb in the past, and I do think that their templates are a little cumbersome. I’ve been happy with the end results though, and the prices seem pretty reasonable.
Oh Cathe, I SO want to do this and this is a WONDERFUL link sweetie, thanks so much….I just want a copy for myself as well for my family….love it! xxoo, Dawn
Thank you so much for all your tips! I’ve snagged your “thanks for commenting” gadget and your “there’s more to see” gadget, and every time I check out your blog I find more useful tidbits. Thank you so much!
Ok that’s so cool! I didn’t even know it was possible!
You never cease to amaze me! That is so neat, and since I mainly blog about my son, it would be a great gift/scrapbook for him. If I’d only started blogging when he was born a year earlier.
What a great idea!! I have wanted to print out my blogs..but then reams of paper..didn’t want all the other stuff etc etc..this is perfect.
Anji
OoooOOOooo! It’s so pretty and awesome!
WOW! They look totally perfect! Since I just started blogging and writing for the first time in a long time, I appreciate the information since I haven’t had time to even think about saving them!
What a fantastic idea! I’ve been using Windows Live Writer to write my blogs, and I’ve always assumed it’s saving drafts somewhere on my hard drive, but a printed copy like that is just lovely to have.
I had been wondering about this not too long ago..I am documenting the building of our dream house, and wondered if there was a way to keep all my posts in print! Thank you for educating me, even though I dont know if I am savvy enough to pull it off, I know somebody out there can do it for me!
GREAT idea. I’ll be doing this too. Thanks for the tip. I found your blog from whiskergraphics… I just met her last week and we are having fun connecting. What are the ad rates for your blog? I’m at http://www.ohbrooke.com
thanks for the info! i’ve been wanting to do this for a while now. and your information and help is SO APPRECIATED–in other words, thanks for rockin’ it out for me!
i also grabbed one of your email buttons and comment buttons. julie from joy’s hope sent me!
have a great night,
amy
Thank you so much for this info! I am definitely going to do this. I don’t want to lose all my posts!
Wow. Cool!
Now you’ve got me freaked out! Thanks soooo much for the advice; I’ll do it this weekend! Or maybe after a re-design…. XOX
I’d only heard of Blurb too, so this is really great. I love this idea and it’s right up my price rang, too.
Cathe, This is AWESOME!!! I’ve only been blogging for a couple of months, but I will want to do this one day. Thanks sooooo much! You’re quite resourceful! Love that!
oh what a GREAT job you did!! i have been copying my blog to Microsoft Word but haven’t had a clue as to how i was going to print it all! Thank you SOOOOOOO very much for another AWESOME tut!! Have a WONDERFUL day!!
Thanks for the info on this. I have started Blurb but it is ridiculously slow and have given up. I will try this. Also, thanks for the fun blog buttons. I love your work!
I love this, it something I have been searching for an answer to!
I can wait to dig around in your blog. I just found it. 
In the back of my mind I thought about saving my blog but how to go about it, I did not know. Thanks for sharing this.
Blessings,
Linda
Love the ideas! I’ve been saving my blog (a family history, of sorts) to pdf monthly…just as a back up to the server. I tried a couple book publishers, and wasn’t happy with the cost. I didn’t know about the option to use their layout software and just purchase a pdf file. Thanks!
I’ve often thought of doing this!! Thanks for this GREAT how to post!
~TidyMom
Pretty rad – you are published! ;D
I never thought of that but that’s a great idea. Cheers –
Amy
http://www.modpodgerocks.blogspot.com
Thanks for this. I have been trying to figure out how to print my blogs for a while now. I have one blog especially for the kids and their school/creations. I wanted a keepsake of that. I tried the blog2print but couldn’t get it to format right. So I will do this as soon as I get myself a nice color printer.
PS–I grew up in Santa Rosa. My family still lives there. Small world
Few months ago I found this tutorial for blog printing, there are few more options mentioned there:
http://www.blogbulk.com/2008/12/print-your-blog-easy-way-and-hard-one.html
Thats a very great idea!!! Thank you very much for this info!
Have a wonderful weekend, Jade
I was just talking about this the other day….I’d love to print out my blog….thanks for sharing ideas on how to do it!! Your books look Amazing!!
What an awesome idea! Must be so cool to see it all printed.
Wow, the finished product looks so nice, especially sitting on the organized shelf. Didn’t know there were sites out there for printing blogs – thanks for the heads up!
OMG!!! How great, though I doubt if my blog was ever lost, no one would miss it!! LOL!!
I love how neat everything is, you are really an inspiration and one of my very fave bloggers!
I saw this also when blurb was down-but I opted out of it. I was thrilled when Blurb was back up. I’d be curious what formatting issues you didn’t like. (I’m HARDLY into my book…!) I hope it works ok for me. Congrats on doing yours!
that is great!!!! Thank you so much for this idea! I have been thinking a lot about the better way to do this.
So…I have my pdf already!!!!!
I don’t know very well how to change things on a Pdf though…any tips or place where I can look for?
Thank you again!
I just got my copy of my printed blog. I went ahead and bought their printed softcover copy. My 44 pages only cost $24.00. It's fun to have it in book form! If I order one every once in a while, it won't cost too much!
I wanted to do this as well, but my blog is @ http://www.martinemussies.nl/wp/ and such an URL doesn't seem to work?
your thinking it great i think it will be the first blog ho blurb and printing the blog is make it more attractive and might be the cause of increasing the visitor
i really love your printing tip and I'll use it for my clients
Hi, I was searching how to print my blog and I landed here, thanks for all the tips and infos!
Great idea. I think these tips can really helpful me in satisfying my clients.
like your work, paddy.
I love this! i have been hounded by my mom to make my bloggy into a book! Your blog is a black hole, I get sucked in and dont care to find the way out.
Oh, I am BEYOND thrilled with this! I actually ran across an ad for Blog2Print on your site (THANK YOU!) and have been having a great time with it. My Love has been living out of the country for the past two years + and I am planning on printing up his blog as a welcome home present…
j
The results look very professional, thanks for the post, and link provided.
This is brilliant, thanks for posting. Someday I will make this kind of blog.
This is great information. It would also be a great Christmas present for someone else who blogs and may not have thought to do this themselves. Maybe, I know what to give DD now.
do you know of a place that will do this for facebook pages? I posted alot about my daughter (now 20 months.) that I wish I had written in a baby book instead????
Oh, thank you so much Cathe for sharing this site and idea. I’ve been thinking the same thing, what if it all disappears someday. I’m going to go look right now.
What a great idea! Thank you for posting this on your blog.
that’s so cool! i never thought of doing that!
i also suggest checking out http://www.4printingnow.com
they also provide services at a cheap price and it’s great quality.
Wow! great sharing you have made here but one should also check http://www.printcosmo.com They are really offering same services on special discount rates.
Hi, Im thinking about doing the same thing, mainly because I want to be able to flip through my older posts but do you think it was worth printing it out yourself?
This is awesome idea! I’m really impressed to watch that. well meta thanks for sharing, but I should share a great site for printing lover’s if any buddy to feel so tried of searching a good printing deals so now they will be happy when they know about http://www.printintwatch.com this is Printing Price comparison Search Engine
is really awesome to make my job so fast and easy..
It’s genuinely very complicated in this busy life to listen news on TV, thus I only use web for that purpose, and take the most up-to-date news.
Take a look at my homepage florida cpa