An email is often the only record of an agreement: a landlord confirming a repair, a supplier agreeing a price, an employer approving leave. Saving it as a PDF gives you a fixed copy you can file, attach to a complaint or keep after you leave a job.
Gmail (web)
- Open the email or thread.
- Click the Print all icon (printer) at the top right of the thread.
- In the print dialog, choose Save as PDF as the destination.
- Save.
"Print all" includes every message in the thread. To save one message only, open the three-dot menu on that message and choose Print.
Outlook (new Outlook and Outlook on the web)
- Open the message.
- Click the three-dot menu (…) and choose Print.
- Click Print in the preview, then choose Save as PDF or Microsoft Print to PDF.
Classic Outlook for Windows
- Open the message.
- File → Print, choose Microsoft Print to PDF as the printer.
- Click Print and choose where to save.
Apple Mail (Mac)
- Select the message.
- File → Export as PDF.
On iPhone or iPad, open the message, tap the reply arrow, choose Print, then pinch out on the preview and share or save to Files.
What about attachments?
Printing an email does not include its attachments; it only lists their names. Save attachments separately, convert them to PDF if needed, and merge them with the email into a single file. A browser tool such as Docento.app can combine the pages without uploading them. See how to combine PDF files.
Making the PDF useful as evidence
If you are saving emails for a dispute or a formal complaint:
- Keep the headers. Make sure the PDF shows sender, recipients, date and time.
- Save the whole thread, not just the last reply, so context is clear.
- Keep the original email too. A PDF is a copy. In serious disputes, the original message (with full technical headers) may be needed. Export it as an .eml or .msg file as well.
- Do not edit the PDF. Annotations should go on a separate copy.
- Name files consistently, for example
2026-10-04 Landlord - boiler repair.pdf. See naming and versioning shared files.
Saving many emails at once
For larger archives, printing one by one is slow. Options include exporting a mailbox from your mail client, using Google Takeout for Gmail, or a dedicated email archiving tool. For a handful of important threads, print to PDF is still the simplest.
Archiving for the long term
For records you may need in ten years, convert the PDFs to PDF/A. See how to convert a PDF to PDF/A and building a personal document archive.
Takeaway
Every major mail client can print to PDF. Include the full thread and headers, save attachments separately and merge them, and keep the original email alongside the PDF when the record really matters.
