How to Print a Message in a Larger Font in Windows Mail or Outlook Express

Tiny type and feeble fonts are among the ever-present pains of the internet age. Fortunately, most software is designed to adapt to its user, and so you can easily increase the display size of fonts while reading mail in Windows Mail orOutlook Express.

Why Outlook Express Prints Using Tiny Fonts

Unfortunately, printing the message that shows big and legibly on screen may lead to an unpleasant surprise: when printing, you seem to be stuck with Windows Mail or Outlook Express' tiny fonts, no matter how much or little you increase the display font size.

Fortunately, this is only partially true. Because Windows Mail and Outlook Express hand the email to Internet Explorer for printing, you can configure the printing's result by changing the font size used by Internet Explorer, both for display and for printing.

Print a Message in a Larger Font in Windows Mail or Outlook Express

To use a reasonably legible and large font for printing a message in Windows Mail or Outlook Express:

• Launch Internet Explorer.
• Select Page | Text Size (or View | Text Size if you have no Page toolbar icon) and the desired font size from the menu in Internet Explorer.
  • Preferably set it to the same size you used for the message in Outlook Express.
• Print the message in Windows Mail or Outlook Express.

Of course, you can return the font size in Internet Explorer to its previous setting once the printing is done to your satisfaction.