This blog has just been given a failing grade by Walt Crawford on its printability [see pages 4-6 of this pdf file]. *sighs* Well at least I'm in some good company. The snarky side of me is tempted to say this: Cites & Insights is not exactly screen-friendly. The two column layout demands much scrolling back and forth, which is kind of awkward. I'm not stating this to find fault with Cites & Insights, it's just stating the fact that it was designed to look best when printed on paper, which I am reluctant to do.
Still, Walt could rightly argue that Cites & Insights functions better on the screen than this blog looks when printed on paper.
It's interesting because it's never occurred to me that anyone would want to print out this blog. I certainly haven't, and I probably care more about this blog than anyone else. Aside from the whole dead tree thing, I have issues with managing paper documents. Once I start accumulating papers, they clump together and multiply in messy piles. Before I know it, they've invaded my entire desk and I'm drowning in paper. So if I printed out this blog, I would just be feeding this monster which ruins my feng sui and saps me of so much energy.
But Walt makes some valid points about why printability is important, especially for a blog like the exploded library, which has fairly lengthy posts which (on my good days) are like mini-essays. I decided to contact TypePad's support about this issue. This is what's currently available: using a print stylesheet, such as the one mentioned here at A List Apart. I'm sorry, but it sounds too bothersome for me. Here's the thing, although I dabble with technology in my day job, I am also lazy and I don't want to be spending too much time on techy things in my free time as well. I only have so much time and energy for blogging (and lately even that has been less than my usual preference), and the more time that I spend on design and formatting, the less I have for the actual content, which is the part that I enjoy the most. That's why I like TypePad, because it's easy and reliable enough that the technology doesn't get in the way of the creativity, and it has sufficient customization options to satisfy my occasional urge to tinker. I do wish that it offered an easy print-friendly solution, and hope that this is eventually implemented in an updated version.