C# Print PDF to Specific Printer (Code Example Tutorial)

There are many instances where developers may need to print PDF documents directly from their application. This task can sometimes seem complicated when the user either wants to print multiple PDF files or use a specific printer name other than the default printer. Multiple methods can assist us with printing PDF files. Some of these need to be paid for, some perform erratically, and some are difficult to implement.

IronPDF is a .NET library that provides a set of classes for creating PDF files programmatically. These classes are located in the IronPDF.Core assembly and are designed to be easy to use with any .NET language, including C#, VB.NET, F#, etc. The library offers many functions for creating PDF documents, manipulating existing PDFs, reading PDFs, printing PDFs, and programmatically creating PDF Forms.

Let's take a look at some example code snippets for printing a PDF file.

Install IronPDF

First of all, install the IronPDF library. For that, go to the Package Manager Console and write the following command.

Install-Package IronPrint

Install the package via the Package Manager Console

The next step is to create a PDF document. You can also simply load an existing PDF document if you don't want to create a new one. Let's create a PDF document.

Create a PDF Document using a URL

IronPDF provides two functions for creating a PDF document using a URL: RenderUrlAsPdf and RenderUrlAsPdfAsync. The RenderUrlAsPdfAsync provides asynchronous functionality.

The following code snippet will create a PDF file from the URL.

var renderer = new IronPdf.ChromePdfRenderer();
PdfDocument doc = renderer.RenderUrlAsPdf("https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDF");

var renderer = new IronPdf.ChromePdfRenderer();
PdfDocument doc = renderer.RenderUrlAsPdf("https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDF");

Dim renderer = New IronPdf.ChromePdfRenderer()
Dim doc As PdfDocument = renderer.RenderUrlAsPdf("https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PDF")

Create a PDF Document using HTML String

It is possible to create a PDF document using an HTML string. IronPDF provides two methods for this purpose: RenderHtmlAsPdf and RenderHtmlAsPdfAsync. The RenderHtmlAsPdfAsync method is for asynchronous operations.

The following code snippet will create a PDF file from the HTML string.

IronPdf.ChromePdfRenderer renderer = new IronPdf.ChromePdfRenderer();
PdfDocument pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(@"<h1>My PDF File</h1> <p>This is a sample PDF document created to demonstrate the PDF file generation using HTML string</p>");

IronPdf.ChromePdfRenderer renderer = new IronPdf.ChromePdfRenderer();
PdfDocument pdf = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf(@"<h1>My PDF File</h1> <p>This is a sample PDF document created to demonstrate the PDF file generation using HTML string</p>");

Dim renderer As New IronPdf.ChromePdfRenderer()
Dim pdf As PdfDocument = renderer.RenderHtmlAsPdf("<h1>My PDF File</h1> <p>This is a sample PDF document created to demonstrate the PDF file generation using HTML string</p>")

Print PDF Files to a Specific Printer

Printing PDF files to a specific printer can be done easily by using the PrinterName property of PrinterSettings. Here's a demonstration of how to print PDF documents to a specific printer in C#.

var printDoc = pdf.GetPrintDocument();
printDoc.PrinterSettings.PrinterName = "myPrinter";

var printDoc = pdf.GetPrintDocument();
printDoc.PrinterSettings.PrinterName = "myPrinter";

Dim printDoc = pdf.GetPrintDocument()
printDoc.PrinterSettings.PrinterName = "myPrinter"

The pdf variable refers to the PDF document that was created. The GetPrintDocument method returns a PrintDocument instance, allowing granular control over sending the PDF to a printer.

Print Dialogue

If the user needs to select all the printer settings using a UI dialogue similar to that appearing in a Word document or Adobe Acrobat, IronPDF can show the print GUI dialogue by passing a single parameter to the Print function.

pdf.Print(true);

pdf.Print(true);

pdf.Print(True)

Passing true to the Print function's argument displays the GUI print dialogue. By default, the Print function prints to the default printer.

Specify the Number of Copies

Printing multiple copies of a single document can be achieved by setting the Copies property of PrinterSettings. The following sample code shows this:

var printDoc = pdf.GetPrintDocument();
printDoc.PrinterSettings.Copies = 5;

var printDoc = pdf.GetPrintDocument();
printDoc.PrinterSettings.Copies = 5;

Dim printDoc = pdf.GetPrintDocument()
printDoc.PrinterSettings.Copies = 5

Here, the pdf is the current print document object.

Select Page Range to Print PDF file

If you do not wish to print a complete document, you can specify the FromPage and ToPage properties of PrinterSettings.

var printDoc = pdf.GetPrintDocument();
printDoc.PrinterSettings.FromPage = 3;
printDoc.PrinterSettings.ToPage = 3;

var printDoc = pdf.GetPrintDocument();
printDoc.PrinterSettings.FromPage = 3;
printDoc.PrinterSettings.ToPage = 3;

Dim printDoc = pdf.GetPrintDocument()
printDoc.PrinterSettings.FromPage = 3
printDoc.PrinterSettings.ToPage = 3

This code sets both the starting and ending pages for printing, so only a specific range of the document prints.

Collate Property

The Collate feature in printing means if you're printing more than one copy of a multi-page document, the copies will print all pages of each copy before printing the second copy. You can set this property as needed.

var printDoc = pdf.GetPrintDocument();
printDoc.PrinterSettings.Collate = false;

var printDoc = pdf.GetPrintDocument();
printDoc.PrinterSettings.Collate = false;

Dim printDoc = pdf.GetPrintDocument()
printDoc.PrinterSettings.Collate = False

With Collate set to false, the printer will print all required copies of each page before printing the next page.

Get Paper Sources

To retrieve available paper sources for the printer, use the following code:

var paperSources = pdf.GetPrintDocument().PrinterSettings.PaperSources;

var paperSources = pdf.GetPrintDocument().PrinterSettings.PaperSources;

Dim paperSources = pdf.GetPrintDocument().PrinterSettings.PaperSources

Conclusion

IronPDF provides all the necessary features for developing .NET applications that require printing functionalities. Multiple options are available for printing PDF files, allowing you to choose the best fit for your needs and print multiple PDF files.

Summary

This tutorial demonstrated how to print PDFs straightforwardly to a specific printer using the IronPDF library — it is free for development and provides high-performance levels. For more print PDF capabilities with IronPDF, explore this sample page.

Furthermore, IronPDF is capable of rendering charts, adding barcodes, enhancing security with passwords, and watermarking in just a few lines of code.

Additionally, there are other useful libraries such as IronXL for working with Excel documents, IronBarcode for working with barcodes, and IronOCR for working with OCR. You can get all five libraries for the price of just two by purchasing the complete Iron Suite. Please visit the licensing page for more details.