Outlook: Automatically print out certain incoming emails

In Outlook you can have certain new incoming e-mails printed out automatically. We'll show you how it works.

Outlook: Print emails automatically

You can use rules to instruct Outlook to automatically send certain incoming emails to the printer. At this point you can also define criteria that decide on a printout:

1. To define this rule, open the "Inbox" and click on "Rules" on the "Start" tab in the "Start" tab on the ribbon of the latest Outlook versions such as 2007 and 2010, and then click on "Manage rules and notifications" in the following menu.
2. In older versions of Outlook, open the menu command "Tools | Rules and Notifications".
3. Then click on "New rule" to start the rule wizard.
4. Under "Create rule without template", select the entry "Apply rule to messages I have received" and click "Next".
5. On the next page, you define conditions that an incoming message must fulfill in order to execute this rule. For example, you can only apply the rule to messages that are only addressed to you by activating the option "which was only sent to me".
6. Confirm your choice with "Next". If you want Outlook to apply the rule to all incoming messages, use "Next" without activating any other options beforehand. You must then confirm this again in a separate dialog.
7. On the next page you determine what should happen with the respective message. To send them directly to the printer, activate "print them". You can also define additional actions. Finally, confirm with "Next".

Add exceptions for automatic email printing

You now have the option of specifying exceptions:

1. For example, you can choose not to print automatic replies by placing a checkmark in front of "unless it is an automatic reply". Click "Next" again.
2. On the last page of the wizard, give the rule a meaningful name such as "Print messages immediately" under "Step 1: Enter rule name". Click on "Finish" to finally create it. Make sure that there is a check mark in front of the "Activate this rule" option.

Note: The definition of conditions and exceptions for the rule is strongly recommended to prevent the unnecessary automatic printing of all emails and the associated waste of paper. In addition, you should use an additional action to move a printed message from the "Inbox" to another folder in order to keep an overview. Tip: We explain how to access emails in Outlook using a key combination here.