Print a Letter Without a Printer: All Options Compared

A third of German households no longer own a working printer. When an official letter is due, the search for alternatives begins. Here are all the options — with costs and effort.

Why fewer households own a printer

Contracts, applications and letters to authorities increasingly happen digitally. The printer sits unused for months, the ink dries out, and exactly when an important letter is due, the device refuses to work. Many households have given up on printers — and face the question: where to print that one letter that must go on paper?

A letter is created online, professionally printed, enveloped and posted — With online dispatch, the letter and address are submitted digitally before printing, franking and posting.

The options compared

Option	Cost per page	Effort
Copy shop	€0.05–0.15	Travel, waiting, USB stick or email required
Public library	€0.10–0.20	Often registration, limited opening hours
Workplace	free	Private use often prohibited, privacy problem
Neighbours or friends	free	Depends on their device and time
Online print service	from ~€3 incl. postage	No trip, no device, no paper needed

The hidden effort of printing yourself

Printing is only the first step. Then come folding, enveloping, addressing, franking and the trip to the mailbox or post office. If you have no letter paper, envelopes or stamps at home, you buy whole packs for a single letter. Realistically, a self-mailed letter costs €2–4 in total — plus your time.

Privacy when printing elsewhere

Terminations, medical letters or payment reminders contain sensitive data. Copies remain on the copy shop's USB stick, in the library computer's cache or in the office printer's spooler. If you have confidential letters printed externally, ask how the provider handles the data — reputable online services delete documents after dispatch.

Copy shop and library are alternatives to owning a printer — For third-party printing, consider opening times, file format, cost and especially confidentiality.

Printing and mailing in one step

The simplest option is the combination: write the letter online, enter the recipient, send. The provider prints, envelopes, franks and hands it to the post — the same working day. You need neither printer nor paper, stamps or a nearby mailbox.

Write your letter online and have it mailed now

Which option fits?

Copy shop: quick locally, but consider travel and privacy
Library: inexpensive, but often requires registration
Friends or office: only with permission and no sensitive data
Online dispatch: printing and postage in one order

Delete files from shared devices after external printing. Write and send without a printer in the letter editor.