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ThreadProof vs printing screenshots to PDF
The short answer
Printing to PDF is fast and free and gives you one image per page at whatever size the print dialog chooses. It does not give you exhibit labels, a cover sheet, a declaration, per-page footers, redaction, stitching of a scrolling thread, or a record of the source files. ThreadProof adds those and keeps the images untouched.
| ThreadProof | printing screenshots to PDF | |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free tier, then $9 a month | Free |
| Layout control | Four profiles: Court, Lawyer, Email, Print, each with fixed margins | Whatever the print dialog decides, often with large white margins |
| Cover sheet and declaration | Generated, with your own wording and an optional witness line | You write and attach one yourself |
| Long threads | Overlapping screenshots can be stitched into one continuous run | One image per page, with the duplicate overlap repeated |
| Redaction | Burned into the pixels, labelled and counted in a redaction log | None. You would edit the image first in another app |
| Order | Sorted, reorderable by drag or keyboard, numbered in the appendix | Whatever order the file picker used, usually alphabetical by filename |
When printing screenshots to PDF is the better choice
- One or two images that need nothing else around them.
- You are printing for your own reference, not for anyone else.
When ThreadProof fits
- Someone else will read the file and needs to find a page quickly.
- The thread scrolls across many overlapping screenshots.
- Personal information has to be covered before you send it.
Questions
- Is a printed PDF worse than a ThreadProof PDF?
- It is not worse, it is plainer. Both contain the same pixels. ThreadProof adds structure around them: labels, page numbers, a contents block, a redaction log and a file appendix. Whether that structure matters is a question for the person receiving the file.
- Does the export upload anything?
- No. The PDF is written in your browser and saved by your own browser's download.