How to Prevent Students from Printing Blackboard Documents (Using PDF)

Note: there isn't a 100% reliable way to prevent determined students from printing something you post on any website (the Blackboard site is no different). It is always possible for a student to use a screen-copier to copy what is displayed on the screen and then print it, or even to take a picture of the screen with a digital camera and then print it. However...

It is possible to create a PDF file that has a restriction on printing, which will stop the majority of students from being able to print, and will stop the casual user from being able to print. After you create a print-restricted PDF, you post it on Blackboard as you would any other file.

Here are two ways to create a PDF that is print-restricted:

1. Use PDFCreator

• Download and install PDFCreator.
• Set the PDFCreator to restrict printing on documents you create.
• Print your file to the PDFCreator printer to create the restricted PDF file.
• Post the file to Blackboard.
  
  or,

2. Using Adobe Acrobat

• Start Adobe Acrobat.
• Use Acrobat to create a PDF file with the "no-print" security restriction.
• Post the print-restricted PDF file to Blackboard.

We hope this information is helpful.