The first rule of census records is that if we cannot read them, we cannot use them! If you are printing census records from Ancestry.com, the first print should be the full image plus the reference data. Check the box to put the reference on a separate page to keep the census image large. Don’t click Print on the initial dialog box that Ancestry gives you. Click Cancel, then click File => Print Preview. Play with the size setting until the image is as large as you can get it without overflowing the page. You can also change the orientation of the page from portrait to landscape for the best fit.
Once you have a copy of the full image, you need to do a screen shot of the relevant lines for your ancestors. I have found that Ancestry’s print current view routine does not give me what I want. I use a piece of free software called PrintKey. You should be able to find it online. One of the features I really like is the ability to identify a rectangular area of the screen to save or print rather than the entire screen. You also have both print and save options - or a copy option if you want to put a screenshot into another document.
So, when you are done, you should have 3 pages for each census record - the full page, the citation and a close-up of your ancestors.
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