How to Print MBOX Files with Attachments? 2 Best Methods

  author
Rollins Duke   
Published: April 16th, 2024 • 6 Min Read

Are you searching for the best way to print MBOX files in bulk including attachments? If yes, check it out here. This blog post discloses 2 tried and tested simplified techniques to print MBOX email messages i.e. Free Manual Method and Pro Paid Method.

In this modern era, everyone uses an email application to enhance communication. With the advancement in technology, cyber crimes are turning out to be increasing. Because of this, forensic researchers and practitioners of the lawsuit have flourished.

The primary goal of the legal specialists and forensic experts is to gather the digital proof identified with the crime and address it in the official courtroom. This normally occurs in a lawfully allowable file format such as PDF (Portable Document Format).

The greatest test for the scientific examiners most likely is to extract the proof that is permissible in court. PDF as we all know is one of the lawfully accepted file formats. Numerous experts came across .mbox extension to generate forensic evidence for court. And for that, they need to convert MBOX files and later print MBOX files for legal use.

What Are MBOX Files and Reasons to Print Them?

MBOX is a mailbox format that contains many email messages inside a single file. Multiple email clients, including Thunderbird, Apple Mail, eM Client, and Spicebird, use MBOX files to store their mailbox information.

The fact is that not all MBOX files are identical. Apple Mail MBOX files have a .mbox extension, but Thunderbird MBOX files do not. It is but one example of how MBOX files with diverse sources may change somewhat.

This becomes crucial when printing MBOX email messages. Because every program has its own printing and exporting options. Hence, most online applications do not support all MBOX file types.

Print Requirements:

  • Forensic Investigation: Sometimes forensic investigators find crucial evidence and after inspection, they want to submit evidence to the court.
  • Legal Requirements: PDF is a widely accepted file extension for legal use and printing needs, so lawyers, advocates, and detectives prefer it.
  • Sharing Purposes: We know that an MBOX file may store thousands of emails but sometimes users want to share only some specific emails with their friends.
  • Create Hard Copies: Several users want to create hard copies for their crucial mailboxes, so they prefer to print MBOX files.

Read Similar: Quick Ways to Print Thunderbird Emails

Free Method to Print MBOX Files Using Thunderbird

  1. Firstly, launch ‘Thunderbird’ on your computer.
  2. Then, install ‘ImportExportTools NG’ add-on plugin.
    Add ImportExportTools NG
  3. After that, import MBOX to Thunderbird manually.
    Import MBOX option
  4. Select imported mailbox from local folders.
  5. Next, open an email that you want to print.
  6. Choose the ‘More’ option and then select ‘Print’ button.
    Print MBOX email
  7. Then, choose ‘Microsoft Print to PDF’ from Print Dialogue.
    Print to PDF
  8. Lastly, tap on the ‘OK’ button to print MBOX email.

Note That: This is a tried and tested technique to print MBOX mailboxes free of cost. Thunderbird is an open-source email client that is available 100% free.

Issues with Manual Approach

  • Thunderbird with ImportExportTools add-on should be installed on your computer.
  • The manual method permits printing MBOX emails one by one, so it is suitable to print only a few emails.
  • Basic technical knowledge of Thunderbird is mandatory to perform this task manually.
  • This is not recommended for business professionals who want to batch-print MBOX files with attachments.
  • Sometimes manual method prints MBOX mailboxes without headers when implementing the wrong settings.

Recommended: Free Tips to Import MBOX to Google Workspace

Pro Software to Print MBOX Email Messages

To get all your queries resolved, we would suggest you check out the automated and most professional solution to print MBOX files in bulk with attachments – BitRecover MBOX to PDF Wizard. It gives all the necessary features you asked for above. Moreover, there are no limitations to performing the conversion.

Just choose the MBOX files of any supportable email client and add them to the toolkit. The rest of the process is automated, filtering the required features and getting the conversion done in a fraction of a few seconds. The bonus is that in the Pro edition, you can export all MBOX attachments as PDF document pages too, and later you can print PDF files accordingly.

The software is compatible with MBOX files of all email clients like Thunderbird, SeaMonkey, Apple Mail, Google Takeout, Opera Mail, Eudora Mail, Entourage, etc. Now, the steps to perform this conversion are discussed below, so stay tuned.

How to Print MBOX Mailboxes in Batch?

  1. Download and launch the software on your Windows/ Mac PC.
  2. Click on the ‘Select Files’ or ‘Select Folders’ option to add MBOX file.
    Add MBOX files
  3. Select or enable the required mailboxes for conversion.
    Select required mailboxes
  4. Enable the ‘Convert attachments as PDF’ & ‘Black and White mode’ options.
    Advance options
  5. Browse a specific saving location for storing the output.
    Choose location
  6. Click on the ‘Convert’ button to start batch printing MBOX mailboxes.
    Print MBOX files

In the end, you will get all emails in Portable Document Format. Now, you can make use of these documents as per your requirements.

Software Benefits Over Manual Method

  • It saves the original folder structure throughout the conversion.
  • There is no MBOX email client dependency for the process.
  • Enable Black & White mode for creating non-searchable PDFs.
  • It offers more than 10 file naming options to arrange emails.
  • Has the proficiency to print MBOX files with or without attachments.
  • Facility to print multiple MBOX files in one round of processing.
  • Preserve all the embedded email elements, images, and attachments.
  • Compatible with the latest Windows and Mac-based Operating Systems.

Final Thought

Since emails play a vital role in professional communication, one can’t afford to lose them at any cost. In this article, we explained the causes and 2 effective solutions to print MBOX files one by one or in bulk and make the output file portable for different uses. Particularly, the forensic teams and law people can get the utility mentioned in this post to inspect MBOX files and put this database as evidence wherever it is required.

Question and Answer

Q 1: How can I open MBOX format?

There are multiple ways available to open MBOX files, you can choose free MBOX viewer software.

Q 2: Which is the best technique to print MBOX mailboxes?

Both are tried and tested approaches, you can choose accordingly to convert after reading the advantages and disadvantages.

Q 3: Does your software support Apple MBOX files?

Yes, this software is compatible with MBOX files exported from Apple Mail as well as other email clients.