Bitcoin Forum

simple one... how to print wallet.dat to a paper :D  ? Simple question :D

Get your Bitcoin private keys and public keys in your Bitcoin wallet, since you are using Core, you can export or see your private keys there.
You need QR code (for easy to use, just scan the QR code and no need to manually input your public keys/private keys) for your public keys for your receiving address and private keys also for spending the balance of your wallet.
https://walletgenerator.net/images/overview.png
You just need to know that, there are pros and cons of using a paper wallet.

There are many risks when you do that.

You will expose your private keys in an online environment (your computer). You will copy paste them into a notepad or other office software, send it to the printer (which is also one more risky device, because it is connected to the internet) and so on.

It is an interesting back up, but there are risks involved. Consider buying a hardware wallet, such as ledger nano or trezor (best 2 options out there, which are newbie friendly).

One more interesting option is to encrypt your wallet.dat with a strong password which you can remember. There are also risks with this set up, but I believe it is less risky than printing (IMO).

The whole wallet.dat?!  :-\
Say no more: [1] Close all network connections, [2] open the console, [3] use walletpassphrase "your_passphrase" 600, [4] then dumpwallet "C:/file_name.txt" command.
[5] Find that "file_name.txt" in your C directory and print it.
You might need 10 sheets of paper if your wallet.dat have used hundreds of addresses.

Or do 1-3 and... [4] dumpprivkey "type_one_of_your_address", print the result.

Is it troublesome?;
use bitaddress' code (downloaded from github) instead.

or you could just open that txt dumped file and write down your seed (not to be confused with mnemonic).
i don't currently have access to any bitcoin core version to test this but i had version 0.13 on my virtual box and it actually printed an extended key (xprv) in the first line.
(obviously that will only work if you are using an HD wallet not have imported keys,...)

To print paper wallet in your own home... without smartphone:

- Download QR Workshop (free, open source,portable windows app that can generate QR code image)
- import public key (priv key)
- Generate QR codes and save images
- Open Gimp or any other editing software
- Create paper wallet size/shape you want
- Add/edit your QR codes and address
- Print on your own home printer


However...I have not tried to do that from .dat file myself

The thing is... I want to gift a friend who is getting married this weekend some crypto, everyone else will be gifting fiat as it normally goes.. so this will be a cool gift. My own BTC is already on a Ledger Nano. So I will just send some to the new address and need it printed along with private keys so it can be put in an envelope... thanks for suggestions so far :)

Hey that is a very nice birthday gift, that he will probably appreciate much more in the future ;)

One alternative you have is also to buy him a hardware wallet with BTC.
Safepal is one of the cheapest I know.

Why go through all that trouble, if you can simply browse to https://www.bitaddress.org and then unplug your network connection and then generate a new paper wallet and print it and then plug in your network connection again and then send a small amount of coins from your wallet to that new public address on the paper wallet that you created?

This is the unsafe way to do it, but it will not be a train smash if you do this with small amounts of Bitcoin.  ::) There are safe ways to generate paper wallets with air-gapped computers, but you can go search for that on your own time. <Youtube & Google - Create a secure Bitcoin Paper wallet>  8)   - https://99bitcoins.com/bitcoin-wallet/paper/

if that's your intention then you can use one of paper wallet generators below
https://www.bitaddress.org/ the one suggested by Kakmakr
https://walletgenerator.net/ (is this version safe now? can someone confirm this)
download it to your computer and run it offline, I recommend you use the bitaddress.org one
but walletgenerator.net site has nicer graphic art & wallet model
also for 'how to' instructions, you can read it on the walletgenerator.net page
they have good information and step by step instructions

as long as there is bitaddress.org, this other site should not be your choice. even if you like the designs better you could simply take the images from the site or the github repository and print the key on them like this:
https://github.com/walletgeneratornet/WalletGenerator.net/blob/master/wallets/bitcoin.png

I'd always advise to create a paper wallet by generating the private keys yourself.
Then choose some good-looking template and print your keys onto that.

That is generally more secure (if you use a proper wallet, what core definitely is) compared to using some online site to generate them.
Even when downloading the website, you can never be sure of what and how it is doing what it is supposed to do.


P.s. There is more to be done to create a secure paper wallet than just using the correct way to generate the private keys. Make sure you know how to do it safely before actually creating one.