An application (e.g., a computer program) prints data by invoking a print function with a format argument and, optionally, at least one data argument. The format argument and any data arguments are saved in a deferred trace data buffer. The print function returns to the application then, sometime after the print function has returned, the deferred trace data buffer is processed and the format argument and/or any data arguments are printed. By saving the format argument and any data argument(s) to a memory buffer instead of parsing and formatting the arguments in real-time, program efficiency may be improved and the impact of the print function on a software test scenario may be reduced.