#!/usr/bin/env bash
# %-10s left-aligns in 10 columns, %5d right-aligns a number
printf '%-10s %5d\n' "apples" 3
printf '%-10s %5d\n' "pears" 42
# %05.2f zero-pads a float to width 5 with 2 decimals
printf '%05.2f\n' 3.1

width specifiers align columns