In a related manner, media-specific, markup language tags could be used to code different elements within a markup language document such that the elements of the document are rendered differently upon different media.

These solutions are rather flexible and could be based on open standards, and the author of a document retains control of the manner in which a document is displayed versus the manner in which it is printed because the control mechanisms are embedded within one or more documents.

While it may be important in certain circumstances to ensure that an author retains control of the manner in which a document is presented, a person who is viewing the document has no control over desired changes in the manner in which the document is printed.

[0012] As can be seen from the above description, significant efforts have been directed to display-versus-print issues.

However, most of these approaches are concerned with providing true WYSIWYG capabilities, i.e., printing a hardcopy of a document that is an accurate approximation of the softcopy of the same document as presented on a computer display.

Some of these solutions recognize that some Web-based documents include objects that cannot be replicated in hardcopy versions of the documents, but these solutions still attempt to provide an accurate replication of the softcopy version of a document.

[0013] In some circumstances, though, a user does not want an accurate replication and would rather have a close approximation, thereby taking advantage of the fact that a printer can generate a hardcopy of a document that is slightly different from a softcopy of the same document.

In very limited circumstances, an application may allow a user to select printing options such that the hardcopy of a document will deviate from the softcopy of the document in specific ways.

For example, as shown in FIG. 1A, Netscape Navigator version 4.76 provides dialog box 10 with check boxes 12 and 14 for choosing an option to print all text in black or to print all lines in black, respectively.

These options presumably increase the readability of colored text and the legibility of colored lines against color backgrounds, which may be apparent on a computer display but not on a hardcopy printout.

Another example, as shown FIG. 1B, Lotus WordPro version 9.5 provides dialog box 20 with check box 22 for choosing an option to print a document without pictures.

This option presumably reduces the amount of time required to print a document by skipping the graphics contained within the document.

[0014] In addition, printer drivers have long allowed a user to select options that degrade or enhance the quality of a hardcopy.

Most printer drivers allow a user to select discrete values within an output quality range, such as "Fast:Normal:Best" or "Draft:Better:Best", and in response, the printer driver renders an image for delivery to the printing device in accordance with the selected option.

In most instances, the printer driver varies the output quality by changing the resolution at which it renders graphics and characters.

More importantly, the user generally chooses lower quality output for a temporal advantage because lower quality output generally prints much faster than the best quality output.

For example, FIG. 1C shows dialog box 30 for a printer driver that contains radio button 32 for choosing "Faster Printing" as a "Print Quality" option.

[0015] An important point to notice about the issue of hardcopy output versus softcopy output is that the proliferation of electronic publishing has not decreased the use of paper and printers.

Rather than moving toward a paperless office environment, it appears that the Web has helped to perpetuate the widespread reliance on paper.

Most enterprises will continue to provide resources for physical output of documents at least until the power of desktop computers has been significantly enhanced to include more convenient and user friendly input methods and document processing software.

[0016] The need for paper versions of softcopy documents has not abated.

Meanwhile, solutions to display-versus-print issues have generally revolved around specific issues concerning WYSIWYG problems or concerning the provision of high quality output with both computer monitors and computer printers.

[0017] However, as noted above with respect to printer drivers, computer users do not always require high quality hardcopies, particularly when using a Web browser.

In fact, many users make hardcopies of Web pages merely for temporary purposes or for approximate record-keeping purposes.

For example, given the expansive nature of the World Wide Web, an active Web user might visit many Web sites per day, and it can be difficult to keep track of various Web sites.

Although a user may bookmark a Web site, a user might generate a hardcopy version of a Web page as a short-term, physical reminder to revisit the Web page or for some other purpose.

In other cases, a user might print out an entire Web page, which could result in the printing of several sheets of paper with many graphic objects, merely to capture a few paragraphs of text for record-keeping purposes or some other purpose.

[0018] In addition, some users are conscious of the fact that printing a document may cost on the order of a few cents to several cents per page based on the cost of paper, printer toner, printer ink, printer maintenance, and the original cost of the printer.

The cost to print a color document is generally regarded as several cents per average page, and the cost to print a page, whether in color or in solitary black, rises significantly if the page has more content that covers more space on the sheet of paper, thereby requiring significantly more ink or toner.