One of the hardest things to get on modern web pages is a text page that is simple to read and without any kind of graphic frills, which will certainly annoy those who read many documents or blog pages during the day. If we are tired of all the additions made to the button, in this guide we will show you how to transform any Web page into an article similar to that of a newspaper, with clearly visible characters, black on white and without disturbing and outline elements.
This reading strategy can be applied to all modern web browsers, both using the tools made available by the browser itself and using extensions designed specifically for the purpose.
READ ALSO: Print web pages without figures, images and advertisements
How to get text-only web pages
Transforming a complex Web page (with images, layouts, subtitles, previews, banners etc.) into a simple text will surely make happy those who find it difficult to read both users who want to print the page and avoid consuming too much ink: with all banners and the images on a normal Web page, a lot of ink is thrown away, significantly reducing the life of the cartridges and toners.Google Chrome
To get clear and readable text from a web page on Google Chrome we can use the free Mercury Reader extension.
Mercury Reader adds a button next to the Chrome address bar which, once pressed, transforms the website opened in the foreground tab into a page where only the text and images related to the article appear without multiple logos, side sidebars, graphic elements, animations, outlines and accessory ornaments. The text displayed includes only the title and the main article, everything else is removed, including (in the case of a blog) comments.
The links are highlighted in blue and are clickable as in the original version. The text is centered and the font size larger to increase the readability of the text itself.
It is currently the best extension to obtain superior readability from all the articles we read and print on a daily basis.
Mozilla Firefox
If we use Mozilla Firefox as a web browser, we will not have to install any extensions, since the browser's printing features include a "text only" mode that removes all the graphic frills and interfaces of the sites.To start it, go to the page to be read, press the ALT key on our keyboard, click on File -> Print preview at the top, put the check mark on Simplify page then start reading or press the Print key to print the text sheet simplified.
Obviously we can also create a PDF file to read later calmly, as seen in our guide Best virtual printers to create pdf from documents and web pages, free for Windows .
If, on the other hand, we wish to have an extension to enable a simplified text reading mode faster, we can use the Tranquility Reader extension.
Microsoft Edge
If we use Edge as the default web browser in Windows 10 (basically all the links with it will be opened, so many adapt and do not change it), we can only read the text of the websites using the reading mode, offered by the browser on a multitude of web pages.
To activate it, open the page you want to read and, at the end of the upload, press the scrolling book icon on the address bar at the top. In this way we will obtain a simplified page that is easy to read with only the images linked to the page itself, excellent for printing or storing in a PDF file for a more peaceful reading.
Alternatively, we can install the PrintFriendly & PDF extension on the Edge, which we can use to clean the text of the Web pages and print them in a PDF file that is easy to consult and share.
Apple Safari
Using a Mac or MacBook we will find Safari as the default browser. Although it appears fast and quick on such optimized machines, it does not currently allow you to add useful extensions.Fortunately, however, we can only read the text of the websites relying on the integrated reading mode on the latest version of Safari.
To activate the mode, all we have to do is open Safari, go to the website we intend to read and press the icon with the 4 lines next to the address bar. In a few seconds we will have the article available in reading mode, without any superfluous interface or images, ready to be read or printed.
Conclusions
By activating the reading mode on the supported browsers or using one of the extensions recommended in the guide, we will be able to read only the text of the websites, facilitating reading and speeding up the printing process of the web pages. On Navigaweb for example we can also use the Print button present in at the bottom of each article, so you can immediately choose whether to print the desired article in paper version or on PDF file.If you want to discover other effective ways to save ink on our inkjet or laser printer, we invite you to read our articles on How to Save Ink and Printer Cartridges and Which Fonts to Save on Printing Documents .
If instead we want to adapt the pages for some visual impairments, we recommend that you carefully read the advice in our article on PC programs for those who see us badly and for the elderly .
