Printing PDFs

[Nuclear Platypus]

I've had several pdfs printed and bound at Office Depot with no problems other than having to wait til the next day to pick 'em up. Heck, I now have a spiffy version of the Dragon Fist RPG (not in color tho).

 

[Twowolves]

Lulu.com

 

[Oryan77]

Is it frowned upon to give away printed pdfs for free?

I have a few 3.0 books that I had printed off in color and hole punched in 3 ring binders that I would like to get rid of. I don't use them now that I have hardbacks and I'd hate to throw them away because it's a lot of paper and ink.

The printoffs in questions are:

PHB 3.0
DMG 3.0
MM 3.0
MM 2
Manual of the Planes

I think that was what I have.

 

[Flynn]

Lulu.com

Twowolves:

According to the User Agreement over on the Lulu.com website, it is actually illegal to use Lulu for the printing of PDFs that you purchase from others, unless you are own the copyright to said material. I would assume ENWorld would prefer that people not advocate illegal activities, given their stance on PDF piracy, so please think twice before offering such suggestions. It's a free world, of course, and you'll do as you please. I'm just asking if you would reconsider making such suggestions, as the person you are speaking to may not know that using your suggestion to print his PDFs would be considered illegal.

With Regards,
Flynn

 

[subbob]

FedEx Kinkos - Print Online

Last month I downloaded Paizo's Pathdfinder rules and printed them using Kinko's without any problem.

I imagine you're trying to take the files in on a USB drive or CD - use their Print Online service instead.

I uploaded the PDF, chose the options - had it printed two-sided, bound with the cover printed in color - and just picked it up in the store a few hours later. No questions asked.

You don't pay until you pick it up. If they have already printed it, I doubt the manager is going to turn you away - he'd have to suck up the cost.

 

[Tetsubo]

Last month I downloaded Paizo's Pathdfinder rules and printed them using Kinko's without any problem.

I imagine you're trying to take the files in on a USB drive or CD - use their Print Online service instead.

I uploaded the PDF, chose the options - had it printed two-sided, bound with the cover printed in color - and just picked it up in the store a few hours later. No questions asked.

You don't pay until you pick it up. If they have already printed it, I doubt the manager is going to turn you away - he'd have to suck up the cost.

I tried that with Staples. I received a phone call telling me that they would not print my order unless I could provide proof of permission from the copyright holder. For a freeware gaming book. Written in Brazil. So, no printing for me. The word "free" seems to shutdown the corporate mind.

 

[Alan Shutko]

According to the User Agreement over on the Lulu.com website, it is actually illegal to use Lulu for the printing of PDFs that you purchase from others, unless you are own the copyright to said material.

Could you please supply a quote from their Member Agreement to that effect?

According to http://www.lulu.com/about/member_agreement.php :

By uploading Content to the Site you represent and warrant, at all times during the term of this Agreement, that the Content:

a. Is owned by you or, to the extent owned by someone else, that you have permission to provide the Content to Lulu for use as described above and, in either case, that the Content does not contain any Personal Data about any individual other than you;
b. Does not violate any copyright, trademark, trade secret or other intellectual property right of any third party;

It would seem that if you have permission to print a copy of a PDF you've purchased (pursuant to whatever terms you agreed with the seller) that you may use whatever print vendor you choose to make that copy. As long as you do not open your copy up for sale on Lulu (but restrict it to your account only), that is.

As a final note, an act is either illegal or not. Legality is not defined by the terms of service of any site.

 

[Flynn]

Could you please supply a quote from their Member Agreement to that effect?

According to http://www.lulu.com/about/member_agreement.php :


It would seem that if you have permission to print a copy of a PDF you've purchased (pursuant to whatever terms you agreed with the seller) that you may use whatever print vendor you choose to make that copy. As long as you do not open your copy up for sale on Lulu (but restrict it to your account only), that is.

As a final note, an act is either illegal or not. Legality is not defined by the terms of service of any site.

Obviously, I must have used the wrong words, as you seem to be a lawyer or at least play one on TV.

I can only say that I am not a lawyer, so I have probaby chosen the wrong words. Nevertheless, I do not wish to get into a debate about semantics, and it's obvious that there is a difference in opinion over the ethical nature of this practice.

Here's my suggestion: Contact the Lulu Help Desk and ask them if you can do that. The answer I got from Lulu, the last time this exact situation came up on ENWorld, as that you cannot do so, because you do not own the copyright to the material in question. Since they own the site, I imagine their word on the subject pretty much defines what is considered acceptable use. YMMV.

Again, I am not a lawyer, and so I must bow to the expert in this situation. I consider that to be Lulu.

My apologies if my words were inappropriately chosen. Regardless of that, in this matter, according to Lulu, this is still not an acceptable practice according to their people. It's up to you whether you value their word on this or not.

Hope This Helps,
Flynn

 

[SavageRobby]

Gents,

I think you should reference the Copyright Notice, especially this line:

"Lulu respects the intellectual property of others, and we ask our creators to do the same. You must own the copyright to any material you publish on Lulu."


AFAIK - and I am also not a lawyer - even publishing with the express intent of printing a copy only for yourself is still considered publishing, and therefore you must own the copyright of the material being published.

 

[pawsplay]

Has anyone tried the Print Online option for Kinko's?