A small request for e-publishers

[Staffan]

I'm not entirely certain this is the right board, but it's the one that seems best at least - I'm guessing most of the e-publishers around here are reading this board.

I just bought myself the PDF of Siege on Ebonring Keep (MEG's adventure for Arcana Unearthed). I haven't had the time to read through it yet, but I did notice one layout miss that I'd like to point out to prospective e-publishers: the inner margins. When you create a PDF that's supposed to be printed, I think it's pretty important to have inner margins that are large enough that you can print the book out and put it in a binder, and still read it comfortably. Siege's margins are a tad bit too small for that at half an inch - though I realize that this might be affected by Siege's origin as a print product.

My main other experience with PDFs have been Malhavoc Press products, which are much better in that regard. I haven't had any problems reading Malhavoc books from binders, at least not since they changed to their "new" layout.

OK, I think that's all I had to rant about today .

 

[Dana_Jorgensen]

The best rule of thumb here is "Publishers, always print out a copy of your own product". I noticed this very same mistake in my first two products when I did just that. They were immediately revised and since then, I've always added an extra 1/4 inch gutter for the inside margin (1/2 inch margin outside, 3/4 inch margin inside)

 

[Scribe Ineti]

A related question:

When you print off the document, do you do it so that it's printed on both sides of a single page, or on just one side? Meaning, would you prefer a document be set up for double-sized printing (and thus with a larger margin on the insides of the pages, or single-sided, with a larger margin on just the left-hand side of the page?

Enquiring publishers wanna know.

 

[Staffan]

Me, I usually print stuff double-sided.

I don't really know how much time layouting this would take, but one idea would be to include both in one download, or give the customer the option - sort of like some publishers offer "light" downloads without backgrounds and the like.

 

[Dana_Jorgensen]

I believe most people print on both sides as part of the "keep it as cheap as possible" attitude that seems to accompany the purchase of a PDF.

 

[Prest0]

I believe most people print on both sides as part of the "keep it as cheap as possible" attitude that seems to accompany the purchase of a PDF.

That's funny, because I would assume the opposite. I imagine most folks have inkjet printers, and I'd consider it a pain in the rear to flip pages for a 48 page PDF. I have absolutely no data to back up such an assumption, though.

Setting up a documents to be printed either single or double sided CAN be done, but it certainly helps to have the right tools and you'd need to plan it carefully from the beginning. Doing ink-friendly editions are much easier, as it simply involves going back through the layout and deleting the art.

 

[Phineas Crow]

That's funny, because I would assume the opposite. I imagine most folks have inkjet printers, and I'd consider it a pain in the rear to flip pages for a 48 page PDF. I have absolutely no data to back up such an assumption, though...

I print pdfs using both sides, though with my current inkjet printer I don't have to flip the pages anymore... I just print the odd pages then put the stack back into the feeder and print the even pages, no hassle.

With my old inkjet printer I had to flip the pages before inserting them into the printer and I still managed to print out the 200+ page Book of Templates pdf on both sides with it.

 

[tensen]

That's funny, because I would assume the opposite. I imagine most folks have inkjet printers, and I'd consider it a pain in the rear to flip pages for a 48 page PDF. I have absolutely no data to back up such an assumption, though.

Hp laserjet 2200D for me.. the thing flips it for me. Duplex is a grand thing.