Anyone not like PDFs?

[Tinker Gnome]

I really dont like PDFs as they are a pain to read through and if you printed it you would probably spend more money on ink than the actual book would have cost.

 

[Crothian]

For some things, yes. PDFs have their place but also thier limits. A good PDF though doesn't need printed. But even so, only the big PDFs and the color ones really cost a lot to get printed.

 

[shaylon]

Well I like them, but I have a nice monitor and am not bothered by reading on the screen. I think that printing costs can be exaggerated as well. Color is expensive but it is not all that bad. Plus there is always greyscale. You don't need it to be color to read it. If there are maps or something they usually only make up a small portion of the pdf, reserve your color cartridges for those only, should save you big.

That said I would not buy a 400 page pdf; I'd rather have the book. A 30 page adventure? Sold.

-Shay

 

[Xath]

I like them alot. I have no problem reading off of computer screens (knock on wood).

When I commute to games via public transport, it's alot easier to carry one laptop with 50 books instead of trying to carry the 50 books themselves.

In addition to being easier on my back, PDFs are (for the most part) easier on my pocket. And being a poor college student, expense is a determining factor.

 

[devilbat]

I don't mind reading the smaller PDFs, but there is no way I would ever be able to get through a large rule or source book. I find that there are too many distractions when reading off the computer screen.

 

[Mystery Man]

I don't mind reading the smaller PDFs, but there is no way I would ever be able to get through a large rule or source book. I find that there are too many distractions when reading off the computer screen.

Like Enworld.

I agree though, short to medium modules are best used on PDF. At least for me.

 

[IronWolf]

I do not like long PDFs. I would much prefer to have those in book format. Short adventures or topical PDFs are just fine though. I can get the information cheap and if I really want to I can print what I need off without any real worry of cost.

 

[Psionicist]

PDF:s are sweet for character creation, especially when you have a concept and you are trying to define it in rules instead of the other way around (when you already know what you want to play ruleswise). Unfortunately PDF:s are not really good at anything else. YMMV of course.

 

[Kelleris]

I do not like long PDFs. I would much prefer to have those in book format. Short adventures or topical PDFs are just fine though. I can get the information cheap and if I really want to I can print what I need off without any real worry of cost.

See, comments like these make me worry since I just finished writing a lengthy sourcebook for pdf release. Fortunately, RPGnow offers print on demand for lengthy pdfs, and the quality is about as good as a regular perfect-bound sourcebook. And, at least in the case of my book, that makes for a pretty good deal - I think it'll come out to about 230 pages for about 20 dollars printed, and a little less than 10 as a pdf.

 

[greymist]

My biggest dislke with PDFs is that they are almost all formatted for printing, not for reading on-screen. I can't stand having to scroll up and down to read a page written in two columns.
This is gets even more annoying as the length of the document increases.