Does WotC have a new printer?

[Ed Cha]

If they lowered the prices, then it would be fair. But the prices are still the same or higher. I would expect WoTC to maintain the highest standards of quality (at least in the production values).

I was going to get the DMGII, but I think I will pass now. It's not a book I feel I have to have anyhow, but I was going to get it with the collector mentality in mind. Now I'm not. That's unfortunate for the author and everyone else involved in that project, but when I pay that much money for a hardcover I want it to last.

 

[Ranger REG]

If they lowered the prices, then it would be fair.

Fair to only one side: the customers. Unless you have this sick fetish to see a company bankrupt itself, like TSR.

If the price of the paper have risen, as with everything else, the company can either charge us plenty for the same paper quality or maintain the price but go with slight lesser quality. Do you want to pay for expensive paper in addition to gas in your car?

 

[ecliptic]

Fair to only one side: the customers. Unless you have this sick fetish to see a company bankrupt itself, like TSR.

If the price of the paper have risen, as with everything else, the company can either charge us plenty for the same paper quality or maintain the price but go with slight lesser quality. Do you want to pay for expensive paper in addition to gas in your car?

This is more than a 'slightly less' paper quality. Down right absolutely horrible. The binding is very poor aswell.

A book that should last me years has to be high quality.

 

[Stalker0]

For most books I buy, the binding wouldn't be a big deal. I pull them out for special encounters and the like. But the DMG II, being more a coreish type book, I would expect to use a whole lot...and so I'd expect a nice strong binding.

 

[Baragos]

The binding is done awfully on some of the new books. It's as if it was meant to be bound to the pages at ½ inch, but was accidentally bound at 1 inch instead, making it difficult to open the book.

 

[Samurai]

Most of the new books are 32 fewer pages (160 instead of 192 for $30) ... that may be part of the reason why they seem thinner. I've become pickier now that there are fewer pages for the price, and if the print size is increasing too, that's even worse.

 

[Belen]

I think fewer pages have more to do with a small designer base at Wizards. I am very happy that Mearls is now working for them. However, I think that the WOTC staff have been designing rules for so long that they no longer know how to fill a book without them.

 

[shaylon]

I have noticed this trend as well. I bought DMGII and it feels "different" in my hands. I don't necessarily think it is of a poorer quality but then again I haven't used it very much, or even read all of the way through it yet. Time will tell, I suppose.

-Shay

 

[Abulia]

Maybe this weekend I'll grab a few books around my office and do a quickie, unscientific, average word count per page and post the results.

But as others have said, not a keen fan of the new printer, sans point size/leading issues.

 

[Jack of Shadows]

Well,

I didn't notice a change in the paper quality but I just picked up the DMG II and there was a definate difference in the binding. It was the first time I've cracked open a new D&D book and the binding has ACTUALLY "cracked". It makes it feel like the book is really solid but it'll be a while before it'll lie flat when it's open. Also WotC hardcovers are usually slightly bowed when they hit the shelves at my FLGS. Never a big problem as it goes away after a week or two on the shelf. The DMG II didn't have this problem at all.

Jack