PDF now or Print later?

Tsyr · Sep 5, 2003

This book ( http://montecook.com/mpress_Angels.html ) is so tempting to me... But it's being put out in PDF form soon, and a print form later. I'm sooo torn on buying it as a pdf or buying as a print product later. That inspired a poll.

When you know that a product you want is going to be out in print form later on, do you wait, or...?

Cthulhu's Librarian · Sep 5, 2003

I always wait to buy it in print. PDFs don't look as nice on my bookshelf, and the cost of printing them out is almost as much as buying it later anyway. Since I sit at a computer almost all day, I don't want to have to turn it on everytime I want to look something up, with a book, I just have to pull it off the shelf, and I can throw it in my bag when I go to a game. The few PDFs I have purchased, I've printed & had spiral bound, so I could use it at the table and have a hard copy whenever I needed it.

bekkilyn_rpg · Sep 5, 2003

Better to have it on pdf than nothing at all, but I vastly prefer the printed book. Books are more portable, less clumsy, and easier to read for lengthy periods of time. Given a choice, I'd rather just wait for the book.

Arnwyn · Sep 5, 2003

Like there's any question? Print, and print only. (My personal opinion, of course.)

Djeta Thernadier · Sep 5, 2003

Under most circumstances I would say print, for the artwork, especially. And also because it does help support the companies we want to continue to flourish and put out more books. (PDF format is good for these companies too, because it's cheap for them, and a great way to sell more to those who normally would not be able to drop 20-30 bucks per book).

But I voted for depends on what it is. MojoGM and I were actually discussing this the other day. PDF is a great alternative for those of us who can't afford to buy every book we want in print form. What we had talked about doing was getting the PDF, printing them out and having them done up at Kinko's with a spiral biding and possibly laminated. That way, we can have a lot more books until we can afford to splurge on every print form book we want.

And it also depends on how much you are going to use something. If you see something in PDF that might be great for a short while but that you might not need to go back to a year from now, PDF is a great way to do so.

Working in publishing, I can say that I think all books look better in print form. But when money is tight and information is more important at the moment than a nice book on your shelf, PDF, by all means.

haiiro · Sep 5, 2003

I always wait for the print version. Then again, I rarely buy single issues of comics -- I just wait for the trades to come out.

Zogg · Sep 5, 2003

Well, I just bought Monte's "The Diamond Throne" via .pdf and I'm so glad I did. The alternative would be to wait until NOVEMBER! Plus I saved money on the deal, I can print out multiple copies (in case I lose my original copy or it gets torn up over time), and I can make notes, etc. without worrying that I'm damaging the original.

I've made a VERY nice arrangement for my pdf - I printed it out on 3-hole paper, put it in a binder that fits it perfectly, and flagged important pages (maps, timelines, etc.). Since both the pdf and printed book are in black and white, it's not like there's any difference. I think I have an excellent deal, and obtained the information WELL before the printed book date. I can't imagine waiting.....buy the pdf!

EricNoah · Sep 5, 2003

I'll buy a product in print over one in PDF only unless there's a dire emergency (example: to run an AU campaign I needed to buy the Diamond Throne pdf, so I did. I then used Kinko's weborder service to have it printed but it was fairly expensive).

Alejandro · Sep 5, 2003

I hate printed products, but sometimes you just cannot get everything on PDF. For example, the AU triple-pack does not include everything in the hardback version, so I got the book.

If WotC sold books in PDF, I would have every single one. Patching errata is simpler in PDF, too.

Umbran · Sep 5, 2003

I say "it depends", for practical reasons. Given the case where time is not a factor...

I don't have a laptop to take to the gaming table. And I'm not a fan of reading long documents on a computer screen. So, I'm okay with a pdf that I'm not likely to have to reference frequently. If I have to print out significant portions to use at the table, I might as well just get the print version.