PDF Vs. Print [Slight Rant]

[Atma]

Even if you print it, you end up with a low quality product. Inkjet printers are crap and will bleed the instant they come in contact with moisture, laser printers are only worthwhile for black and white pages, and color laser is too expensive to be cost effective.

The best printers available to print PDF files still pale in comparison to offset printing and proper binding. I will not ever pay more then 3.99 for a PDF book.

 

[V_Shane]

I use to run into that problem with the water/sweat thing of people handling laser color copies I would send off to publishers, then i got smart and coated them with Acrylic Clear Matte medium and printed them to cardstock. And I get all my ink from MYINKS.com pretty inexpensive. I'm not out to convince anyone, but I already have way too many books just sittin around collecting dust and warping my particle board Wal-Mart shelves

 

[RangerWickett]

Um . . . if you guys can spend hours reading the boards, why is reading PDFs tough? Then again, I seem to be one of those strange people whose eyes never hurt from reading a computer. I suppose it must be evolutionary adaptation! My children will be more able to survive in the digital world.

Um, anyway. Buy more pdfs, and just read them in small chunks. I suggest one of Ambient's books. Or go to the reviews page for pdfs and find some that look good to you.

I do wonder if some people who say they don't like to buy pdfs have actually bought pdfs. How do you know until you try?

Sorry, I'm just gratuitously trying to get more sales.

 

[Mark]

Some people simply will not buy PDFs, for various reasons, and that will not change very much no matter what anyone tries to do.

The market of a PDF pub is smaller than that of the print market because of this but also because you can only reach so much of the print market through online means and if a customer is not online, they are not a PDF customer.

The market for PDF products is a single digit percentage of the print market.

If a PDF publisher manages to gain a reputation for producing high quality material, some end-users may be enticed to upgrade their own systems, but that is unlikely to raise the percentage by much.

Display methods will improve, as will end-user printing methods and access speeds, but a double digit percentage of the larger market is a long way off.

PDF publishers should always strive for the highest quality of written material, strict adherence to licensing/legal requirements and be content with whatever market share they can get.

It's just the way it is...IMO

 

[johnsemlak]

I'm a big fan of PDF's for a lot of reasons. Price is probably the main one.

However, I'm not sure I agree that PDFs should be designed primarily to print out. entirely. I prefer to selectively print out what I need (though, I admit, it depends on the product).

I Prefer PDFs that take advantage of the what the computer allows: Having detailed bookmarks; having a separate B&W printable version; Having maps and tables separated for easy printing (and perhaps enlarging); etc.

I don't have a problem reading off of the computer screen, though I would prefer some PDF's to be easier to read. As Rangerwicket said, I spend enough time on the net reading anyway.

I would not buy a PDF with a plan to print it entirely and bind it: I agree with those who say it's not worth the cost savings. I don't buy PDFs for that purpose.

 

[trancejeremy]

Um . . . if you guys can spend hours reading the boards, why is reading PDFs tough? Then again, I seem to be one of those strange people whose eyes never hurt from reading a computer. I suppose it must be evolutionary adaptation! My children will be more able to survive in the digital world.

I don't have trouble reading PDFs on the computer, but the trouble I have, is I usually like to read outside or in bed. Can't really use the computer there. And for gaming, it's often handy to have a book handy.

Eventually I imagine we'll have portable electronic books (like say a PDA, only more specialized for books), which will solve the problem. But they're probably 5-10 years down the road.

 

[trancejeremy]

Re: Re: PDF Vs. Print [Slight Rant]

That's a big thing right there. Not everyone has unfettered access to printing and binding equipment, much less on their company's dime. If you go to a print shop, pay computer time and printing costs to laser print then bind, it is absolutely *not* an inexpensive option.

Exactly!

Especially when you consider that most print products can be had on ebay for 50% to 30% off their cover price. (Many items can be had - especially modules - for less than the cost of shipping them.)

So PDF products turn out to be even a worse deal. The only time I would consider buying one is when a printed product isn't available.

 

[Crothian]

PDF's are really very nice. Don't have to woprry about storage, they fit right oin the computer. Easy to carry them around on disk or a laptop. Print the few pages you need, read the rest on the screen. One does not need to print them out for them to be useful. I don't own a printer and I never print them out. Plus when I get them I don't have to leave the house and I don't have to wait days or weeks for it to get here. Painless download.

I used to not like them. Figured they were of lower quality, tough to get printed out, and all the other excuses. Then I gave them a chance. I've found that many are better then printed books. The convience is great.

 

[Darrin Drader]

Re: Uhm...

If this rant was triggered by the poll I'm currently running then I'd like to point out that the question was

No, this was triggered long ago and I finally decided to post a rant. And I'm not irate or anything, just ranting. No worries.

Just so that the intent of this rant isn't lost, I'm NOT arguing that PDF publishing is BETTER than print. Heck, I like glossy covers, and nice paper too. I buy Malhavoc products in print rather than PDF for exactly this reason. What my rant is really about are the people that refuse to buy them (or even download them for free) because they simply don't like the format in which its distributed. My point is that if the material is only available (or easily available) as a PDF, and that material is good, why reject it because of the medium in which its distributed?

 

[The Sigil]

*takes off publisher's hat*

Speaking purely as a consumer, I LOVE and ADORE PDFs. Why?

Probably has something to do with the fact that I have a 40 GB external Hard Drive.

There's nothing quite like the ability to pack 500 D&D books (I have about 400 of the old TSR books and another 100 or so PDFs from RPGNow.com) into your backpack (and know that the Hard Drive isn't even a quarter full :b).

Even better that you can search them MUCH more quickly. Also good that you can have an "off-site backup" for free... in case of fire, or what have you. How many of you would be able to replace some of the "antiques" in your RPG collection should the unthinkable happen? I keep a copy of the PDFs that I buy burned on CDs and stored safely in the attic of my father's house.

They're also MUCH easier to peruse/hide at work - especially if you use the "Access" plugin for Acrobat Reader (turns the PDF from "formatted text" into plain text on screen, no graphics, no frills, no columns - much less of a giveaway). ;-b

I have over three bookshelves of RPG material - and let me tell you, at some point, space becomes a cost! ;-)

Not to say I don't have use for printed products... I do. But the format of PDFs is just something I adore. I can copy 'em, paste 'em, and mail them to my DM in advance for approval. I can cut and paste together a file with all my spells - without having to manually type them all in myself.

They have different strengths and weaknesses, but for me, the "coolness" factor of fitting 500 books into my trenchcoat pocket is the biggest selling point for me.

Plus, there are a lot of really nifty ideas out there, and I think it's a shame to miss out on those just because a writer doesn't have enough money to "gamble" (and that is exactly what it turns out to be) on a print run. Especially as it pertains to class books, some of the best stuff out there IMO is only around in PDF.

Of course, YMMV, but that's why I happen to like PDFs as a consumer. I appreciate their strengths and their weaknesses don't matter quite as much to me (maybe it helps that I have access to a color laser printer at work, but I haven't printed a PDF in months).

To recap, strengths of the PDF format you may or may not have thought about:

1.) Much more portable than print books (assuming you have an external HD and/or a laptop) - especially for large numbers of books.
2.) Searches are quick and automated - not like print books ("darn, where was that reference to Malhavoc in the DMG, anyway"?)
3.) Easier to peruse/hide at work.
4.) Easier to backup/replace than print stuff (just burn a CD or download again).
5.) Easier to "copy/paste" stuff from since you don't have to type yourself.
6.) More immune to "gamer crud." Somebody spills Mountain Dew or drops pizza on your print book, you're pissed. Somebody does it to your PDF printout and it's "ah, no problem, I'll just reprint that page." (Drawback: Somebody spills on your laptop and you're REALLY REALLY pissed LOL).

--The Sigil