PDFs - how do you use them? And how to convert them into decent books?

[Mercurius]

Due to not being able to find an affordable copy and the nice $20 price, I just purchased the PDF of Goodman Games' Gazetteer of the Known Realms (DCC#35). I don't plan on running this as a setting, but wanted to read it and mine it for ideas; however, I'm not a big fan of reading extensively on the computer screen, so I'm considering how I want to print this sucker out.

Minus the two adventures, we have approximately 260 black-and-white pages with an "easy print/no background" version (plus color covers, but I can live without those if I have to). There are also a slew of color maps which I'd like to print, 45 sheets total.

So what I'm wanting to do is get as close to the original "meatspace" product for as cheaply as possible. I have a laser printer, so printing out 260 pages isn't a terrible proposition--probably only a couple dollars worth of toner (I just got one of those cheap $25 cartridges off Amazon which supposedly print out 2,000 pages). But what sort of paper should I use to give it the best "bookish" feel? And is it possible to print it like a book so I could staple it or bind it somehow?

Also, I don't think I have access to a free color printer (although have to check the computer lab at the school I work at). How much would it cost to print out 45 color map pages at Kinkos?

Any suggestions? I figure I could go the cheap route and print everything up and just put it in a folder or ring binder; not sure what to do with the maps. Or I could go a more expensive route, get glossy paper, cardstock for the covers, and somehow print it up so I can bind it like a "real" book and take the maps to Kinkos, even the whole thing to be bound. What am I looking at cost-wise for both options?

 

[Scribble]

I like to go with Mimeo when I print out PDFs personally.

They have a decent price, and then I have access to more types of binding options then simply a 3-ring binder. (I find spiral binding really handy at the table.)

 

[Prisoner6]

It really sounds like you wanted a "real" book and not a PDF copy. Printing out the PDF will not save you money once you factor in paper and ink, especially if you put it on special paper to "give it a bookish feel". You're probably going to spend more money than if you just bought the book in the first place.

Personally, when I have a PDF book, I only print the pages I want or need at the game table. That's especially useful for "monster manual" type books - just print the entry I need and nothing else. In your case you might just try printing the sections of the book you're interested in. Dont' print out the maps unless you need them for gaming, for example.

 

[darjr]

It really sounds like you wanted a "real" book and not a PDF copy. Printing out the PDF will not save you money once you factor in paper and ink, especially if you put it on special paper to "give it a bookish feel". You're probably going to spend more money than if you just bought the book in the first place.

But what if you want the book AND the PDF? I wonder, for some book pdf combo's, does it still turn out cheaper?

 

[Mercurius]

It really sounds like you wanted a "real" book and not a PDF copy. Printing out the PDF will not save you money once you factor in paper and ink, especially if you put it on special paper to "give it a bookish feel". You're probably going to spend more money than if you just bought the book in the first place.

Personally, when I have a PDF book, I only print the pages I want or need at the game table. That's especially useful for "monster manual" type books - just print the entry I need and nothing else. In your case you might just try printing the sections of the book you're interested in. Dont' print out the maps unless you need them for gaming, for example.

Yes, I wanted the real book and not the PDF, but there are no copies less than about $100 currently on the used market, and the PDF was only $20. Maybe if I had searched hard enough I'd be able to find a game store online that had new copies for $70, but I didn't want to pay even that much--$50 was my max.

As for the cost of printing, I work at a school so have access to free color laser printing. I'm probably going to print it all out and just put it in a three-ring binder.

 

[malraux]

I'd buy a ream of the best paper you can find (really heavy weight, ultra-bright white), print it duplex of course. Assuming you can print in color somewhere, then use that same paper to print the maps and other color pages. Get it all in the order you want, then take it to a print shop and get it bound.

 

[jdrakeh]

I have most of my PDF RPGs printed and spiral bound (so they lay flat) with color inner covers (usually of light cardstock), clear mylar front covers (for durability), and black vinyl back covers (likewise, for durability). I have had dozens of PDF products bound in this manner, from AD&D adventure modules to full-fledged games (I'm getting some GURPS printed out next weekend, in fact).

I do not have this printing done at Kinko's as, IME, thay tend to charge more than triple what most other shops do for similar services and they almost always hassle me about prints (even with the RPGNow files that have my name and purchase number embedded on every page of the PDF). With the exception of a Kinko's store managed by a friend, I've never had a positive experience with the chain.

I tend to shop around at locally owned printers who need to be competitive (right now, for example, I'm big on utilizing a shop called Copy Experts that has branches in Boulder and Colorado Springs). Failing that, I seek out stores for which printing serves as a secondary or tertiary stream of revenue (e.g., CopyMax), because such stores tend to charge less than premium prices for such services.

The #1 rule of saving money while printing loads of PDF RPGs has, for me, definitely been to avoid Kinko's like the plague.

[Edit: Also, note that going to any print shop will still cost more than printing PDFs yourself on a budget inkjet or laserjet — but I've found that the added quality in binding and image resolution is well worth five or six extra dollars.]

 

[darjr]

Tape binding seems cool... cept I don't think it lays flat. I just don't think punched pages are a great idea for a game book.

You work at a school? University? With an art department? An art department that has some experience with book binding by hand? Maybe see if they'd do it for free or a small fee? Kinda like a dental school?

 

[darjr]

The #1 rule of saving money while printing loads of PDF RPGs has, for me, definitely been to avoid Kinko's like the plague.

Cool... I'll have to check around here.

Spiral bound survives contact with the game? How's it for casual reading?

 

[Vascant]

The solution I found was a Tablet Laptop.. Don't get me wrong, I still would love a physical copy of my favorite magazine or book but after a few months I realized I can take my complete library anywhere and place.

I would also like to stress, I hate reading on a computer but the fact I can fold down the tablet so only the screen is visible and navigate with a pen it really is very nice.