Question for PDF users

[reveal]

C. I'll generally read a work on the computer screen, and then print out relevant parts for use in the game.

Me too.

 

[Staffan]

Also with the C. I read them onscreen, but if I'm going to use a bit of one in a game I'd like to have that bit printed out.

 

[JoeGKushner]

Depends on the PDF.

Most I will just print out. What's the point of having a duplex color laser printer if you don't use it?

Others, especially the larger ones, I'll just print out what I need.

In most cases, I try to read them in print, scanning on screen only for areas of interest.

 

[ShinHakkaider]

Hey everybody! A question for those of you who purchase and use roleplaying PDFs.

Do you:

A) Refer to them only in hardcopy?

B) Refer to them onscreen only?

C) Refer to them in both formats?

Your unscientific, anecdotal evidence will be received with utmost gratitude.

C) Both. There are PDF's that I print out and have coil bound at Kinkos. Then if I'm working on something like character creation and I need to refernce something quickly and I only have my Powerbook available then I refer to it onscreen.

Mostly though for me, how/why PDF's are used comes down to two factors. For the past two years I've had to donate a great deal of role-playing games and suppliments to my local library, due to space constraints in our apt. PDF's dont present those issues. I used to buy a fair amount of hard copy RPG materials, now 95% of my purchases over the past year have been PDF's.

The second is the share factor. If I have a book that I want to loan to my players or that gets referred to around the table I can print out and coil bind one the book in question and not really care if it gets the crap kicked out of it. Or not worry about making notes in the margins, this is especially useful with adventures/modules. Or even when I want to give the players hand outs or show them what certain areas look like, or create player versions of map's from the maps in the books, It's alot easier to do that with PDF's and Photoshop or GIMP (free!) than it would be to scan in the hardcopies.

So for me personally, it comes down to space and flexability. I gotta say if the RPG industry stopped selling PDF's I'd stop spending money in the RPG industry. I find that the money I spend on RPG stuff are big ticket items like the Shackled City Hardcover, World's Largest Dungeon and probably Ptolus. Other than that I can't be bothered.

oh and one more reason I prefer PDF's...D00d, two words...CAMPAIGN PLANNER.

 

[JoeBlank]

C but mostly B.

Some PDFs I buy knowing that they are a toolkit, that I may use a feat, spell, or something else. These I usually just read onscreen.

I prefer my gaming material that I will be reading cover to cover to be in print form. Usually, I will buy books rather than PDFs if I expect that this book will be good reading material. So when I end up getting a PDF it is usually because I only expect to use a small portion of it, or because it is only available in PDF form.

 

[Phaedrus]

C... but I print all of the ones I buy.

I hate reading long documents on screen. If it's more than 10 pages or so, it gets printed for reading.

But I definitely enjoy having them in PDF form, for selective reprints (of maps or stats) and copy/paste.

 

[Berandor]

C/B in a way: I print it out for my first read-through, but when i know what's in it, I refer to it only in electronic form anymore (with maybe a chart or something printed out for in-game use).

 

[Cthulhu's Librarian]

I'm a C, but would prefer to be an A.

I spend all day sitting in front of a computer, so I really don't want to read more on screen than I have to. But I have more PDFs than I can reasonably expect to get away with printing at work, so I have to read most on screen. Anything that will see regular use, though, gets printed out and spiral bound for ease of use. I do like PDFs with search and bookmark capabilities, but paper still is best for general reading and making notes in the margins. If I ever get a laptop, however, I might become more apt to read more on screen, just for the laptop convienience.

 

[Sledge]

C.
I prefer to print as I need, but my wife prefers that I simply print out the whole pdf at once.

 

[Wycen]

C). I prefer both, but I often print just 1 page of a pdf, whichever contains the info I need.