printing pdf's vs. books - cost comparison?

[GlassJaw]

Does anyone print out their pdf's on a regular basis? Obviously one of the advantages of buying pdf's is the cost but is it worth it if you want to pay to print one out? Does anyone have any experience with Kinko's for example? I checked online but couldn't find any info on pricing.

 

[Rodrigo Istalindir]

My experience has been that Kinko's is very expensive, especially if you want anything other than plain white paper in non-bound stacks. (FYI -- next time you see those pretty foam-core posters at a seminar or something, Kinko's in DC charges ~$15 a square foot for those).

Since the base printing is per page, but binding and finishing are largely per item, you might be able to realize some economies of scale by creating your own compilations of several smaller .PDFs -- eg a Complete Book of All Things Eldritch by Monte Cooke.

Fortunately, the place I work has a $500,000 Docutech, and the person in charge likes me.

 

[philreed]

If you really like PDFs you'll be better off by buying an inexpensive laser printer. A lot of laser printers can get 1,000+ pages from one toner cartridge.

 

[ShinHakkaider]

If you really like PDFs you'll be better off by buying an inexpensive laser printer. A lot of laser printers can get 1,000+ pages from one toner cartridge.

I know this isnt a viable solution for a lot of people but A few years ago I plunked down some cash for a decent HPLaserJet printer. My wife who is a teacher makes extensive use of it so it has already paid for itself about 10 times over. But I also use it to print out my PDF's adn other game related accessories. These days a you can probably get a LaserPrinter that does what mine does for about half the price that I paid for it at the time.

Sometimes I walk to my LGS and I want to buy books but as a DM it's alot easier to put together my game using PDF's opened in Acrobat and cutting and pasting what I need into Word. If my players discover a spell that's not in one of thier books, it's easier to cut and past he spell(s) into a word document, print it out and actually give it to them as opposed to them sitting there and copying it by hand. Same thing with my master Feat lists, there are feats that are available to the PC's that I may have pulled from another suppliment that they dont own. It's better just to hand them a complied list of feats than to have them dig through several different books going "can I have this?".

Like I said before I like books but asa a DM PDF's make my life soooooo much easier.

 

[GlassJaw]

Like I said before I like books but asa a DM PDF's make my life soooooo much easier.

I definitely agree. I really like having books in loose-leaf format too. They stay open better and are easier to use during actual play than bound books. I would gladly take a loose-leaf Monster Manual over a bound one.

 

[DaveStebbins]

If you really like PDFs you'll be better off by buying an inexpensive laser printer.

This is what I did. I got an inexpensive laser printer for $99 after rebate.

The bonus is that the driver software allows me to print two-up (two pages on one side of a sheet of paper) and also sorts pages to make duplexing (printing on both sides of a sheet of paper) very easy (I just grab the pile in the output tray and put it back into the input tray). So I can print one, two or four pages of a PDF on each sheet of paper.

I printed out the majority of the mega-module The Banewarrens on 30 sheets of paper (four pages per sheet), then printed the player handouts one-page-per. The whole thing took like 45 sheets of paper. I'm running Death in Freeport Revised, complete, on eight sheets of paper.

-Dave

 

[Ogrork the Mighty]

I used to print them off at work and then get them spiral bound with plastic covers at Kinkos for about $5 (Canadian). I would package several books of a similar theme together (e.g. all my demon/devil books).

I've since stopped b/c I have a pile as tall as I am and I rarely use them. So I figure why bother printing them if I'm not going to use them that often. Now, if I'm looking for something, I'll just look at the pdf.

p.s. the laser printer idea is a good one, but keep in mind that most rpg books have lots of pictures and borders that can eat up A LOT of ink (thus, the reason why I printed them off at work ).

 

[woodelf]

Does anyone print out their pdf's on a regular basis? Obviously one of the advantages of buying pdf's is the cost but is it worth it if you want to pay to print one out? Does anyone have any experience with Kinko's for example? I checked online but couldn't find any info on pricing.

That's because it varies from location to location. Generally, something like $0.17 per double-sided page for printing (could be as low as $0.13, depending on location and paper, i've found), and $3-6 for binding, depending on the style you want.

Anyway, to directly answer the question: if i have Kinko's do the printing and binding, i generally end up paying about the same for a PDF (including purchase cost) as for a print book of the same pagecount. Maybe a little more. I don't consider it a sensible option for anything that is also available in hardcopy, if i want it in print. If i don't expect to ever want a print copy, then i might save the money and buy the PDF, especially if my intended use will actually be easier, rather than harder, on screen. OTOH, for something i primarily intend to read, i'll usually buy hardcopy (maybe waiting for a sale), rather than PDF. However, the prices are, generally, close enough that i consider paying to print a PDF viable competition for buying a print book--IOW, if i'm trying to decide which of two different products to buy, i don't consider the PDF-ness a cost factor.

So, all that boils down to: i generally only buy in PDF if there is no hardcopy available, but PDFs get just as much attention from me as print books, even if the work is something i'm definitely going to want in hardcopy.

If you really like PDFs you'll be better off by buying an inexpensive laser printer. A lot of laser printers can get 1,000+ pages from one toner cartridge.

And that's potentially off by a factor of ten. Every laser printer i've ever really known the numbers for gets 5,000-15,000 pages per cartridge (at typical coverage--i.e., mostly text). And i just did a cursory search online, and the first few hits confirmed that those are perfectly reasonable numbers. So, yes, when you're getting ~10,000 pages for a single ~$100 cartridge, printing at home is a perfectly viable option. And i got my printer used for ~$300. Just wish it duplexed--oh well.

What i usually do is print the interior at home, and then pay Kinko's to print the cover (if it's color) and bind. But, if you don't need your covers in color, you can save a couple dollars right there.

 

[Olaf the Stout]

Printing at work definitely saves me a lot of money although I understand that this may not be a viable option for a lot of people.

Olaf the Stout

 

[TheAuldGrump]

And of course with some PDFs you don't need to print the whole thing, just the parts that you are using now. (Librum Equitus Compiled comes to mind, I have printed up maybe a third of it, with the pages scattered between the 3 ring binders I use for different settings. Great book btw, saying I have only printed a third is by no means an insult, just that not all prestige classes fit every campaign. )

The Auld Grump, heck with some of the Ronin Arts books I cut and paste the entry I am using straight into the adventure as I am doing it up on Word Perfect.