Monday 25 April 2011

Paper or PDF?

As the shelves in my house are rapidly running out of space, I've found it an advantage in having the option to download games and supplements as PDFs. I know a lot of people prefer physical copies - including myself - but with the way print media is converging to the digital medium, PDFs may make paper copies obsolete eventually.

What I want to know is, are you a paper, a PDF or both? I've set up a little poll in the sidebar so get your answers in for SCIENCE!

7 comments:

  1. It depends on the length. I have this rule of less than 60 pages PDF is fine over 60 pages I prefer it in print. Don't ask me how I got 60 just developed over the years I guess.

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  2. I always prefer paper. Recently I got Star Without Number which is an "old-school" sci-fi game. You can get the 200 page game for free, but I still went and paid the $24 to get it in hardbound paper.

    I'll agree with Tim and say that I will get a PDF if it is short (about 30 pages for me). Of course then I print it out so its on paper anyway.

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  3. I answered "pdf" in the survey, which is how I purchase most things, but I also buy paper copies sometimes. I like to buy a lot of things just to look at them for inspiration and reference, but which I don't "actively" use in my gaming. The bulk of those I buy as pdfs, since it saves money and space. On the other hand, when I really like a pdf I've purchased and decide it's going to be a "go-to" item for me, I'll often buy the paper copy in addition to the pdf, instead of burning an ink cartridge by printing it (which, depending on the length of the item, can be nearly as costly in paper and ink as buying the paper copy anyway). This means I may spend more money on that particular item than I otherwise would have, but overall, in the big picture, I save money, not having bought *everything* in the more expensive (and space-consuming) paper format.

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  4. As a general rule, I don't pay for pdfs. I have in the past, and I've found that I just don't like using them anywhere near as much as a hardcopy. I only bother with pdfs when they are free or else dirt cheap (the only pdf purchase I have made in a long time is BEAN!).

    My primary use for pdfs today is as a preview for something, to see if I want to purchase a hardcopy, or for when purchasing a hardcopy is just way too expensive (such as when I bought the OD&D pdf back when it was for sale).

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  5. I prefer print, but have a pretty big collection of pdf's of things I couldn't otherwise have because they're out of print for example. I'll probably purchase some T&T solos & the Complete Dungeon of the Bear for example.

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