This may have been asked before here, but  a search turned up nothing.

So , do you like PDF books, print books, or both?

Almost all of the reviews I have been doing lately are PDFs and was just curious to see who here likes PDFs.

I have to admit that PDF format has grown on me as of late. it's nice to be abel to buy twice as many games with the same amount of money.

i work in a library, and have always loved books-as-physical-objects.  I like bit ol' print books i can carry into the shitter, read while in the car, outdoors, etc.

however, i'm totally OK with .pdf's from smaller companies or indie publishers, but inevitably print them out and stick 'em in a binder.  

consider this the opinion of a non-laptop owner, also...

While I like print, the lack of availability (no local game shop) means I've tended to get more on PDF nowadays.

I've bought some PDFs over the years, but anything I actually use ends up being printed.

I used to be very print-oriented, and I still am for many main rulebooks and such.  Where I find pdfs most useful is if I am unsure whether or not I want to buy a deadtree copy of a main rulebook but am interested enough to buy a pdf to check it out.  If I like the pdf well enough, I'll usually pick up the deadtree--and then I still have the pdf copy to print out select parts for handouts or for ease of gaming.

The other instance where I find them extremely useful is as far as supplements go--say for D&D or Rolemaster or HARP supplements I may only want to print out a specific range of pages from, or an equipment list, or a part describing the world or furnishing a map.  That's where pdfs really come in handy for me.

Tough question.  I don't have a lot of PDFs, mostly free stuff. I like being able to investigate something that way.  It surely seems to decrease barriers to entry, both to the hobby and specific games.

Having said that, there's just something about the physical book on the shelf. I always keep my books, game and novel. I'm not one to show them off or anything; they're in my office at home behind closed doors. But the kids have already been trained - don't touch Daddy's books. It's just a thing for books.

What would be really cool is if you could buy the PDF, then get a discount on the printed book, or something of that nature. Or if you buy a book, get a pdf for free, or heavily discounted, so you can get it all on your jump drive and take to cons...

Print, mostly. I wouldn't mind having something like the D&D splatbooks as PDF, as I'm mostly using them for prep work anyway. But I won't take my iBook into the toilet, bed or to the gaming table.

I like both.

Monitors are not good for me for casual reading. I get eyestrain too easy.

But it's real nice to have an electronic version if you are prepping a game or need something to be portable (i.e., am DMing somewhere else and think I might need the reference.)

I think more publishers should institute package deals or upgrade deals.

Quote from: kregmosierconsider this the opinion of a non-laptop owner, also...

yeah, I have a laptop with a 15 inch screen, so it nice and handy to run PDFs @ the table or just for reading.

Quote from: Mcrowyeah, I have a laptop with a 15 inch screen, so it nice and handy to run PDFs @ the table or just for reading.

The laptop I was going to use as a gaming laptop died (ok, I accidentally killed it), so I'm working off of a desktop, which probably does make some difference.  Once I get a new laptop for gaming (projected date: 2013), pdf usage should go up a bit.

Quote from: James J SkachWhat would be really cool is if you could buy the PDF, then get a discount on the printed book, or something of that nature. Or if you buy a book, get a pdf for free, or heavily discounted, so you can get it all on your jump drive and take to cons...

We do that. We always offer special discounted pricing when going from PDF to print. We also offer a service to print and ship the PDF to you (when not available as a print book). And most of our printed books also include a PDF download when purchased direct. We also provide free PDF updates.

Quote from: Zachary The FirstThe laptop I was going to use as a gaming laptop died (ok, I accidentally killed it), so I'm working off of a desktop, which probably does make some difference.  Once I get a new laptop for gaming (projected date: 2013), pdf usage should go up a bit.

yeah, I jsut burned every PDF I own onto discs the other night, Just in case I kill my laptop. It would likely be 2050 before I knew one since we just spent 2k on a new desktop and $1000 on my laptop this past year.

Quote from: pigames.netWe do that. We always offer special discounted pricing when going from PDF to print. We also offer a service to print and ship the PDF to you (when not available as a print book). And most of our printed books also include a PDF download when purchased direct. We also provide free PDF updates.

I also highly recommend to anyone who likes PIG's games to subscribe to the gamers advantage. I think there is something like 30 pdfs you can down load for free, you get discounts on stuff and sometimes you get something for free that everyone else has to pay for.

Quote from: McrowI also highly recommend to anyone who likes PIG's games to subscribe to the gamers advantage. I think there is something like 30 pdfs you can down load for free, you get discounts on stuff and sometimes you get something for free that everyone else has to pay for.

I'd 2nd it.  If you like what PIG comes out with, you'll be amazed at the amount of quality extra material you get for a full range of their titles.

I'll third it. It's a great deal on some great gaming material!

-clash