[DBDigital]

There are some "Nook Magazines" that are only image files instead of properly rendered books. Magazines such as Writers Digest, Simple, Readers Digest, etc are all in their "special" format, which only works on tablets. The file says epub but it isn't, nothing else can read it. While the format is nice to look at, with fancy page turns like you have a physical magazine in your hands, the resolution wasn't quite high enough for me. I went direct with the companies that offered PDF's. I could zoom in more, and they were DRM free as well.

You can convert a "special" Nook Magazine. If you have a rooted tablet, you can access the epub or the directory it expands to. What they do is you download the epub, which contains all the images in the epub/zip (but not epub format) then it unzips all the files into a folder that the reader then displays. Not sure why they did it this way instead of just having the reader display the epub. But anyway you could grab the images, and stitch them together into a book if you needed.

Thankfully the Analog and Azamov are not that way, and are full epubs. One other tip though, if you download them from a B&N e-ink device the images (cover etc) will be gray scale. If you download with a tablet or Nook for PC the images are in color. There doesn't seem to be any other difference. And the color versions look the same on a e-ink display in my testing. Also B&N does not offer back issues, never understood why they don't. But regardless they are all DRM free.

With regard to Nook devices if B&N close, they will continue to function. You will have to side load everything but other than that they will work. The only possible "Gotcha" would be if you have to erase or factory restore. The Nook's want you to register first before anything else. BUT there are ways around that. I forget all the details, however there is a way to bypass the registration process. A 'secret tap method' that is different for each Nook model. Some of them have a link where you can tap to register later. Nook simple touch you swipe long the top left to right and a button for Factory. Tap that then under the factory menu there is 'Skip Oobe’ button. Nook color it don't start setting it up (if you do shut it off and back on) and tap power while holding Volume Up and home again. I think this is the same for Nook Tablet. Nook Classic I am not sure about, I think it either had a skip option on the screen or you had to hold one of the arrow buttons while powering it up at the start up screen.