My Newest Ebook Reader- The Printed Page

luqmaninbmore · 08-05-2010, 04:47 PM

Greetings,

Am I alone in printing out ebooks a section at a time for reading? I've discovered that I can efficiently get a decent printable file by printing to pdf from within calibre's ebook-viewer. I then go to the library and print out as much as my daily ration will allow. After reading, I can either recycle the book or tuck it away in a binder for future reference. Am I weird or is this more common than I imagine; I mean there are benefits: no batteries, no worries about cracking a fragile e-ink screen or getting it wet (within reason). And if I lose it, it's not a big deal. There are also ebooks that don't look so great on the small screens of the current devices. What do you all think?

Luqman

carld · 08-05-2010, 04:53 PM

The only situation I'd consider printing something out is if I had a complex PDF that just wouldn't display well on my Kindle. Otherwise I think printing out an ebook loses most of its benefits, but to each his own.

AnemicOak · 08-05-2010, 04:54 PM

The only thing I can think of that I'd print from an ebook would be a recipe if it was a cookbook or maybe a specific part of an instructional manual.

MovieBird · 08-05-2010, 05:01 PM

Why not just buy the paperback book? This seems like you're taking the negatives of both formats without utilizing the positives of either.

delphidb96 · 08-05-2010, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luqmaninbmore

Greetings,

Am I alone in printing out ebooks a section at a time for reading? I've discovered that I can efficiently get a decent printable file by printing to pdf from within calibre's ebook-viewer. I then go to the library and print out as much as my daily ration will allow. After reading, I can either recycle the book or tuck it away in a binder for future reference. Am I weird or is this more common than I imagine; I mean there are benefits: no batteries, no worries about cracking a fragile e-ink screen or getting it wet (within reason). And if I lose it, it's not a big deal. There are also ebooks that don't look so great on the small screens of the current devices. What do you all think?

Luqman

No... I've heard there are whole colonies of self-labeled 'anti-environment luddites' who've also formed a similar strategy. Of course, most of those work for BP.

Derek

luqmaninbmore · 08-05-2010, 05:19 PM

Dude, I'll either recycle the paper or keep the book so I don't think the environment is a huge issue in regards to this. Also, what is the exact percentage of printer paper/book paper that comes from virgin forests vs. the percentage that comes from 'managed' forests where the numbers are steadily and sustainably replenished. My understanding is that wood for furniture and construction as well as the desire to clear land for farming are the leading reasons for deforestation.

jashsu · 08-05-2010, 06:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luqmaninbmore

I then go to the library and print out as much as my daily ration will allow.

Is this daily ration gratis? Printing materials (printer quality paper and ink/toner) are pretty expensive. To print out electronics books, in a library no less, seems to be a bit egregious in terms of waste, both environmentally (think of how much bleach was used to create that paper) and fiscally.

Hellmark · 08-05-2010, 07:33 PM

The only time I've ever printed an ebook, is from my Studebaker shop manual. Found a place that had made PDFs of a lot of old repair manuals, and this way I could print out the pages I want, without worrying about damaging it. Some of the shop manuals cost into the hundreds, because of their rarity (only meant for the repair department of car dealers) and age (the ones I have go back to the '30s to '50s). This way, I'm out in the garage, doing repairs, and who cares if I get oily finger prints all over it.

HamsterRage · 08-05-2010, 08:16 PM

I dunno. That just seems all wrong to me.

Laser printing a book has to be about 1000 times more resource intensive than the bulk printing process. Recycling is expensive, too.

Maggie Leung · 08-05-2010, 08:30 PM

This sounds crazy to me.

Donnageddon · 08-05-2010, 08:48 PM

I find it works pretty well for format shifting. I print out the Mobi ebook using Calibre, then use a scanner with a top notch OCR program to scan the printed pages. Load the resulting txt file into Calibre and format to whatever format type I desire.

I then take the left over paper to a recycling center and use the proceeds to pay for printer supplies.

Nothing could be simpler.

jgaiser · 08-05-2010, 09:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Donnageddon

I find it works pretty well for format shifting. I print out the Mobi ebook using Calibre, then use a scanner with a top notch OCR program to scan the printed pages. Load the resulting txt file into Calibre and format to whatever format type I desire.

I then take the left over paper to a recycling center and use the proceeds to pay for printer supplies.

Nothing could be simpler.

Now that makes perfect sense..

SameOldStory · 08-05-2010, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by luqmaninbmore

Greetings,

Am I alone in printing out ebooks a section at a time for reading? I've discovered that I can efficiently get a decent printable file by printing to pdf from within calibre's ebook-viewer. I then go to the library and print out as much as my daily ration will allow. After reading, I can either recycle the book or tuck it away in a binder for future reference. Am I weird or is this more common than I imagine; I mean there are benefits: no batteries, no worries about cracking a fragile e-ink screen or getting it wet (within reason). And if I lose it, it's not a big deal. There are also ebooks that don't look so great on the small screens of the current devices. What do you all think?

Luqman

Have you considered getting a late night job cleaning offices? Then you could print out a little at each office.

Not only do you save money making copies, BUT you'll also make money selling the scrap paper.

Let me know if it works. I may want to do the same.

And don't let that environmental stuff scare you. Once we have all of the trees cut down and converted to scrap paper the sooner we can save the environment from gas guzzling chain saws.

banjobama · 08-05-2010, 09:41 PM

I don't think I would ever do this. To me, reading something small like a paperback or an ebook reader screen is better than reading from an A4 size piece of paper.

AlbertaCowboy · 08-05-2010, 10:02 PM

No way in Hell. The only thing uglier than a binder full of paper is a bookshelf full of binders. If I were to read on paper, I'd buy the pbook.

08-05-2010, 04:47 PM	#1
luqmaninbmore Da'i Posts: 1,144 Karma: 1217499 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Baltimore Device: Toshiba Thrive, Kobo Touch, Kindle 1, Aluratek Libre, T-Mobile Comet	My Newest Ebook Reader- The Printed Page Greetings, Am I alone in printing out ebooks a section at a time for reading? I've discovered that I can efficiently get a decent printable file by printing to pdf from within calibre's ebook-viewer. I then go to the library and print out as much as my daily ration will allow. After reading, I can either recycle the book or tuck it away in a binder for future reference. Am I weird or is this more common than I imagine; I mean there are benefits: no batteries, no worries about cracking a fragile e-ink screen or getting it wet (within reason). And if I lose it, it's not a big deal. There are also ebooks that don't look so great on the small screens of the current devices. What do you all think? Luqman

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08-05-2010, 04:53 PM	#2
carld Wizard Posts: 2,698 Karma: 4748723 Join Date: Dec 2007 Device: Kindle Paperwhite	The only situation I'd consider printing something out is if I had a complex PDF that just wouldn't display well on my Kindle. Otherwise I think printing out an ebook loses most of its benefits, but to each his own.

08-05-2010, 04:54 PM	#3
AnemicOak Bookaholic Posts: 14,391 Karma: 54969924 Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Minnesota Device: iPad Mini 4, AuraHD, iPhone XR +	The only thing I can think of that I'd print from an ebook would be a recipe if it was a cookbook or maybe a specific part of an instructional manual.

08-05-2010, 05:01 PM	#4
MovieBird TuxSlash Posts: 392 Karma: 2436547 Join Date: Oct 2009 Device: GlowNook	Why not just buy the paperback book? This seems like you're taking the negatives of both formats without utilizing the positives of either.

08-05-2010, 05:19 PM	#6
luqmaninbmore Da'i Posts: 1,144 Karma: 1217499 Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: Baltimore Device: Toshiba Thrive, Kobo Touch, Kindle 1, Aluratek Libre, T-Mobile Comet	Dude, I'll either recycle the paper or keep the book so I don't think the environment is a huge issue in regards to this. Also, what is the exact percentage of printer paper/book paper that comes from virgin forests vs. the percentage that comes from 'managed' forests where the numbers are steadily and sustainably replenished. My understanding is that wood for furniture and construction as well as the desire to clear land for farming are the leading reasons for deforestation.

08-05-2010, 07:33 PM	#8
Hellmark Wizard Posts: 2,586 Karma: 4290425 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Foristell, Missouri, USA Device: Nokia N800, PRS-505, Nook STR Glowlight, Kindle 3, Kobo Libra 2	The only time I've ever printed an ebook, is from my Studebaker shop manual. Found a place that had made PDFs of a lot of old repair manuals, and this way I could print out the pages I want, without worrying about damaging it. Some of the shop manuals cost into the hundreds, because of their rarity (only meant for the repair department of car dealers) and age (the ones I have go back to the '30s to '50s). This way, I'm out in the garage, doing repairs, and who cares if I get oily finger prints all over it.

08-05-2010, 08:16 PM	#9
HamsterRage Evangelist Posts: 435 Karma: 24326 Join Date: Jun 2010 Device: Kobo	I dunno. That just seems all wrong to me. Laser printing a book has to be about 1000 times more resource intensive than the bulk printing process. Recycling is expensive, too.

08-05-2010, 08:30 PM	#10
Maggie Leung Wizard Posts: 1,449 Karma: 58383 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Kindle, iPad	This sounds crazy to me.

08-05-2010, 08:48 PM	#11
Donnageddon Now you lishen here... Posts: 2,494 Karma: 479498 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Seattle-ish Device: Sony PRS-650. Kobo Touch, Kindle Fire	I find it works pretty well for format shifting. I print out the Mobi ebook using Calibre, then use a scanner with a top notch OCR program to scan the printed pages. Load the resulting txt file into Calibre and format to whatever format type I desire. I then take the left over paper to a recycling center and use the proceeds to pay for printer supplies. Nothing could be simpler.

08-05-2010, 09:41 PM	#14
banjobama Busy Read'n Posts: 980 Karma: 5039283 Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Auburn, WA Device: Pocketbook Touch Lux 5	I don't think I would ever do this. To me, reading something small like a paperback or an ebook reader screen is better than reading from an A4 size piece of paper.

08-05-2010, 10:02 PM	#15
AlbertaCowboy Guru Posts: 819 Karma: 171672846 Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: Alberta, Canada Device: PRS-350, PRS-650, iPhone 6, NVIDIA Shield K1	No way in Hell. The only thing uglier than a binder full of paper is a bookshelf full of binders. If I were to read on paper, I'd buy the pbook.

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