To PDF or not to PDF?

Hello RPG fans, I apologize for being out of the loop recently. Been far to sick to publish. But we are back so lets start rolling some Dice?

So this time around I thought we could take a look at the PDF Product market.

Only a few years ago, downloading and printing out a PDF was a novelty but now with the advent of so many portable electronic devises that are capable of storing a PDF and allowing you to look at them at a moments notice PDF's are now a very easy medium to use. My crappy nook not withstanding, pretty much everyone has a devise that can quickly bring up that PDF and let you find the topic you wanted to look at. Plus it seems like much of the market is now being target at the PDFF market. There is am much as,if not more PDF gaming materiel right now as there is Printed material

So is PDF going to be the preferred environment for gaming in the next few years?

Many factors seem to be directing the RPG market in that way.

PDF's are cheaper to download then there printed counterparts. A average Book today can cost anywhere between $30.00 and $80.00 Dollars, most of that price going to cover the utterly pointless full page-full color -high gloss art that dominates the Books these days. While the PDF's of the same product can range from FREE to under $30.00.

PDF's are easier to transport. An average game book is around 100-300 pages and can take up a lot of room in your backpack. PDF's on the other hand weigh noting since they are stored on your Tablet/Laptop/I-Phone. In addition you can carry multiple PDF's on said tablet while you are limited by the weight your Backpack can hold or how many books you tossed in the Trunk for this weeks game.

PDF's are easier to navigate. Once on your electronic information thing of choice, it takes no offer to open the Doc and enter the search command for the Topic you are researching at the time. In addition your Tablet lets you surf the net as well, thus allowing you to search for information on line within seconds while gaming. A true time saver.

Common Core/The Electronic Classroom: Hears another tidbit that you might never have considered save for the fact that I work in education. With the advent of Common Core and the Electronic Classroom, all learning is being geared for the Tablet population. Smart classrooms will train future gamers how to use the Tablet to interact with the Classroom and Education systems as opposed to Books and paper Within a few years books will be but a memory. Your Grandchildren may have no idea what a book is(Which is a shame)

Most gaming product can now be found in both there printed version and a PDF version, and many of the more recent product is PDF only. It is FAR cheaper to put a document on line then it is to print out a few hundred books that you have no way of knowing if they will even sell. There are tons of books on the Shelf at my local game store that have not moved in Years because all that information is on the Internet and is FREE or under $10.00

PDF's take up no room as they are on your computer. Think of all the shelf space you will save in the future if all your gaming product is on your I-Gadget?

So, are there any reasons not to PDF?

Yes, but most of them are minor

After you Pay for the PDF, you still have to Print it out and get it bound if you want a hard copy Between the price of the download, the price of the paper and ink and the price to get it bound it will end up costing as much as,if not more then the copy on the shelf at your local game store.

Once printed out a PDF is as large, if not larger then the non PDF product so it will take up as much room and weigh as much as its counterpart.

While having the PDF on your I-Gadget makes things a lot easier, I have personally found it difficult to look up a fact on a PDF as opposed to just opening my book and finding the page. Depending on the speed and power of your Tablet thing , a page of information could take up to a Minuit to find?

As gamers we like to have things in our hands! Our dice, our Figures, or Writing implements and are books. We like our books, we are tactile in nature: We want to be able to open the book, find the information and share the book with others.

Sadly the reasons not to have the PDF are few and mostly involve Cost and personal preference I personally always prefer the book to the PDF, mostly for Price and my tactile need need to have the book in front of me so I can read it in bed/on the bus/plane or whatever.

But that’s just me .All in all PDF's are a fare more effective way to carry about the information you need for the game. One I-gadget can hold Dozen’s of RPG documents and only take up a few inches of space in your backpack. In addition you have them backed up on a Zip drive (you do have them backed up right) so if anything happens, you still have it at home AND the PDF site will let you download it again for Free as many times as you want once you have paid for the initial copy!

So to PDF or not to PDF, sadly as much as I love books, want to support my local game Shop and disagree with Common Core, PDF's are the best way to go about your gaming life.

As long as you paid for them and downloaded them LEGAGLY. (Which we all have done. Right?)

When looking for PDF product. Try RPG Download. RPG Now. RPG Gateway. Pazio's on line store or the web site of the company who's product you are seeking to buy. Most product on the web will also offer a PDF copy as well for Free.

Till next time, keep RPG alive and remember.

Be excellent..

Happy holidays!