Do you print out PDF manuals? [with poll]

[Muse]

I do it frequently for big ones especially. Just printed out the manual for my new Alcatel Idol 4S Windows 10 phone. It's 120 pages and I printed it out in booklet form, duplexed, so 4 pages per 8.5x11" sheet, 30 sheets in all. I'll fold in the middle and staple.

 

[HotJob]

I do for computer hardware or software. If I am working on my computer, I cant use it to read the pdf.

 

[IronWing]

I do it frequently for big ones especially. Just printed out the manual for my new Alcatel Idol 4S Windows 10 phone. It's 120 pages and I printed it out in booklet form, duplexed, so 4 pages per 8.5x11" sheet, 40 sheets in all. I'll fold in the middle and staple.

120/4 = 40, checks out.

 

[KMFJD]

never unless im going somewhere without computer access

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Nope. I copy them to a Kindle/iPad/iPhone and read them that way if I have to.

 

[lxskllr]

Never. What I like about digital files is I don't have to handle stupid stacks of paper. I can use a computer or my phone. Even blueprints for work I've started printing at half scale on 11*17, and only the sheets I really need. The rest are on my phone, and with a little dicking around, I can scale on my phone too.

 

[mikeymikec]

I do it frequently for big ones especially. Just printed out the manual for my new Alcatel Idol 4S Windows 10 phone. It's 120 pages and I printed it out in booklet form, duplexed, so 4 pages per 8.5x11" sheet, 40 sheets in all. I'll fold in the middle and staple.

Saving the PDF and making liberal use of Ctrl+F is far more useful.

The only occasion that springs to mind where I printed out a manual was when I lost the paper instructions for installing a third party HSF and printed the 1-2 page instructions for easier access while I was working on the computer.

Never. What I like about digital files is I don't have to handle stupid stacks of paper. I can use a computer or my phone. Even blueprints for work I've started printing at half scale on 11*17, and only the sheets I really need. The rest are on my phone, and with a little dicking around, I can scale on my phone too.

What he said. I find the idea appealing that I can walk around with a device as big as my fingerprint that has everything stored that I have found useful rather than having to store reams of paper somewhere. I hate paper.

 

[Red Storm]

What a colossal waste of paper.

The rare times I ever need a manual, just load it up on the computer and search for relevant key terms.

 

[Carson Dyle]

never unless im going somewhere without computer access

This. It's the only reason I've ever needed to print a manual.

 

[SKORPI0]

Never. Why print when you can use a tablet.

 

[Muse]

120/4 = 40, checks out.

Good catch, you went to grammar school too?

Well, this thread is a revelation to me. I'm going to transition to a lot more digital use for PDFs.

 

[IronWing]

Good catch, you went to grammar school too?

Yep, they had a really cool Youth pogrom.

 

[BD231]

Never. Why print when you can use a tablet.

Exactly. Nobody uses printers anymore cept every teaching facility and business in the US.

 

[William Gaatjes]

I have a tendency to sometimes print out datasheets of microcontrollers i use the most.
Otherwise, there is one thing i always print out and that is the manual of the motherboard from my desktop pc. But that is like once every few years.
I always write down inportant stuff such as revision numbers of the board and other information that might be important. It sometimes comes in handy. Sometimes, bios updates are board revision dependent.

 

[Exterous]

Very very rarely and if its a long PDF I usually only print the specific pages\range of pages of interest

Saving the PDF and making liberal use of Ctrl+F is far more useful.

Agreed. There have been several times where I've read a long paper book and want to try and go back and find something in particular which makes me wish I had it in an electronic format I could search

 

[Carson Dyle]

I sometimes print out instructions or diagrams when working on the car. Often PDF format. No reason to handle a smartphone or tablet when I'm up to my elbows in grease.

 

[pete6032]

The only ones I ever print are for car maintenance. I don't want to get my phone/tablet all dirty and risk smashing it accidentally.

 

[shortylickens]

Not since I bought a tablet.

 

[Muse]

Not since I bought a tablet.

I'm taking my tablet on a 5 day trip next week. I will have my new Alcatel Idol 4S Windows 10 phone manual on the tablet, but I have a mind to bring the printed out PDF as well. The uptime for the tablet sitting in the airport or on the plane will be maybe 3 hours. Reading the printed version doesn't use battery power!

OK, I know I'm swimming upstream in this thread (I've read the whole thing and everyone's against printing PDFs except in unusual circumstances) but I have to say that thumbing through a printed manual I'm apt to find things I wouldn't when perusing it on an electronic device. Control+F is great, absolutely, and that's the big advantage of digital access, but if you aren't searching for something in particular, dealing with paper it's easier to get the overview, to catch features and aspects you'd be ignorant of otherwise. Scrolling a PDF on a computer, it's eco-friendly but not ergonomic is my experience.