Do you print out your manuals?

[Muse]

My new (refurb!) Canon ELPH 100 HS should arrive in 3 days. The PDF manual is 212 pages. This will be my first Canon digicam.

I more often than not print out manuals. Fortunately, my only other P&S (Samsung Digimax V3) came with the manual already printed. Printing manuals I usually duplex them, although my HP4M+ does not include the duplexer. This means I have to use manual feed for 1/2 the prints (I don't trust the tray feed, if it blows it on just one page, all my pages are screwed up).

Should I print out the manual? Do you print out your manuals or just consult them with your computers?

 

[sixone]

I wanted to print the manual to my SX40, with two pages per side and duplexed. But the pages were still so small, I couldn't read them.

I copied the manual to my tablet, and take it along if I think I'll need it. Which is almost never, really.

 

[corkyg]

No - I put the PDF file on my Thumbdrive.

 

[jhansman]

Yes, always, but at work 😉

Better to have them on 8.5 x 11" in a binder.

 

[Muse]

I wanted to print the manual to my SX40, with two pages per side and duplexed. But the pages were still so small, I couldn't read them.

I copied the manual to my tablet, and take it along if I think I'll need it. Which is almost never, really.

I guess it was the 2 pages/side that made it so small as to be unreadable. I let PDF printing do its thing, but usually print odd pages, then manual feed even pages to get two sided sheets. As long as my printer's behaving it works out. It's work, though. I wish they'd supply the paper manual, it would save me a lot of work. They keep cutting corners more and more it seems. They don't provide any storage with the ELPH 100 HS, either, not that I mind that. I hope I at least get the retail included accessories with my certified Canon refurb.

 

[Muse]

Yes, always, but at work 😉

Better to have them on 8.5 x 11" in a binder.

I have binders, but I always staple them. I have various kinds of staplers, including some heavy duty ones. If they weren't up to it, I could drill holes at the left side. I think I have done that IIRC. If I print the ELPH manual I may have to do that. 106 8.5x11" sheets will be pretty thick! I may go through the manual and decide which pages matter to me and just print those. I did that with my Samsung 23" display a couple weeks ago.

 

[nickbits]

I just read it on the computer.

 

[SecurityTheatre]

The manuals are usually verbose and obnoxious.

If you really need documentation, go pick up one of those third party books that summarizes features.

You get twice the content in a quarter the pages.

But honestly, I've never printed anything other than tax returns, airplane tickets and parking permits in about 2 years. I'm still on the same toner cartridge from 5 years ago.

Reading the manuals online will save you more money than sticking your batteries in the refrigerator. 🙂

heh

 

[sixone]

I guess it was the 2 pages/side that made it so small as to be unreadable. I let PDF printing do its thing, but usually print odd pages, then manual feed even pages to get two sided sheets. As long as my printer's behaving it works out. It's work, though. I wish they'd supply the paper manual, it would save me a lot of work. They keep cutting corners more and more it seems. They don't provide any storage with the ELPH 100 HS, either, not that I mind that. I hope I at least get the retail included accessories with my certified Canon refurb.

Yes, it was the two pages per side that made it too small. But my manual is 220+ pages, so one page per side is still too many pages.

A pre-printed manual would be great. Considering what I paid for the cam, it's the least they could do.

 

[Throckmorton]

You don't need a manual. It's just a little P&S

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Is that 212 pages of English or does it cover 4 to 6 other languages?

 

[gevorg]

You don't need a manual. It's just a little P&S

Bingo!

 

[slashbinslashbash]

Yeah usually the manual will be in at least 3 languages (English, Spanish, French) and sometimes more. So cut your page-count down to 1/3rd or roughly 70 pages. Still it is a fairly simple camera, there is not that much to it. The menus are all reasonably laid out, and if you put it in Program mode then you will have more menu options than in Auto mode. So if you are looking for an option in the menus and can't find it, check your mode switch.

I would skim the manual on your computer, and print any pages that you find confusing or would like to commonly reference.

 

[Muse]

The manuals are usually verbose and obnoxious.

If you really need documentation, go pick up one of those third party books that summarizes features.

You get twice the content in a quarter the pages.

But honestly, I've never printed anything other than tax returns, airplane tickets and parking permits in about 2 years. I'm still on the same toner cartridge from 5 years ago.

Reading the manuals online will save you more money than sticking your batteries in the refrigerator. 🙂
Keeping my batteries in tip top shape isn't just about saving money. It's easier on the nerves if my batteries have more capacity. Anyway, if my batteries are in the fridge at least I know where they are. 😎 I go months without using my laptop batteries.

heh

Keeping my batteries in tip top shape isn't just about saving money. It's easier on the nerves if my batteries have more capacity. Anyway, if my batteries are in the fridge at least I know where they are. 😎 I go months without using my laptop batteries.

 

[Muse]

Yeah usually the manual will be in at least 3 languages (English, Spanish, French) and sometimes more. So cut your page-count down to 1/3rd or roughly 70 pages. Still it is a fairly simple camera, there is not that much to it. The menus are all reasonably laid out, and if you put it in Program mode then you will have more menu options than in Auto mode. So if you are looking for an option in the menus and can't find it, check your mode switch.

I would skim the manual on your computer, and print any pages that you find confusing or would like to commonly reference.

I'll certainly try this approach first.

Is that 212 pages of English or does it cover 4 to 6 other languages?

212 pages, 100% English:

http://gdlp01.c-wss.com/gds/5/0300004755/01/PSELPH100HS_IXUS115HS_CUG_EN_02.pdf

 

[Anubis]

the last manual i printed out was for my AVR and it was fing HUGE, too big to staple. i would have needed a railroad spike. i did it at work. its nearly half a ream of paper

http://www.rootminus1.com/admin/rand/yammyman.JPG

all the DSLRs ive purchased have come with manuals in paper form so i havent needed to print them, i think the nikon One i got my rents also came with one

 

[Muse]

Yes, it was the two pages per side that made it too small. But my manual is 220+ pages, so one page per side is still too many pages.

A pre-printed manual would be great. Considering what I paid for the cam, it's the least they could do.

The 212 page manual for my ELPH is almost that big. There's always some stuff I'd never read, like all the warning stuff at the beginning. I'll maybe print some of it, the pages I think might really help me. Considering it's "just a P&S" it's amazing how big the manual is. The fact is with modern miniaturization they can really load a ton of options in electronics, even compact electronics these days.

The manuals are usually verbose and obnoxious.

If you really need documentation, go pick up one of those third party books that summarizes features.

You get twice the content in a quarter the pages.

I did find what I think is a really good review that goes over the features in a lot of detail. I read the whole thing last week, will revisit it:

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_elph_100hs-review

It's chock full of great info and great illustrations.

They have a printable version that's 26 pages:

http://www.dcresource.com/reviews/canon/powershot_elph_100hs-review/print

The color illustrations wouldn't look so great printed on my B&W laser printer, though.

 

[Tomsy]

My mum and dad bought a washer second hand cos were havin some work done I typed in the model number and got the PDF then printed out 16 pages! And it helped !!