eBook vs. Printed Book

Back in the day (in the old ages, as the youth would say), there was no such thing as an eBook. The thought of an electronic book was like some Sci-Fi vision of the future. Indeed, before the days of the internet and emails, reading, research and publishing in general, was all paper based – one read a hard copy, physical book printed on paper. Even when computers and advanced technology hinted at more and more written work being electronic, many fought tooth and nail against this, vowing never to read a book electronically. They loved the physicality of a real book, printed on paper that they could feel and page through, smell and collect in a library. These people insisted that eBooks published on Amazon’s Kindle devices and other such eReaders would never overtake or replace printed books. But they were clearly short-sighted and sorely mistaken to make this assumption as eBooks have slowly but surely grown in popularity and use even amongst the older generation who fought against such technology much as they did against cell phones and artificial intelligence. eBook sales have gained a significant share of the market and this slice of the pie is growing in leaps and bounds, overtaking its printed rival.

It is debatable as to when exactly the first eBook was created, whether it was several projects from the early 60s which were the precursors of the modern-day eBooks or in 1971, Michael S. Hart’s electronic version of the Declaration of Independence. Regardless, it was in the late 90s and particularly in the early 2000s that eBooks really began to take root. There are now many companies that offer eReader devices and publish eBooks. There are apps on offer that can be used on an assortment of devices, including mobile phones, tablets, and computers. Amazon’s Kindle app can turn any compatible device into a Kindle eReader and readers further enjoy unlimited access to Amazon’s Kindle store anywhere in the world. Apple has an iBooks app, accessible through iPads and iPhones, and readers can buy books directly from Apple’s digital store.

So what’s better, an eBook or a printed book? Of course eBooks have some undeniable advantages over traditional print books. The most obvious one is the ability to store many books in a smaller space – you can have countless downloaded eBooks on your small device instead of lugging around a whole bunch of heavy books. This makes study for students easier as they walk between classes. It makes travelling with reading material in general whether for study, leisure or business, much easier. Furthermore, numerous eReader devices enjoy the convenience of a built-in light source, so as not to disturb those next to you with an intrusive bedside lamp when reading in the dark and making it much easier to see properly. Add to this the fact that you can control the font size too, making it as large as you like and even the older generation cannot deny the pleasure of not needing a magnifying glass to read the text. eBooks are also cheaper to buy than printed books as the extensive cost of printing is removed.

However, many still prefer traditional print books. They say it’s the tactile feel of paper books that they love. The old-school smell, feel and look of books that carry history and sentimentality. Passing books along to friends to share or as gifts, re-reading and pouring over beloved pages of text like visiting an old friend – it’s mostly to do with a sentimental love of books. Printed books are definitely more expensive to publish when one takes into account the printing process and the high costs involved. In more recent times however, this cost has been reduced significantly by digital printing which allows for print on demand. In other words, one no longer has to print long runs of books and store them for sale. Now one can print as little as one book and many organisations like Amazon and Takealot offer print on demand services whereby someone can order a book from them and they print just that one copy and send it to the customer without carrying any stock of the printed book.

The ideal is to offer both – an eBook version and a printed version of books in order to satisfy a wider market.