Hard Copy Manual. Let's Find the Best Way to Get One.

[ModSource]

This post is about requesting support from the community for a high-quality hard copy of the R8 manual.

I think Reason's Operation Manual is one of the best written software manuals out there.  Its also full of great tips and useful examples.  Plus, the descriptions of audio, MIDI, and CV basics are excellent.  Weighing in at 1080 pages, its an invaluable resource for mastering this tool that we use to make music.  Bottom line: there is no better description of Reason's devices and instruments, hands down. 

Why is a hard copy of the operation manual needed? Isn't the PDF good enough?  Sure, the PDF is convenient.  I use it all the time.  But there is just something vital about having a printed manual.

For starters, I think a printed manual must have the following features:

• Color
• Binding that allows the manual to lay flat...spiral or ring binder.  
• Printed on full size paper

Other software companies provide hard copies of manuals.  One example is Ableton.  The boxed versions of Live come with a printed manual.  I'm also inspired by Ableton's endorsement of this:  https://makingmusic.ableton.com/

Well, how much would it cost to print a hard copy of the R8 Operation Manual?  I went to a FedEx/Kinkos store, and I was quoted a price of around $450.  That was just for the cost of printing the pages; charges for the cover and binding material would be added.  What about an online printing service? I did some research and found one with a good reputation.  I received a quote for $677.11!

Since the Props don't provide a printed manual, there's got to be a way to get one for a reasonable price.  Any suggestions?  Is there a crowdfunding option for getting manuals printed?   If so, can we get one started here?

[Gaja]

I believe if you wanted to publish these you will propably have to ask permission from props, as it is copyrighted material.
I thought it was a good idea to print it and then put it in a folder (back with record 1.0) but I ended up with two folders and I confess I didn't use it as much as I thought I would.
I now have an iPad and have the Reason manual in iBooks. So for me personally there's no need for a physical copy, which would probably hurt my wrist when reading, because if I want to read something, using keywords in iBooks is much quicker and simpler.
I'm not trying to tlk you out of it, by all means do whatever it takes to get your juices flowing, but copyright might be an issue, if you'd want to publsh it.

[JNeffLind]

Perhaps a kind soul would be able to do it as a no-gain proposition since Gaja is right that any sort of profit would be illegal and even doing it for others without profit could be illegal. 

I printed mine on my home printer and did so in black and white and I still went through two or three XL toner cartridges (564 XL HP cartridges). At Costco a three pack of those costs about $65.00. Add another $5.00 for a decent 3" binder and a few bucks for paper and it's about $73.00 (US) in materials. Factor in wear and tear on one's printer if one were to do this for others (I I think my printer was about a hundred bucks, so let's say ten dollars for production capacity upkeep) and we're at $83.00 for a black and white self made manual. It'd be significantly more (maybe two or three times more) for a color version, since the ink goes fast!

Hope this helps.

[rvman]

I downloaded it to my work computer and printed out all the sections that I wanted on their printers. (Shh, don't tell them about it. LOL)

You can also consider taking the pdf on cd to a printing store or office store and paying them to print it out and bind it. But that won't be cheap. But it's better than doing it yourself at home and it will be nice and neat.

It's WELL WORTH having.

[Soft Enerji]

Before I moved from Sydney to the country I worked as a production manager of a large offset printing company. We also had a digital press. I could get my manuals done for free .  I now work for a photocopier dealership which has a copy service. I could get them printed and bound there but I find it just as easy to look a pdf on screen.

[MetalKris]

I downloaded it to my work computer and printed out all the sections that I wanted on their printers. (Shh, don't tell them about it. LOL)

Same here! With the difference that "all the sections that I wanted" were actually ALL the sections of the manual!
It took me a lot to do it, in block of 10, 20 pages max so that if somebody noticed me... "ooh, I just printed some pages for myself"  :s0230:

[Exowildebeest]

Y'all are tree-murderers!!1!1!!

[zeebot]

I dont get the idea of having a hard copy? Why is that a benefit in this day and age?
Its right there in the program, or upload the pdf to dropbox and access it anywhere in the world or keep a copy on your portable devices for offline use.
Not trying to be an ass or anything. Maybe its just the oldschool physical thing of having a book you can also take anywhere.

[submonsterz]

proper waste of natural resources ............
put it on ya phone or something save the environment a bit ehh.
and for that price id want it gold plated too with platinum edges................

[joeyluck]

Yeah...For that cost you could get an iPad that is dedicated just for your manual! Lol. With money to spare

[esselfortium]

Count me in as not really seeing the benefit in printing a hard copy. With such a gigantic manual, having it printed on paper seems like it would just add more hassle. Being able to search for keywords and phrases in a PDF is much easier, and it's free  

[MetalKris]

Actually, it's for the exact same reason for which I don't read e-books but read dozens of printed books per year. It's not even the fact that I can take it anywhere, cause I can't (had to make two separate "books").
Yes, I could have wasted natural resources. More or less the same that I saved recycling paper in the office printed on the back of already printed pages that other would have thrown away.

[chimp_spanner]

I miss hard copies, but I see how they're impractical given how software can change over time. That said, I do miss being able to flick through product manuals on the sofa (or the John haha). Some things are useful to have in physical form (especially stuff like MIDI implementation charts and quick reference sheets). But I don't know if the full manual needs to be printed.

[davidhyno]

Best price that I have found in internet (for Europen Customers) is here: https://www.pixartprinting.com/ 

A color copy A4 (not with spiral binding, only perfect binding) just for €45 ~.


Bye,
David

[Data_Shrine]

If you must, print it in black n white, it will cost way less.

[Gaja]

The main problem is that everytime you upgrade Reason you'll also need to upgrade your manual. So you either bind it yourself in a folder to add/subtract pages, or you print it anew everytime. A PDF offers a way with less hassle.

[KEVMOVE02]

I downloaded it to my work computer and printed out all the sections that I wanted on their printers. (Shh, don't tell them about it. LOL) You can also consider taking the pdf on cd to a printing store or office store and paying them to print it out and bind it. But that won't be cheap. But it's better than doing it yourself at home and it will be nice and neat. It's WELL WORTH having.

I work for a printer, so i just asked if i could bring my own paper and print out the manual. It cost me a penny per side. Bought a 3 inch ring binder at the Thrift Shop for another dollar. $12.00 all in.

[KEVMOVE02]

Most companies ceased to include printed manuals in their software because it conserved resources and lowered production costs. They were embolden to do this because studies have shown that most men (64%) admit that they never read the manual. I can't attest to the veracity of that statistic, but after reading a significant number of questions (on multiple customer support forums) that could have been answered by simply RTFM leads me to believe this is more likely than not. Studies also show that printed material is more likely to be annotated by the user, reinforcing the learned principle.

More and more Universities are allowing students to use ebook versions of academic textbooks, giving them the option to save money on books they will only use once, while buying hardcopy versions of the books they will use through their college career and in their profession.

Most significantly, being able to search keywords in a pdf is helpful in finding answers quickly, but has the tremendous downside of giving no incentive to actually read the whole book.