It’s no surprise that the digital world has taken over all the traditional norms. Technology has invaded all walks of life, and since the past decade, everything has changed dramatically. Traditional watches have been replaced by smartwatches, maps by online navigation systems, computers with laptops and tablets, and so much more. It’s true that with these revolutions, our lives have become so much easier, faster, and more fun.
Things that previously took days or even months can be done within a couple of minutes. Similarly, acquiring knowledge is not as challenging as it used to be. The internet has made access to information surprisingly convenient. Once upon a time, people would go to libraries, search for their desired books and then borrow them. They even used to wait for months to get their hands on their desired book.
So how did the advent of technology change the book culture? Are print books now extinct, and are ebooks really the future? If you have all these questions buzzing in your head, you’re in the right place. Let’s find out everything you need to know about print books vs. ebooks.
Are eBooks Here to Stay?
When we ask you what comes to mind when you hear the word book, you’re most likely to respond with paper or ink. However, a book isn’t just that; it can exist beyond paper and binding. Minus the physical presence, an ebook contains everything that a print book contains plus some extra benefits.
The only significant difference between a print and an ebook is the lack of a physical object. Now, that serves as an advantage to ebooks. It makes them way more portable than a print book. You can store a library of phones within your phone that most people can’t do with print books in their homes.
Online libraries offer a vast amount of space and have content appropriate for all age brackets. Ebooks don’t take up a lot of storage. Even if you have limited data, several full-length editions will occupy no more than an MB of the total disk space. Can print books ever compete with that? We don’t think so.
There’s more: people with weak eyesight find it challenging to read in print books where the font is small. With ebooks, you have the option of adjusting the font size according to your wishes! You can make the letters big or small, change the color on the background, turn on the night light on your phone; the options are endless.
An ebook technology such as Kindle will survey your tastes and offer you new suggestions accordingly. Hence, you will read more often and won’t have to search around for books of your preferred genre.
Furthermore, ebooks provide the feature of a built-in dictionary. If you come across a difficult word while reading from print books, you’ll likely ignore it, and your vocabulary will never expand. Whereas, with the built-in feature, you can check out definitions in a jiffy. You can also take notes and then export them to any text editor!
With all these reasons, we can confirm the fact that ebooks are indeed here to stay.
Also Read: 7 Super Easy Ways to Customize a PLR eBook and Make it Unique
What About Print Books?
If you are a true reader, you’ll agree that the smell of freshly printed pages and the crisp of the paper brings about a joy that can’t be compared to anything else. Holding a hardcover book, reading it while you enjoy a hot cup of coffee is a magical experience. All readers would agree that print offers a unique experience. However, does it overpower all the benefits that ebooks offer?
Reading from an electronic gadget often causes a strain on the eye, resulting in a headache and sometimes even causing eyesight issues. People like to read from their phones at night with the lights switched off, which is bad for your vision.
Another advantage that print books have over ebooks is that, albeit hard to carry, they don’t require a power source. Imagine you’re in the middle of an enticing scene and your battery dies. How disappointing would that be? You never have to experience such a problem with print books.
Indeed digital readers cannot enjoy in the same sense as print book readers. The experience is tactile. You feel it, smell it, and remember it. All these reasons are why traditional print books are still alive in this age of modern technology.
Print Books vs. eBooks: Costs & Savings
It’s a known fact that print books cost a lot more, both for the readers and publishers. A new writer does not have the means to publish their print book. That’s where ebooks come to the rescue. In the digital world, an ebook writer can make their space in the industry without having huge funds in the digital world.
When we talk from a reader’s perspective, ebooks are significantly cheaper than print books.
Here are some best sellers from 2021 to give you an idea of the price difference.
- “The Christmas Pig” by JK Rowling is a $14.14 ebook and $12.49 hardcover. Although negligible, the $1.75 difference does account for something.
- “Midnight in Washington” by Adam Schiff is $25.49 hardcover and $14.99. A $10.50 difference is pretty significant.
- “The Storyteller” by Dave Grohl is a $19.49 hardcover and $14.99 ebook. Again, the ebook is cheaper.
- “The Boys” by Ron and Clint Howard is a $20.49 hardcover and $14.99 ebook. The print version loses this time too.
- “The wish” by Nicholas Sparks is a $15.99 hardcover and $14.99 ebook. Following the suit, the ebook version wins again.
Although the highest difference is $10.5, these tiny margins can combine to become pretty significant over time. So, if you want to get your hands on some newest releases, picking the ebook version would be a better choice in terms of saving money and a whole lot of shelf space. Furthermore, print books often experience shipment delays due to unforeseen circumstances, such as COVID-19. In contrast, ebook sales do not experience any disruptions.
To sum it up, of course, print books will never go extinct. Reading while holding a book in your hand is a delightful experience, and no one can deny that. However, many readers prefer ebooks due to their convenience. Nonetheless, it’s not a competition. If you prefer ebooks, go for ebooks. If you prefer print books, you can have print books. At the end of the day, it’s different strokes for different folks.
