Table of Contents
Start of Chapter : Optimize your Alphabetics
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To print or read on-screen?
A few years ago, it was safe to say the readability of text on screen was significantly less than printed text. Technological progress over the last few years, though, has helped monitors catch up. Modern equipment, properly configured, easily matches the readability of printed text.
The most important factor of readability for screen and printed text is resolution. If you have a large, high-resolution screen (at least 17" or greater size, 1024x768x16K colors), but a poor quality printer (e.g. dot matrix or low quality inkjet), reading on screen is your best choice. If you have less capable screen but a good 600+ DPI (dots per inch) inkjet or laser printer, then printing might be a better choice.
If you have both, the question of whether to print depends on other issues:
- Portability. Printed material is easier to carry around, for example, to read on the bus or train, or other parts of the house. Tablet PCs are still taking time to catch on.
- Marking. It's often easier to mark and highlight printed matter. Some ebook tools provide this feature, however it's easy to lose your annotations.
- Searching. Electronic versions are easier to do keyword searches of the material and your notes.
- Comfort. Reading in a comfortable chair is often easier than sitting in front of a PC.
- Cost. It's cheaper to read on-screen.
Regardless of which format you choose, follow the guidelines below to optimize how you use these formats.
Next: Optimize Printed Text
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