Printed books vs digital books is an age-old debate. There are and will be people who support printed books as well as electronic books or eBooks.
If you compare the two, you would find that although printed hardcover books are much loved for their authenticity and the feel of holding an actual book, eBooks are more functional and fare far better in terms of ease of carrying. Let us see some of the advantages that eBooks have over traditional printed books.
1. One Device, Many Books:
eBooks are portable and lightweight, making it easy to carry around. Instead of carrying multiple bulky books, one eBook reader can hold thousands of eBooks. It saves a lot of space- in your home and in your bag. One doesn’t have to worry about the storage limit.
A single device is enough to read any number of books you want. It allows the user to store plenty of books on the device, way more than anyone can read in their lifetime.
2. Accessible Everywhere:
eBooks can be downloaded and stored for later use. One can carry the eBook around and read them whenever they want. It is convenient for people on the go. Some eReaders come with the option of offline accessibility, allowing people to use it even in the absence of an internet connection.
Unlike printed books which have to be ordered or purchased from the bookstore, with time lost in waiting for delivery or travelling to the bookstore; readers can easily access any eBook anytime and anywhere.
3. Easy Updates:
The contents of the eBooks are mostly cloud-based, meaning it can be updated at any time. Authors and publishers can always add up-to-date information, providing users with the latest digital content.
4. Shareable Content:
You can share the eBook content with multiple users. The social feature on the ebook allows sharing and liking of content, which is not possible with printed books.
You might share a printed book with one person at a time, but an eBook can be shared with many people at once.
5. Augmented Reality Experience:
Augmented reality has taken the eBook experience to a whole new level. Texts and images can now be embedded with an augmented three-dimensional visual that pops up on the user’s screen. Readers can view a computer-generated 3D model of the image, which makes reading and learning a much more immersive experience.
The user only has to point the device at the image or text, and an enhanced version of the image will be displayed on their screen.
6. Easy on the Eyes:
eReaders these days come with features where you can adjust the brightness of the screen according to the time of the day and depending upon your preferences.
Many eReaders even have a ‘read in the dark’ feature, with lights that won’t strain your eyes, and neither would they disturb others around you. Users can even change the fonts of the text. They can increase or decrease the size of the font. Basically, eBooks ensure that your eyes are taken care of.
7. Read Aloud Feature
eBooks have been designed with text-to-speech or read-aloud features. This allows people to listen to the eBooks if they are too busy to read it, for example, while driving, or while doing some chores.
8. Interactive Elements:
There are multiple interactive features that can be included in order to enhance the overall reading experience. eBooks can be embedded with audio and videos.
The user can even bookmark a certain page or find a word in a quick and effortless way. It also allows users to make annotations.
9. eBooks are Environment-friendly:
They totally eliminate the paper printing process, saving printing costs for the publishers. Approximately 2.2 million books are published each year, using around 3 million trees.
Apart from cutting trees, it also adds to the carbon footprint by transporting the raw materials, the production process in the mill, and the final shipping. All these processes can be eliminated with the help of eBooks. Thus, eBooks are better for the environment as a whole.
10. Affordable in the Long Run:
eBooks cost much less than printed books. Because there’s not much of pre-production involved like that in printed books.
No paperback covers, no paper printing, no packaging cost, no shipping. So eventually it becomes much cheaper than a printed book. eBooks are hence easy on the pockets.
In conclusion, eBooks offer numerous advantages over printed books. They are cost-effective, convenient, portable, and environmentally friendly.
While printed books will always have a loyal following, the advantages of eBooks make them an attractive alternative for readers.
