We all are quite accustomed with printed books as they give us the authentic look and feel of the traditional ‘book’, as you can touch the paper, flip pages, smell the fragrance, etc. However, an eBook is a comparatively new concept. An eBook is nothing but the electronic version of the printed book.
Books play a significant role in the life of a human being by laying down the foundation of learning at a young age. They aim to deliver authentic information to the readers.
In the last few decades, not just the appearance of books have been changed, but the mode of reading books has also taken a turn, which is mainly due to the digitalization process. eBooks and audiobooks have come into vogue in recent years.
In this section, we will talk about the difference between printed book and eBook.
Content: Printed Book Vs eBook
Comparison Chart
| Basis for Comparison | Printed Book | eBook |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | A printed book is a literary publication comprising of pages bound together along single side and, protected by a cover. | A book that is transformed into electronic form, for reading on a dedicated e-reader or computer and handheld devices, is called an eBook |
| Book cover | Printed books have front covers and back covers. | eBookooks have front covers. |
| Layout | Static | Dynamic |
| Cost | High | Comparatively higher |
| Footnotes and end-notes | Printed books contain both footnotes and end-notes | E-books contain end-notes |
| Storage | Storage space is required. | A device or application can contain many e-books. |
| Speed | After buying a book or picking it from the library, one can immediately start reading it. | It may require some time to load. |
| Sharing | Easy to share. | Sharing is not possible as a paid e-reader supports only one account. |
| Weight | Depends on the volume | Light weight |
| Search | Searching is a bit difficult | Searching is extremely easy |
Definition of Printed Book
Printed books are the physical form of books, comprising of pages or sheets of paper fastened together inside the cover (often cardboard). It is a literary work of fiction and non-fiction, which contains information, stories, poetry, or similar stuff. In other words, a printed book is an extended published literary composition.
A printed book is arranged in a specific format called a ‘book’s layout’. The fundamental layout has a front cover, back cover and the body copy or content pages.
The front cover has the title, subtitle, author name and name of the publication house. The inner portion of the front cover is typically left blank. On the other hand, the back cover carries the book’s ISBN, picture of the author, along with his/her introduction. It may also include, barcode, price and excerpted reviews.
Printed books are available both online and offline. You can get them from the nearby bookstall, market or library as well. Also, you can order books online through various e-commerce websites, such as Amazon, Flipkart, etc. Once used, the consumer can also resell the book at a good price.
Definition of eBook
When a book is available in a digital format, it is termed as an eBook. By the term ‘available’, we mean the book offered, stored, distributed and read in electronic form.
It comprises of text, graphics, tables, etc. which can be readable in a flat-panel or touch screen devices, such as a desktop computer, laptop, tablet, mobile or eBook reader.
In finer terms, an eBook can be defined as a non-editable book, with a reflowable layout, which can be read on any electronic device, having a controllable viewing display. One can easily get access to books by simply downloading them from the internet.
An eBook contains a hyperlinked table of contents, which allows the user to click and land on the page of interest.
The e-reader provides a touch screen display and contains a number of features to ease the reading process. Along with that, it has a paper-like look, making it cushy to read the text in brightly lit places. Moreover, the brightness level automatically adjusts to the light.
The eBook reader can be a software application, for use on PC or laptops. For instance: Reader application offered by Microsoft Corporation. It can also be an e-reading device, also called an eReader. ‘Kindle’ is one such eReader presently sold by Amazon. A similar product is offered for sale by Barnes and Noble as ‘Nook’ and by Nuvomedia as ‘Rocket eBook’.
Key Differences Between Printed Book and eBook
Upcoming points will discuss the difference between the printed book and eBook:
- A printed book is a book in its material form, which contains text, images, graphs, etc. printed or typed on a paper. On the other hand, an ebook is defined as the electronic form of the conventional printed paperback, formatted as a file, which is readable with the help of eReader device or on an application.
- Printed books have back cover, which is mainly used for protection as well as attracting the readers. The cover can be hardcover or softcover (paperback). As against, an eBook has a front cover, which is displayed on the online shopping sites, to attract visitors.
- Printed books have a fixed layout which can’t be changed after the printing is performed, whereas eBook has a reflowable layout. Reflowable means that the text’s ability to wrap the words according to the device, user settings and application. Hence, the eBook allows the reader, to enjoy the books as per their needs and preferences.
- An eBook is cheaper in comparison to the printed one, however, the initial price of an eReader is higher than print. A study also revealed that the e-reader is costlier, i.e. it has a premium price, which the consumer needs to bear. Moreover, it also has some sort of annual charges.
- Footnotes are used in a printed book to provide additional information relating to the highlighted text. However, in the case of an eBook, hyperlinks are used, which redirect the consumer to the endnotes, where they can read the information, and hop back.
- Talking about storage, as printed books are the physical form of books, so obvious it requires a specific place for storage. As against, in case of eBooks, the books are stored in the device or the application itself, and so physical storage of the books is not required.
- When it comes to speed, once you buy the book, you can immediately start reading it. But an eBook might take some time to load.
- A printed book can be easily shared with friends, acquaintances and relatives. As well as it can also be resold after use. On the contrary, in case of a paid eBook, only one account can be used to access the books, which automatically limits its shared usage, as for sharing you have to share your login credentials with that person.
- A printed book can be light or heavy, which simply depends on the volume. When it comes to weight, an eBook is lighter in comparison to the printed paperback, and so one can hold it for many hours.
- When it comes to searching a particular matter in a printed book, it is quite difficult, as one can either search the topic in the table of contents or in the glossary at the end. In contrast, searching some topic is very easy in eBooks, as all you need to do is type the name in your device and it will show the list of all the mentions.
Conclusion
Book reading always helps in gaining or learning something new, irrespective of the purpose, i.e. personal, professional or educational. There is a fine line of difference between printed book and eBook, with respect to cost, availability and features. A consumer has to weigh the options so as to arrive at a decision, concerning the kind of format they like to prefer.
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