Digital magazines - paddling in the shallows

[Graham Boak]

I'm thinking of a subscription to one of these - actually as Xmas present suggestions to family. However I'd appreciate feedback from those who already subscribe this way. I'm fine with reading text-heavy books on tablets, but have some doubts about extending this to magazines with a higher image content, often requiring large sizes.

Generally, do people find themselves happy with electronic subscriptions? All experiences welcomed, but I suspect comment from older modellers who grew up with paper may be particularly helpful. Has anyone tried digital and then rejected it - and if so why?

In more detail:

Is it easy to move copies between platforms - eg Tablet to PC? I presume the answer is yes, but I've not seen it mentioned.

Is it possible to print desired pages individually? I presume yes but...

Is it possible to print desired text/images?

Is it possible to extract parts of the magazine - for example that dealing with a specific aircraft/subject - and store it in another file? This is akin to ripping pages out and filing, something I do find useful with the paper issues.

Does this differ between magazines? I'm currently interested in four that would directly replace current paper subscriptions: Computer Active, New Scientist, British Railway Modelling and Classic Military Vehicles; plus more irregular buys such as Model Aircraft, Scale Aircraft Modelling, The Aviation Historian, Autosport, Motor Sport and Backtrack.

[Seahawk]

This is probably a damnfool question but it's worth knowing the answer for sure. The aminadvantage of the digital format is surely reduced storage, a subject increasingly dear to my heart.. However I have always assumed that continued access to the on-line archive of previously published issues is dependent on having a live subscription. This would seem to imply that, if at some point in the future I decide to let my subscription lapse, I lose all access to all back issues, no matter how many years I have held a subscription for - unless I have printed them off.

Am I right?

[Redboost]

No, you should be able to download each issue, or actually print it to an PDF file and store it anywhere you want (tablet, PC, phone) . Additionaly, in my experience not valid subscription does not automatically means you lost all your content; I can always access all my back issues in the respective part of my account.

[Seahawk]

No, you should be able to download each issue, or actually print it to an PDF file and store it anywhere you want (tablet, PC, phone) . Additionaly, in my experience not valid subscription does not automatically means you lost all your content; I can always access all my back issues in the respective part of my account.

If that's the case, then that's very encouraging. I particularly like the sound of being able to download by issue rather than article. I cannot forecast what I will be interested in 6 months hence, let alone in 25 years' time, so wouldn't like to have to select individual articles.

Now back to Graham's original questions. Sorry to divert.

[Foghorn Leghorn]

I recently bought a Tamiya mag from pocketmags.com. They have an online reader and an offline reader but so far there's no way to save it as a pdf. Still messing around with it so I'm happy to be proved wrong. Not sure about other mag suppliers like apple store etc.

You can actually turn the pocketmags magazine into a pdf if you want to get your computing hands dirty, but pocketmags don't seem to want you to have a pdf as such and have made it as difficult as possible.

And you can't blame them really as one person could buy the mag and then freely distribute it to the masses ... as happens on the interweb ...

[bootneck]

I have a subscription to a small (A5 size) shipping magazine and this arrives promptly at the end of each month.

The magazine is downloaded to my PC/Laptop/tablet, the choice is mine and I can download it to all three if I wish. I'm not suggesting that this facility is available across all digital subscriptions but it is with this one.

What I really like about digital over paper is that I can cut and paste articles into research projects for future builds etc. In the past, I have found it very frustrating, looking for articles and pictures for a build and having to search through endless copies of magazines for them.

The next benefit is when I go away on holiday; I just choose a few of the magazines and save them to my tablet or onto a memory stick to take with me. Previously I had to take along a load of mags to read which impacted on my luggage allowance.

Finally, as I get older my eyesight isn't the best. Just as with any other .PDF document, the digital magazine can be zoomed therefore saving me searching for the magnifying glass; especially with the excruciatingly small print of some mags nowadays.

Here is an example page from the magazine, note it is only A5 size.

Here is a section of the same page, enlarged for better reading; or for zooming in to check specific details on an image.

Here is a cut image, which I could now paste into a folder for a future build - saves having to scan the image from a paper magazine and also saves searching for it months later.

HTH

Mike

[Graham Boak]

Bootneck: that sounds ideal. However...

Foghorn Leghorn: I take the point about widespread free distribution, but such limitations considerably reduce the attraction of electronic mags. To me, a large part of the benefit of digital reading lies in the potential ability to select, collate, store and index. If I can't do that, it rules out a number of magazines that I was considering. (It will still be ok for ones that end up being thrown out after a few weeks/months anyway.) Or perhaps I should just abandon this old-fogey approach of saving references for future modelling anyway?

More practically, I've just downloaded a back issue of The Aviation Historian (plus a free copy of Tamiya mag) from Pocketmags onto my Nexus, and confirm that there doesn't seem to be any cut-and-paste options, but that's hardly surprising on the platform. Sadly my desktop is still Windows 7 and so not covered anyway. Perhaps I should dig out my Windows 8.1 laptop just for reading magazines, or just wait for W10.

[Foghorn Leghorn]

Foghorn Leghorn: I take the point about widespread free distribution, but such limitations considerably reduce the attraction of electronic mags. To me, a large part of the benefit of digital reading lies in the potential ability to select, collate, store and index.

I totally agree with you.

After some investigating I found out how and where pocketmags stores the mags on my PC and have found a way to turn them into pdfs. If you're happy changing file extensions and finding hidden system folders you can turn the mags into pdfs, after that you can cut, paste, store and do anything with them.

If you want to know more feel free to pm me.

Neil

Edited July 20, 2015 by Foghorn Leghorn

[FalkeEins]

In more detail:

Is it easy to move copies between platforms - eg Tablet to PC? I presume the answer is yes, but I've not seen it mentioned.

always found it rather difficult with Apple/Itunes Ipad to PC or lap-top. I use a free piece of software on my laptop called "Copy Trans" which obviates the need to do everything via itunes. (can also neatly circumvent itunes when loading your ipod). Speaking as some-one with a pile of paper (magazines/books) that was starting to take over the house I'm a digital mag convert..

Edited July 20, 2015 by FalkeEins

[bootneck]

................After some investigating I found out how and where pocketmags stores the mags on my PC and have found a way to turn them into pdfs.

That's good to hear because I thought it was being implied that model magazines couldn't be saved to our devices, unlike the shipping one I mentioned earlier, for use off-line later etc.

I think the major point of having a modelling or reference book (as opposed to a paperback or video for entertainment) is to have it available, to read anywhere - in the lounge, model room, car or even in bed with your cocoa. The book should be able to be read whilst away from home, where there might not be internet or WiFi access etc. We would want to be able to annotate it, add cross references in the margins etc. If a digital magazine couldn't be any of the above, and is just a piece of reading material, then I'd worry about spending out on something that I wouldn't own. That would sound like (publisher) "I have a book which, if you pay me in 12 instalments, I'll let you see a copy. At the end of the 12 months you don't have the book; If I go bust or change my formats or prices, you still don't have the book".

Mike

[Foghorn Leghorn]

That's good to hear because I thought it was being implied that model magazines couldn't be saved to our devices, unlike the shipping one I mentioned earlier, for use off-line later etc.

I think the major point of having a modelling or reference book (as opposed to a paperback or video for entertainment) is to have it available, to read anywhere - in the lounge, model room, car or even in bed with your cocoa.

Absolutely.

Pocketmags REALLY want you to use their online reader, which is pointless to the likes of us. The offline reader for PC (or the tablet reader, in my case for Android) is crucial as it allows you to download the mag to your PC/Tablet. And whether my 'solution' applies to mags other than Tamiya (which i bought) I don't know. And other suppliers may have their own system as well.

But what we have here is a situation summed up by one of my favourite phrases:

"Expecting life to be fair because you are, is like expecting a bull not to charge because you're a vegetarian"

Pocketmags etc are trying to combat 'mag copying' and the honest buyer gets the rump end of the deal. It's not nice and it's not fair but that's the way this particular cookie crumbles. However, there are solutions.

Edited July 20, 2015 by Foghorn Leghorn

[Seahawk]

. That would sound like (publisher) "I have a book which, if you pay me in 12 instalments, I'll let you see a copy. At the end of the 12 months you don't have the book; If I go bust or change my formats or prices, you still don't have the book".

Yep, that's exactly how I've read it thus far. I'm open to being convinced but not hearling much to change my mind so far..

[Graham Boak]

Once you've downloaded it, which you can do to multiple platforms, then you do own it. This still leaves you at the mercy of the reader. This appears to be a problem with Pocketmags, to the extent that they are about to issue a new reader to replace the current Silverlight. I think I'll step back from this subject until the new reader is available - and possibly Windows 10 too.