Top 10 Advantages of eBooks over Printed Books

eBook vs. physical book! The battle is real. But there will always be digital supremacy now that the world is moving towards everything digital. With digital transformation influencing for many sectors, including-

• Education (eLearning)
• Publication
• eCommerce
• Corporate
• Fashion
• Healthcare, etc.,

– the production of digital books or eBooks has skyrocketed like never before.

So, the question remains, which has the most advantages and must be adopted the most? Well, one does agree or not, eBooks seem to be winning this fight.

This article will cover all the useful advantages of eBooks over printed books and the reasons why publishers and readers favor them. Hopefully, by the end of the article, you will gain the knowledge to choose between the two formats, online and printed. Let’s start!

A lot of debates and speculations happen over the adaption and acceptance of eBooks over traditional paperback. As books are our best friends, if they can are converted into digital facsimiles with similar appeal but enhanced features, it adds further value.

Let’s examine the significant benefits of eBooks over traditional printed books.

1. Accessible anywhere, anytime

   The beauty of eBooks is that they can be stored and downloaded for later use as often as possible, regardless of geographical barriers. No matter the content you need, just go to the respective site or digital shelf and download the specific file.

   Even for rare books difficult to find in physical bookstores, one can find a digital replica online. Traditional books often go out of stock or are lost during delivery, electronic books can be accessed anywhere, anytime.

   In short, these online content materials have opened newer opportunities for aspiring readers.

2. Conveniently portable

   Another best aspect of eBooks is portability. No more space crunch or heavier luggage due to bulky hardcovers; just take your iPad or Kindle, download the softcopy, and start reading on the go.

   There’s no time limit for users accessing the sites, unlike physical bookstores or libraries, having a definite time for access.

3. Takes care of the eyes

   Most eReaders these days have useful features such as the option to read in the dark warm eye protection lights and layout changing options. These features are easy on the eyes and don’t hurt or damage them even on continuous exposure. Also, brightness adjusting is another great feature eBooks have.

   Besides, eBooks allow the flexibility to increase or decrease the font size and choose a single or double-space reading mode. Simply put, they care more for your eyes than printed books do.

4. Interactive multimedia elements
   

   Digitized textbooks can have a lot of multimedia elements embedded in them. Such as audio & video, graphics, illustrations, third-party links, etc. Users can use these hyperlinks for more data.

   These elements enhance the user experience with enhanced engagement and easy information collection. They contribute to an immersive reading and more engagement.

   Users can also bookmark and search a certain page instantly, saving a lot of time. In printed books, readers search for an excerpt manually by scrolling several pages. Professional eBook development agencies are experts in creating such interactive eBooks.

5. Easy to highlight and insert comments/notes

   Readers can highlight their favorite paragraphs or lines and download all at once with a few clicks.

   With handy comment insertion features, they can also write short notes or comments beside paragraphs or excerpts. These notes are helpful for future reference and citations.

   These functionalities not just save time but also streamline the reading experience from the start till the end.

6. Text-to-speech or read-aloud feature

   eBooks have built-in text-to-speech or read-aloud feature. This enables users to listen to the content if they have no time to read it. This also helps users with vision impairment or learning disabilities, such as dyslexia.

   Furthermore, children with ADHD are helped with this feature as they have a hard time focusing or reading something for a long time.

   Also, getting the right pronunciation or accent of foreign words is also fulfilled.

7. An embedded dictionary to find tough words

   Electronic books also come with another in-built feature, a dictionary. Users can use this feature anytime they need to find the meaning or definition of an unknown word.

   Healthcare professionals, research, scientists, students pursuing higher studies are especially helped with this. Because most of them often come across jargons that need defined.

   All they have to do is to click and hold the particular word, and the meaning will pop up. Expert digital conversion service providers embed such functionalities while developing a digital book.

8. Ability to share content

   Online books can be shared with and developed by multiple contributors. They can also be accessed by as many people as the author wants. Apart from this, social sharing is also a major functionality that users can avail themselves of.

   Authors can embed social media sharing buttons within the content for instant social media sharing. Users can use these buttons can easily share whatever they like.

   Thus, content shareability is another advantage of eBooks over printed books.

9. Can last longer than conventional books

   This is probably one of the most critical advantages electronic content has over printed hardcovers. The latter can get ruined due to wear and tear, old age, water and mold damage, pages can break, and so on. But eBooks are online content; hence they have an indefinite longevity.

   Even rare manuscripts can be transformed into digital books with the help of OCR technology.

   Professional digital conversion agencies offer such stellar services at a reasonable cost. They also ensure the utmost quality in the final product.

10. eBooks are eco-friendly

    On average, more than 2 million paperback books are produced each year, making over 3.4 million trees to be chopped down over coming decade. On the contrary, not a single page or paper is involved in the entire development of an eBook.

    Thus, the environmental impact is highly positive in the development of digitized books.

    Unlike traditional books that require hundreds of pages for printing. With the digital process, the printing is eliminated which reduces the production costs.

    It also drastically reduces carbon footprint with less raw materials transported. Electricity consumed is also less that contributes to lesser carbon footprint.

    This is another reason why eBooks are outshining printed books.

There’s an old adage that goes by, “to each their own”. It means every person has their own opinion, preference, and comfort zone. That said, some consumers still prefer printed books over electronic or online formats. Albeit because of sentimental values or old habits.

There can be both pros and cons of eBooks. Yet, if one evaluates the practicalities, convenience, and ease of use, digitized books take the cake.

Printed formats give the feeling of holding a book, scrolling the pages, bookmarking them, and buying from bookstores. Digital books offer more functionalities, better portability, and a much more cost-effective approach.

Also, the world is moving towards a digital world that will have more digitized versions.

Besides, the advent of several self-publishing platforms, has helped many independent authors. They can now produce and self-publish their content for mass outreach. With DRM features available for eBooks, their creative authorities are also retained.

It’s time to sum up everything about eBooks vs. printed books. Judging the two great advantages of the former, such as-

• Portability, and
• Functionality
• Interactivity, and
• User experience

– over printed books, eBooks surely win.

Also, there’s another factor to consider, the affordability. No printing, production, or packaging cost, warehousing, logistics, shipping expense. Lastly, no re-printing costs. None of these production costs are involved in the development of electronic books.

Simply leveraging any of the myriads of eBook conversion software, high-quality eBooks can be produced in no time.

To dig deeper, online books also offer AR-friendly reading, and most of all, DRM (Digital Rights Management) features. This  empowers authors to exert their creative rights over their content. As well as prevent it from being illegally distributed or modified.

If you are a marketer, publisher, or author, reach out to a professional digital conversion agency today. Check out the high-end eBook conversion services they offer and share your requirements. In no time, you will get fully functional eBooks produced for your ultimate business objectives. Give your users the best reading experience they have ever had! Good luck!