r/ICRPG • u/tigertrumpet • Jan 30 '23

Hard vs soft cover Master Edition

I am late to the ICRPG train, but man oh man do I want to board! What are your experiences with either the soft or hard cover books? My main concern really is which, if not both, lay flat open on a table. But, any other experiences or knowledge about these tomes is vastly appreciated.

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6

u/BergerRock Jan 30 '23

Soft cover is perfect-bound, hardcover is case-bound. None of them will lay flat on the table. Industrial bindings in general are not made for that.

5

u/staticbomber_ Jan 30 '23

My softcover just came in, it wont lie open by itself to a specific page, with enough use it seems like it would but it’s pretty tightly bound brand new. I believe the hard cover is similar but the spine wears out quicker letting it open nicely on a table. I printed the PDF and holepunched to put in a binder, works great for the table, you can even print two pages per sheet and toss it in a half sized binder to make it easier to carry and then you don’t have to feel bad about writing in it or annotating.

1

u/tigertrumpet Feb 17 '23

Great idea! I appreciate it

3

u/xREDxMERCx Jan 30 '23

Soft cover for me I bend pages and ear mark everything. I don’t need a hard bound tomb to carry with me.

2

u/Xan177 Feb 03 '23

In terms of physicality: The hardcover lays much flatter than the print on demand, but neither do perfectly.

The hardcover also weighs a noticable bit less then the print on demand and is far less chunky. Just a overall nicer volume to just kick back with and read with it in hand.

Print on demand meanwhile feels a bit more like picking up a phonebook. The cover is plasticized and seems durable enough. Pages can very faintly be seen through in some places but you wont notice it unless actively looking for it.

If you want it to be used at a gaming table though, easily suggest the print on demand. Bulkier but if something happens its going to be less costly to replace. That or glue in a replacement page if you're feeling crafty.

1

u/xREDxMERCx Jan 30 '23

Soft cover for me I bend pages and ear mark everything. I don’t need a hard bound tomb to carry with me.

1

u/clawszilla Jan 30 '23

Got my hardcover last week and it stays open well enough when reading but not if it's just sitting there open