hard copy siglent manuals

[dorkshoei]

For certain things I like PDF.   For others I like a hard copy.     

I asked Siglent if they have hard copies of their manuals available.  I believed and expected the answer was no.  I was correct, no.

I'd like a spiral bound copy of the SDS1104X-E manual.    When I looked the cost of a one off printing in color was pretty high but I wonder if there would be interest from others in a small print run?  Or perhaps there are print alternatives I'm not aware of.   I don't have my own color laser.

To head off pointless comments:  I realize others may detest hard copy and want only PDF.  It's entirely subjective.

[tautech]

I would advise to ensure you have the latest manual before sending it out for printing.
Typically HQ has latest version but double check the version against all 3 Siglent websites.

As there has been several changes, improvements and additional functionality added to these scopes early manual versions are now long out of date.

[slugrustle]

To head off pointless comments:  I realize others may detest hard copy and want only PDF.  It's entirely subjective.

I see this isn't your first time posting on a forum   and am very curious to see how effective this tactic is.

I understand the desire for printed manuals.  Spiral bound is probably your best bet for quality vs. price.  I've wanted to get a hot knife velobind machine for this kind of thing, but they're too expensive to justify in my case.

Just for kicks:
1. Are you going to print the datasheet as well and bind them in one volume?  That could be useful.
2. Are the manual PDFs A4 page size or U.S. Letter page size?  Prints look best in the natural, unscaled page size.  I once printed a microcontroller hardware reference manual on my home printer (inkjet, as it happens) and bought some A4 paper specially so I didn't need to rescale anything.

[dorkshoei]

To head off pointless comments:  I realize others may detest hard copy and want only PDF.  It's entirely subjective.

I see this isn't your first time posting on a forum   and am very curious to see how effective this tactic is.

This forum can be especially bad for people sticking to topic.

1. Are you going to print the datasheet as well and bind them in one volume?  That could be useful.
2. Are the manual PDFs A4 page size or U.S. Letter page size?  Prints look best in the natural, unscaled page size.  I once printed a microcontroller hardware reference manual on my home printer (inkjet, as it happens) and bought some A4 paper specially so I didn't need to rescale anything.

Most of the HP manuals (to make a comparison) are US "half letter" (A5 approx).   If that was significantly cheaper I'd be fine with that.  Else US letter/A4.

Mostly I'm curious if anyone know of any cheap printing options for things like this. 

[slugrustle]

Ah, to clarify, I meant the original PDF page size.  For example, I have a PDF manual for the Siglent SDS2000X plus, and my PDF reader says (in File -> Properties) that the page size is "8.27 x 11.68 in. (A4)".  If you printed a PDF like this on U.S. Letter, you'd have to scale it a bit, which might make graphics and other things look a little funny or less clear.

A good option for doing something like this is to call around to local print shops near you and ask for a quote.  If you live near a university, there should be a print shop in the vicinity of the university that's used to doing things like this.  Specify number of pages, page size, paper weight, number of pages with color graphics, that you want spiral binding (make sure you want spiral not comb), and any options about covers.  It's typical to use a transparent plastic cover for the front, make the first page a nice title page, and put an opaque plastic cover for the back.

They might ask you to send over the PDF before quoting a price.  This would let them see how graphics heavy the manual is, basically how much color ink they'd have to spill.

If the user manual PDF doesn't incorporate the info from the datasheet, it might be a good idea to combine the two.

EDIT: If you have a friend with a color laser printer, you might be able to work out a deal with your friend for them to print the PDFs, then take the pages to a print shop for binding.

[dorkshoei]

Ah, to clarify, I meant the original PDF page size.  For example, I have a PDF manual for the Siglent SDS2000X plus, and my PDF reader says (in File -> Properties) that the page size is "8.27 x 11.68 in. (A4)".

The SDS1000 X-E manual is same size.

A good option for doing something like this is to call around to local print shops near you and ask for a quote.

I already did.   The prices, even with a minimum of 6 copies,  are expensive.   The manual is 297 pages.    Online is bad also ($300 for 6 copies bad).