Extending book life, got any tricks to do it? |
Extending book life, got any tricks to do it? |
Mar 29 2004, 06:08 PM
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#1
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 189 Joined: 17-December 03 From: Louisville, KY Member No.: 5,912 |
Here I am with a brand new copy of sr3, my third purchase of the 3rd edition BBB, because the others are worn out. Its a story far too common with RPG books: pages missing (usually the slick magazine ones), the covers either missing or soon to be, the spine delaminating away from the pages, etc...
so, has anyone got any ideas on how to prolong the life of RPG books? the only thing i've come up with is to take clear tape and neatly cover the spine, slightly overlapping the edges. this really helps prevent tearing on the edges, and made my most recent BBB last nearly twice as long as the first (that is, until those infernal magazine pages start to pull free). short of dikoting :D , any ideas are welcome. |
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Mar 29 2004, 06:11 PM
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#2
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Target Group: Members Posts: 25 Joined: 20-December 02 Member No.: 3,759 |
Have you considered having it rebound by Kinkos or some place. A friend of mine have all of his books done that way with a spiral binding so they lay flat. Might help you.
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Mar 29 2004, 06:13 PM
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#3
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 407 Joined: 22-March 04 Member No.: 6,183 |
I have a general reference book I made by photocopying certain pages of the main books that I put in sheet protectors and put in a three ring binder. It's been in use for about a year now and shows no sign of wear. You could easily do this to pages of a book that is falling apart.
This post has been edited by Capt. Dave: Mar 29 2004, 06:15 PM |
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Mar 29 2004, 06:14 PM
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#4
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 6,748 Joined: 5-July 02 Member No.: 2,935 |
What DO you people do to your books? This goes far beyond normal wear and tear.
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Mar 29 2004, 06:29 PM
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#5
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 189 Joined: 17-December 03 From: Louisville, KY Member No.: 5,912 |
well, you see, i've got this *ahem* fetish and...
:D seriously, its just mainly hand wear that does my books in. they get passed around the table a lot, we're regularly flipping through them for various reasons, and it doesn't help that until recently I was the only person in the group who had the BBB or any sourcebooks (i'm the GM). |
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Mar 29 2004, 06:32 PM
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#6
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 376 Joined: 14-July 03 Member No.: 4,928 |
One thing I did that really extended the life of my books (BBB, MitS, CC, SR Comp., MM, Critters) was to put almost every table & list (from the backs of the books) onto my laptop, along with the corresponding page/book reference.
Laptop Screen Grab I originally did these as html using Safari to browse through the info I need, but there's so much now I'm probably going to create a program to handle them all in a faster, and more organized way.? If you don't have a laptop, you can always scan those really frequently referenced tables and list, use a DTP program to reassemble them all onto 15-25 pages or so that you can re-run off as they get worn to save wear and tear on your books. |
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Mar 29 2004, 06:51 PM
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#7
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Man In The Machine Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 2,264 Joined: 26-February 02 From: I-495 S Member No.: 1,105 |
Yep, got um rebound so they lay flat and laminated the covers. Makes a world of differance, plus they travel better that way. I brought my NEW copy of Matrix to kincos while it was still in the dust sleeve. Its now bomb proof.
But having the most important tables scanned in my laptop help immensly. |
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Mar 29 2004, 07:50 PM
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#8
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Shooting Target Group: Members Posts: 1,512 Joined: 16-August 03 From: Northampton Member No.: 5,499 |
Only 2 of my books have any kind of damage
Sr3, the colour pics of the pregens fall out, now i keep them in my NPC folder, and Matrix, that lastd about a week before pages fell out, pgs 12-20, but apart form that the rest of the pages (and my books) are fine. And im constently rereading them. |
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Mar 29 2004, 08:44 PM
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#9
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Prime Runner Group: Retired Admins Posts: 3,929 Joined: 26-February 02 From: .ca Member No.: 51 |
I've never had any Shadowrun book fall apart, but I spiral bound my SR3 so it would lay flat. It cost about 7 bucks, and the print shop told me to never bring in another book "like that" again, because the amount and quality of glue in it gunked up their drilling machine for over an hour. :-)
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Mar 29 2004, 09:20 PM
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#10
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 120 Joined: 13-July 02 From: Waltham, MA Member No.: 2,969 |
I finally gave up and had a number of my "core books" professionally bound - though the Kinko's idea sounds pretty good too.
I've got SR3 bound into one book, CC, M&M and R3 bound into another single volume, and done the same with SRComp, MitS and Matrix. I get mine done by a bindery in Minneapolis, if anyone is interested , the email of my contact there is duncan@campbell-logan.com. They charge about 60 bucks per, which isn't cheap, but it is worth every penny if you ask me. Not having pages fall out over the course of a few games is great - plus, having just the three books makes it quite easy to tote your references around. Of course, if you want to really splurge, you could get the bound in black leather like a bible...for only a few hundred dollars per. - Runner Smurf |
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Mar 29 2004, 09:22 PM
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#11
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Great Dragon Group: Members Posts: 6,748 Joined: 5-July 02 Member No.: 2,935 |
It's not that much. I've seen leather-bound Cerebus phonebooks go for less.
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Mar 29 2004, 10:09 PM
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#12
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 189 Joined: 17-December 03 From: Louisville, KY Member No.: 5,912 |
we've got a binder here at work. i may use it on some of my stuff. now to find a way to covertly use it. 8)
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Mar 30 2004, 03:46 AM
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#13
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Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,598 Joined: 15-March 03 From: Hong Kong Member No.: 4,253 |
The simplest way is to cover your books in contact paper (sticky clear plastic(. This helps keep the cover together and protects the binding. (helps keep the art intact too).
The more expensive versions involve rebinding the book. You can do this yourself by getting a ring binder several clear plastic 'page pockets', cutting the binding off the book, and putting each page in its own pocket. A better way is to have something like the above done, but at a book binders (kinko's will probably do). |
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Mar 30 2004, 04:18 AM
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#14
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Senior GM Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 1,406 Joined: 12-April 03 From: Redmond, WA Member No.: 4,442 |
I'm on my third or fourth SR3 book now, and the archetypes just started falling out last week. The first is in a 3-ring binder with sheet protectors (about $25 worth) on my wife's desk, but it is soooo obsolete, it still has references to "Page XX" and the Defiance Super Shock did physical damage.
By buying new ones, I keep up with the new printings. Next purchase will have the new vehicle costs, and a Shock Glove will do "(STR-1)M Stun + 7S Stun". |
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Mar 30 2004, 04:24 AM
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#15
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Why oh why didn't I take the blue pill. Group: Dumpshocked Posts: 6,545 Joined: 26-February 02 From: Gloomy Boise Idaho Member No.: 2,006 |
I second that. I have an SR3 book form 99 that is just now starting to have problems. My M&M, CC, and NS are all in fine shape. I just picked up a MITS so I can't really say about that. I put SR3 on my Christmas list so hopefully my wife will get the hint. I also recommend tabs for your game books. It makes finding references and rules immensely easier and you don't have to flip through the book. You also don't have to memorize page numbers... |
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Mar 30 2004, 05:13 AM
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#16
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 160 Joined: 16-August 03 Member No.: 5,501 |
as a new member of the shadow run ward, i was wondering what is Kinko's ?
please describe it because i cant figger out what it is. |
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Mar 30 2004, 05:23 AM
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#17
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Prime Runner Group: Retired Admins Posts: 3,929 Joined: 26-February 02 From: .ca Member No.: 51 |
It's a business service store, basically - http://www.kinkos.com/
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Mar 30 2004, 05:36 AM
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#18
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Neophyte Runner Group: Members Posts: 2,156 Joined: 15-March 03 From: Fresno, CalFree Member No.: 4,252 |
My dad owns and runs a printing shop, so he let me go in and spiral bind it myself...I always thought that was pretty cool.
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Mar 30 2004, 05:43 AM
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#19
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 511 Joined: 30-May 03 From: Tulsa, OK Member No.: 4,652 |
One thing I'd like to suggest in addition to the rebinding at Kinko's is to have them laminate the front and back cover. All of my core books are bound like this and except for the ultra-heavy use of the cannon companion gear tables all of the books are still in excellent condition. All of my SR3 core books were purchased shortly after each became available.
The lamination has certainly been a boon to have since a few of the guys in my group are quick clumsy with liquids and such. |
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Mar 30 2004, 05:45 AM
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#20
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 608 Joined: 9-July 02 From: California Member No.: 2,955 |
My SR3 detonated. Now I just make a lot of house rules. :D
Worst part is, I'm not kidding. Now back to rewriting combat. Again. |
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Mar 30 2004, 04:49 PM
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#21
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Moving Target Group: Members Posts: 236 Joined: 14-March 04 From: Cal Poly: SLO Member No.: 6,155 |
My old GM had one of his books spiraled at kinkos, which helped a lot. I'm not sure why, but we've both had trouble with the SR3 book loosing pages too.
Me, I've got all but 7 of the rulebooks on pdf files, (5 of those 7 are first ed, the others I still need to scan), so I just take my laptop out to game as well. I also have quite a few pages that I reprinted and put in binders, with tabs for easy reference. Got one binder for everything combat, one with all the tables, etc. |
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