My copy of Ravenloft just shipped. Should be in in a weekish. I'll post an impression of the quality of the print job.

Something I learned from an author who was doing their self printing through POD.

Never assume the quality will be the same from one book to another. Why? Because most POD suppliers actually are outsourcing to various POD factories as demand and openings occur. So book A, or sample request A may not look quite like book B from the same POD company as it might have come from a different POD factory.

With colour art in a book this can be a major hassle. On top of formatting problems as not all of these factories might be using the same format even.

Research and ask questions when can if you think it might be a factor in purchases. Especially if going the self publish route.

Should not be a problem with this. But since its POD. Never know.

Here's a channel with a lot of flip-throughs of the DTRPG stuff, including some of the newest PoD stuff from TSR.

https://www.youtube.com/user/sehayhurst/videos

My Dark Sun copy came in the mail today.
The binding looks good, can't tell how the spine will hold up until I've broken it in.
The pages are nice and thick, not flimsy at all.
The inside pages have a white border around them, but considering it's a POD job from scans, I'm not bothered. From a quick flip through, the printing is clear and no errors, smudges, blurring that I can see.
The maps are all broken up into pages, but whadayagondo? I didn't expect them to print out the fold out maps seperatley.

I'm very pleased and can't wait to get my Ravenloft.

*edit*
The scans of the flip books are a little less neat. There's obvious scan elements, like a futzy white background. They're still clear, legible and useable. It's just a lot more noticeable that they are scans.

Quote from: Godfather Punk on February 12, 2021, 01:58:30 PM
Okay, ordered both Spelljammer and Planescape. This better be good

(and apparently Premium shipping should bypass EU customs and shit).

I received both books today in Belgium (including printing only 14 days after ordering, that's lightning speed compared to some other things I ordered in the UK since Brexit; also no extra charges).

The SpellJammer HC looks beautiful if it wasn't for some dented corners. The pages are clear and feel they could stand some heavy usage. The PlaneScape book however was only available in SC, and the page quality is noticeably a lot less; the text has some 'bleeding' effect around the edges, as if done on a budget Inktjet, and the paper itself is also slightly curled.

Quote from: Godfather Punk on February 26, 2021, 09:33:51 AM

Quote from: Godfather Punk on February 12, 2021, 01:58:30 PM
Okay, ordered both Spelljammer and Planescape. This better be good

(and apparently Premium shipping should bypass EU customs and shit).

I received both books today in Belgium (including printing only 14 days after ordering, that's lightning speed compared to some other things I ordered in the UK since Brexit; also no extra charges).

The SpellJammer HC looks beautiful if it wasn't for some dented corners. The pages are clear and feel they could stand some heavy usage. The PlaneScape book however was only available in SC, and the page quality is noticeably a lot less; the text has some 'bleeding' effect around the edges, as if done on a budget Inktjet, and the paper itself is also slightly curled.

In general I've found the Planescape stuff to be lower quality.  My Planes of Law softcover was also missing the first page of the MC -- it was literally just blank.  However, Monster Mythology, City of Greyhawk, and Dark Sun were all good.

I have Ravenloft, Spelljammer, Ruins of Undermountain 2, and City of Delights on the way so I'll see how those stack up.

  Yay! Oh frabjous day!  Fabulous, rapturous, joyous day!

... I don't think I have any more room for more stuff.    Oh bother.

Just reading through my Spelljammer reprint.  A little disappointed with both it and Ravenloft as both of them have very warped pages (in terms of print quality that is).  However, there's no discernable faint printing or missing pages yet like I've experienced with Planescape.

I got my Ravenloft softcover today. It seems fine on first flipthrough. No obvious print mishaps. I never had the original boxed set, so I can't compare it to the original.

Quote from: Ratman_tf on March 03, 2021, 04:22:01 PM
I got my Ravenloft softcover today. It seems fine on first flipthrough. No obvious print mishaps. I never had the original boxed set, so I can't compare it to the original.

I've read through it a bit now. The scans look more like scans than my Dark Sun hardback. Some pixelation, and bits of text in places look squished. It's not bad, but not as good as the Dark Sun book.

Yes, Dark Sun Spelljammer looks really good ( though I suspect that bound the 2 books in the wrong order; the general player oriented stuff comes in second in my copy).
Edit: I mistakenly wrote Dark Sun.

Anyway, I'm pleased enough that I just ordered the Masque of the Red Death and the Exploring Eberron book in print too.

Quote from: Godfather Punk on March 04, 2021, 03:58:37 PM
Yes, Dark Sun looks really good ( though I suspect that bound the 2 books in the wrong order; the general player oriented stuff comes in second in my copy).

Anyway, I'm pleased enough that I just ordered the Masque of the Red Death and the Exploring Eberron book in print too.

One thing I found interesting is there is a weapons table on P.53 of the Dark Sun rules handbook. In my original boxed set, the entries are all shifted, I think one column to the right. So that damage, weight, type, etc are all in the wrong columns.
My PDF and the hardback are corrected. They must have fixed it in a second printing and that's the version being used for the drivethru versions.

Quote from: Godfather Punk on March 04, 2021, 03:58:37 PM
Yes, Dark Sun Spelljammer looks really good ( though I suspect that bound the 2 books in the wrong order; the general player oriented stuff comes in second in my copy).
Edit: I mistakenly wrote Dark Sun.

Anyway, I'm pleased enough that I just ordered the Masque of the Red Death and the Exploring Eberron book in print too.

Concordance is the first book and Legends is the second book in the box.

My Spelljammer hardcover in and so far no issues with it. Rather keep ordering from Drivethrurpg than pay the overly expensive ridiculously expensive  prices for the original.

Quote from: sureshot on March 05, 2021, 08:52:29 AM
My Spelljammer hardcover in and so far no issues with it. Rather keep ordering from Drivethrurpg than pay the overly expensive ridiculously expensive  prices for the original.

Yep. I have the boxed set for Dark Sun, bought at my local FLGS that buys and sells old RPG products. On the first day I got it, I put a small tear on one of the pages in one of the books.

I ordered the Planescape softcover today for the same reason. My bro is collecting all the originals from online sources, but I want a copy for myself.