Might prospective digital subscribers be put off ….

[AndyfParticipant @andyf]

Looking at the "Subscribe to digital edtions" page as I see it on my computer (link below), it gives the impression that all you get if you subscribe to digital ME is editions from 2001 to 2007, and 1990 to 2006 if you subscribe to digital MEW.

Might this give prospective subscribers the impression that they will only get a limited number of editions? As far as I am aware, the digital versions of each magazine run right up to date. Being a subscriber to the hard copy MEW, I get access to the digital editions which do indeed go back to no. 1 in 1990 and don't stop in 2006. I can't speak for ME, but though I don't know how far back the digital versions go, I'd be surprised if nothing from the last six years is available.

The page I'm talking about.

Andy

[AndyfParticipant @andyf]

..by the wording on the “subscribe” page?

[Stephen BensonParticipant @stephenbenson75261]

Not being able to get good quality PDF's is what puts most people off I expect

[RobboParticipant @robbo]

This is one prospective digital subscriber who was put off. I subscribe to "paper" MEW and have access to digital editions of every MEW up to date should I need it.(but I have paper copies from No 1), so thought I might subscribe to digital ME to pick up any tool making/machinery articles therein.

However when I looked at the "subscribe" page and saw the same as Andy, only 6 years of ME, and the latest of those over 5 years ago, except for the current edition, I was put off completely.

So is the "subscribe" page wrong, or is MyTimeMedia just mean.

Stephen is right about the poor quality, it's difficult to read even if expanded to my full (21" screen.

Phil

Edited By Robbo on 17/04/2013 22:16:04

Edited By Robbo on 17/04/2013 22:27:02

[SteambuffParticipant @steambuff]

I'm a Digital Subscriber to ME, and I can confirm that all issues back to No 4153 (24/8/2001) are available…. So it does include the last 6 years.

Dave

[RobboParticipant @robbo]

Thanks for that Dave. So it's the invitation to subscribe thats wrong, and very badly so.

Perhaps if we keep posting on this thread someone will do something about it.

Phil

[AndyfParticipant @andyf]

The odd thing is that, because I subcribe to MEW in the sense that I get every edition sent to me in the post, I also have access to the digital copies, starting with no. 1 and now ending with no 202, the current one. They don't stop in 2006.

The page I linked to earlier seems to say that if you subscribe to digital editions only, the archive stops in 2006. Presumably you also have access to the editions during the subscription year you have paid for. The page gives the impression that there will be a gap from 2006 and ending when you paid your digital subs.

If in fact there is no gap, it's one of the worst advertisments I've come across. Ads sometimes promise more than you will get, but to promise less seems a bit self-defeating.

Andy

[David Clark 13Participant @davidclark13]

Hi There

I have requested adverts are altered.

regards David

[AndyfParticipant @andyf]

That will probably help rope in more digital subscribers, David. There may be a substantial number of folk (particularly from overseas) who would take up the offer if it was a little clearer.

For MEW, something like "Model Engineers' Workshop from 1990 (issue 1) up to date" both in the box at the top and in the text below would be more tempting, and something similar for ME, though that won't go back to issue 1, of course.

Andy

[Chris ParsonsParticipant @chrisparsons64193]

I have been toying with the idea of subscribing but was a bit concerned about the remarks about the quality of the PDF's?

If this is what is being offered as a digital edition and they are hard to read, how does one make out any plans or diagrams??

Chris

[AndyfParticipant @andyf]

Chris, I've just had a look at MEW issue 1. The drawings are readable on screen and when printed off, despite some of them having a grey background. Not wonderfully clear, but readable without straining too hard. The photos are a mixture of colour and black and white. On screen, the former are clearer than the latter, where it is hard to distinguish the different shades of grey (no jokes, please!). The monochrome ones print poorly, too; my laser printer is b/w, so I can't say how well the colour ones will print out.

Of course, I've only looked at one edition of MEW (the earliest), and the quality may vary from issue to issue. Perhaps others will chip in if they have found drawings in later issues hard to read, or if they can comment on the digital version of ME.

Andy

[RobboParticipant @robbo]

Chris,

If you PM me your email address, I can download a couple of pages from digital MEW (no access to ME) and you can print them out and see what you get from your PC/Printer combo. Quality does vary relative to the machines used.

BTW I emailed Diane about this advert and she was as bemused as we are. When David has got it fixed all will be well. (I can't find a Smiley for "fingers crossed&quot

Phil

Edited By Robbo on 18/04/2013 14:15:41

[SteambuffParticipant @steambuff]

Chris,

If you want a pdf from the Digital version of ME, PM me you email address.

I think the pdf's and print outs are at 72dpi, so to my eyes appear a little fuzzy when printed.

Dave

[RobboParticipant @robbo]

Hi Chris and All,

I tried to download from the digital copies of MEW last night, and found that I couldn't do it. Printing is allowed,so the only option is to print and then scan the hard copy into a file, which will result in some degrading of the image when that file is printed. MyTimeMedia may even have put some sort of block into the image to prevent this being done, so that will be tonight's little test.

My view is that this is something that also should be made clear in the advert. You want to know what you are getting before you hand over the dosh.

My enthusiasm for digital copies, as a means of accessing ME for tooling articles, is waning rapidly

Perhaps Dave has found the same problem with the ME digital copies.

Maybe David Clarke 1   can tell us what the score is on this.

Phil

Edited By Robbo on 19/04/2013 09:46:10

[David Clark 13Participant @davidclark13]

Hi There

The older digital issues are scanned.

The recent ones are created direct from the pdf that goes to the printer so are far better quality.

All adverts and subscription letters are being updated as requested on this forum.

regards David

[Chris ParsonsParticipant @chrisparsons64193]

Is the post about printing correct?

Can someone (David?) confirm that the digital copies can be printed with images/plans without any restrictions in quality? (clearly having due regard to copyright issues and so on)

Chris

[Chris ParsonsParticipant @chrisparsons64193]

I just re-read the post about printing and realised it says printing _is_ allowed so perhaps this is not an issue – as you can install a 'PDF printer' on your PC and print to this, which gives you a PDF file instead of a piece of paper, overcoming the need to scan etc.

If anyone wants more details let me know

Regards

Chris

[Stephen BensonParticipant @stephenbenson75261]

This is the problem the print quality is not great so neither is the PDF I expect this is intentional but it really takes the shine off taking out a digital subscription

[David Clark 13Participant @davidclark13]

Hi There

Printing individual pages is allowed.

Quality is slightly fuzzy but still readable.

I suspect this could be a bandwith problem, a compromise between the file quality and the size of file.

regards David

[SteambuffParticipant @steambuff]

I think the pdf's and print outs are at 72dpi (Print of the flash page whis is rendered for the screen), so to my eyes (and DC1's) appear a little fuzzy when printed.

I print them directly to a pdf file …. Readable yes .. but cannot use them to take measurements from.

I have purchased secondhand the paper copies for the last few years as I am building the 'B' Class and found that the Digital edition printout quality was not good enough.

[BazyleParticipant @bazyle]

For people questioning 'what the digital version is like' there are sample ones to look at somewhere on the site.

I had a look at an old ME (digital version) that was linked on a thread yesterday and the drawing text was blurry in one small area so 'borderline'. Ok as long as all text and detail is kept above a certain minimum. However I imagine nowadays if something is a bit blurred like that you can do a screen capture and run it through a picture enhancing program to remove the dark backgrounds mentioned above and crisp it up.

Bit OT but I subscribe to ME (hardcopy) and have about half the MEWs in hardcopy 'cos I am less interested in tool building. It would be nice to have heavily discounted access to the archive of the other mag if you fully subscribe to one, even if only say ones before a year ago.

[RobboParticipant @robbo]

Back after a couple of days enforced absence.

Image quality varies with the age of the magazine, as David says. I have now managed to run through the MEW editions, and the variations are similar to those found when scanning the pages. The old ones don't work as well as the modern ones, due to the print imaging techniques. So if you want to look at a specific copy, then digital is fine over say last 5- 10 yrs, earlier then ask someone with a paper copy for a look.

As Bazyle says, it is possible to improve images, but it is a tedious process, especially if over several pages.

Chris: I have emailed you about "print to file"

Phil

[Author]

Posts